13. Caliban's War by S.A. Corey

(written Dec 6, 2015 catching up)

This is the second of the Expanse series and is very similar in theme and structure as the first one. Also, equally entertaining.  Here, though, we now have the set up established.  A group of ragtag space mercenaries now have a kickass ship and run around getting involved in adventures directly or indirectly related to the solar system-changing events of the first book. 

12. Leviathan Wakes by S.A. Corey

(written Dec 6, 2015 catching up)
Every now and then I get in the mood for some good epic space opera and I was in one of them when this came across my G+ feed.  Turