Category: Book Review

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#BookReview: NPC by Jeremy Robinson

Robinson Is Back With Another Mindbender. In this book, The Modern Day Master of Science Fiction creates yet another absolute breakneck thriller that also happens to be one of the most mind-bending books of his career, right up there with ALTER and INFINITE. It *also* is one of the few books at this “more developed” stage of his career where he openly wrestles with religious and philosophical issues, and indeed the very debate between our two primary characters on these topics is some of the most intense and intriguing bits of the book. Still, for those who want to gloss over the philosophy and focus on the action, there is still quite a bit of that here as well, and indeed the debates often happen in the middle of the intense action. (Think: Brian and Dom having a debate about the nature of reality *while in the middle of the airplane chase scene* at the end of Fast 6.) There are numerous reasons I call Robinson “The Modern Day Master of Science Fiction”, and this book just adds to them. Very much recommended.

This review of NPC by Jeremy Robinson was originally written on July 1, 2020.

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#BookReview: Call To Power by Jack Page

Excellent Corporate Thriller. If you like corporate board room power plays and machinations, this book is right up your alley. If you like Godfather-esque stories of honor and destroying enemies who disrespect you, you’re going to love this book. If you absolutely want nothing to do with corporate America at all in any way whatsoever… you can probably already tell that you should probably skip this book, but I’m going to tell you that your reluctance there is going to cost you an awesome read. Per the bio at the back of the text, Page is a new pseudonym for an author that has previously been well received, if not necessarily well known, and that level of execution bleeds through the entire text here. Very much recommended.

This review of Call To Power by Jack Page was originally written on July 1, 2020.

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#BookReview: The Myth of Experience by Emre Soyer and Robin Hogarth

Argumentum Ad Verecundiam. This book had an excellent premise, but just a mediocre implementation. Soyer and Hogarth excel when showing how one’s own experience can blind oneself in numerous areas and arenas, and suggest ways to overcome this blindness. But then fall to their own blindess in accepting and even appealing to the “authority” of “experts” in various topics – seeming to completely disregard that these very “experts” have the exact same problems with being hampered by their own experiences that Soyer and Hogarth are attempting to show us how to overcome in this book. Ultimately, they make a lot of good points, which is why the book gets as many stars as it does. That you have to wade through so much muck to get to all of them is why it *only* gets as many stars as it does. Still, absolutely something everyone should read, and thus recommended.

This review of The Myth Of Experience by Emre Soyer and Robin Hogarth was originally written on July 1, 2020.

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Featured New Release Of The Week: Of Bears And Ballots by Heather Lende

This week we’re looking at an intriguing look at rural small town American politics. This week, we’re looking at Of Bears and Ballots by Heather Lende.

This one got my attention mostly because I myself ran for rural small town City Council twice a decade ago – unsuccessfully both times – and so whenever I see an actual book come out about such experiences, I’m immediately interested. In this one, it turns out that this particular town has a couple of very big differences than my far-from-the-sea town did: 1) The jurisdiction here includes a cruise terminal and Glacier Point, a major cruise excursion destination. 2) While the town that I ran for Council in is the home of country singer Luke Bryan, San Fransisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, and American Idol Season 12 winner Phillip Phillips (and I have interesting experiences being in area crowds with both singers), Lende’s town – Haines, AK – happens to be the hometown of Parker Schnabel of Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush family of shows. And one of the controversies Lende spends a fair amount of time on in this book is her decision – along with other members of a split Council – to hire Parker’s aunt, Debra Schnabel, as the town’s Manager. It was a controversy big enough that it nearly led to her ouster less than one year into a three year term, and it apparently set the tone for the rest of her term and indeed for the narrative of this book.

Overall the book did exactly what I expected of it – it showed the realities of life on a small town City Council, the striking dichotomies of being “The Honorable Heather Lende” or “Ms. Lende” or such in meetings and “Heather” as soon as the gavel sounds to close the meeting. Of having disagreements about policy so stark that voters initiate a recall election against you… and then finding out people you thought were good friends, who go to church with you, shop at the store your husband runs, or other seemingly major small town connections… signed the damn petition that forced the recall to happen. I had a degree of that myself even in my unsuccessful runs, watching people as they walked into the singular voting precinct in my town (Lende’s had two, despite having roughly the same number of voters) as I waved campaign signs from across the street while talking to an area reporter. So while I was never recalled, I know well the… interesting… feelings Lende discusses quite well in the text.

In her calls for civility and her support for Robert’s Rules of Order as a mechanism for returning us back to a more civil era of politics and the Rule of Law, Lende actually manages to evoke a sense of President Andrew Shepherd as portrayed by Michael Douglas in The American President. Which their shared liberal politics helps to cement, to a degree. 😉

Ultimately, this was a very satisfying and fairly quick (for a nonfiction book) read, and it is very much recommended.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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#BookReview: Prisoners Of Geography by Tim Marshall

Interesting Concepts. Marshall presents an interesting case of geopolitics from a geographical perspective, and while quite a bit of it makes perfect sense, there are also times where he presents an idea as perfectly obvious… when it actually isn’t/ wasn’t. For example, he claims that once America gained access to the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century via the Oregon Territory, it was destined to become a great world power simply because it had direct access to both of the world’s great oceans. If it was so perfectly obvious, why did it take another century or so – for this barely century old nation at the time – to achieve such supremacy? But the cases Marshall does make, he makes many interesting points on that even I had never considered, and I consider myself a fairly learned and analytical person. He also does so with great humor, which makes what could have been a much drier, more academic treatise into a much more enjoyable read. So read this thing. It has some good ideas and you’ll be entertained. Just don’t believe every word it says, and keep a critical eye on all things at all times. Recommended.

This review of Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall was originally written on June 29, 2020.

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Featured New Release of the Week: Feeding The People by Rebecca Earle

This week we’re looking at a remarkably well researched novel history. This week, we’re looking at Feeding the People by Rebecca Earle.

This is one of the more novel histories I’ve ever read, whose central point is looking at the Andean Potato as at least a sign, if not a driver at times, of world history through the last several centuries since it was brought to Europe and popularized there post-Columbus. Structurally, it divides its chapters between various ages – Enlightenment, Scientific, Globalization, etc – and examines how potatoes were playing a role in world history during those ages. And it makes some very interesting cases that I personally had never considered, but which largely make sense.

Truly the most remarkable thing about the book though is just how well documented it is – literally 42% of the edition I read was bibliography and index. Considering that more normal documentation rates for even books I generally consider to be well documented are closer to 25-30%, this is exceptional indeed.

For its completeness, its documentation, and yes, its novelty, this is absolutely a very much recommended book.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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#BookReview: The Vanishing Trial by Robert Katzberg

Solid Examination More Memoir Than Treatise. I was actually going to 4* this one until I went back and re-read the description, which did in fact hint at this being more memoir than treatise – which was my only real reason for docking the star. I had thought, reading it well after actually picking it up, that I was getting more treatise with just a smattering of memoir.

That noted, Katzberg does a remarkable job of showing the problems he notes as only an insider can, and sets the stage for further exploration – perhaps, as he so often notes, from someone more scholarly inclined – of the exact issues, their exact causes and histories, and maybe some examination of potential solutions, even including Katzberg’s own. Ultimately more Failure Is Not An Option (Gene Kranz’s remarkable memoir of his time as a Flight Director during the Apollo era) than Rise Of the Warrior Cop (Radley Balko’s complete record of policing in America and in particular its militarization of the last 50 years or so), this is truly a spectacular effort, well written with concise points, solid anecdotes, and an appropriate smattering of humor. Very much recommended.

This review of The Vanishing Trial by Robert Katzberg was originally written on June 22, 2020.

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#BookReview: Someone Else’s Secret by Julia Spiro

Slow. Then Wow. This debut book is very much a slow burn. A recent college graduate circa 2009 becomes the nanny for a Martha’s Vineyard family, only to realize that there is much going on behind the scenes. One of her two charges, a 14yo girl, is coming of age at the same time and realizing that things are not always as they seem. Then, right around the 2/3 mark, The Event happens. Beyond saying that it ties into #MeToo, which is general enough to note a wide range within a given type of event, I’ll say no more about The Event itself. But both women experienced it, and the back quarter (ish) of the book flashes forward a decade to how it has shaped both of them. To the #MeToo era itself, though this is never directly mentioned in the text by that name. And it is here the book ends, with some of the heaviest punches outside of The Event itself. But who knows, maybe, for me, that was due to my own life and how I know all too well how trauma can shape a life, and thus identified remarkably well with a now early 20s and mid 30s female despite being a late 30s (ugh) male myself. Truly a remarkable debut, and I’m very much looking forward to more from Ms. Spiro. Very much recommended.

This review of Someone Else’s Secret by Julia Spiro was originally written on June 22, 2020.

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#BookReview: A Thousand Small Sanities by Adam Gopnik

Interesting Discussion. Let’s get two things straight up front: 1) I believe this author – a Canadian-American – uses “Liberal” where far more commonly for most of his points most Americans would use “Libertarian”. He uses the Canadian understanding of the term (and, indeed, most of the world outside of the US, at least according to my own understanding), which may be problematic for US audiences. 2) The 5* rating here is not because I actually agree with his points – largely, I do not, which I’ll get to momentarily – but because for the style of book that it is – a discussion of political philosophy, ostensibly as a father writing to his daughter – I really can find no fault here beyond “I strongly disagree with what the author says here”, and I do my best to not drop stars over such disagreements absent some more concrete issue.

On the actual arguments in question, again, I believe he is arguing more for (mostly) what an American audience would more readily understand as “libertarianism” – Rule of Law, equality of opportunity no matter one’s demographics, and a strong commitment to the freedom of speech. Yes, he goes off on leftist/ progressive tangents such as gun control and universal healthcare at times, but the author does a pretty solid job of always coming back to the central thesis, and showing how both the “left” and “right” in most countries (but particularly the US) both hate what he calls “liberalism” and why both camps are wrong. I could probably write a book concurring in conclusion but dissenting in approach myself, particularly over Gopnik’s obsession with John Stuart Mill and On Liberty – a book I myself read just a couple of years ago and found useful to the overall conversation, but ultimately problematic.

Still, as with Mills’ book – a conjoining the author will likely appreciate – this text serves as a solid look at a particular way of thinking and is thus worthy of consideration. Recommended.

This review of A Thousand Small Sanities by Adam Gopnik was originally written on June 20, 2020.

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#BookReview: Ghost Writer by Pandora Pine

Pleasurable Writing. In this continuing saga of Private Investigator Jude Byrne and Witch/ Medium Copeland Forbes’ lives together, we get some of the more hilarious scenes of this spinoff series (and arguably even the entire connected universe) and ever more harrowing threats. And seriously, the truly hilarious scene is one of the more explicit scenes, involving a particular toy used to great effect both comedically and sexually. The investigation this time is excellent, and the threat a very sad reminder of America’s not-so-distant past. At this point in the series, I can’t recommend starting the series here – but I can say without hesitation that if you begin with Haunted Souls #1 you will enjoy the progression when you get here. Very much recommended.

This review of Ghost Writer by Pandora Pine was originally written on July 19, 2020.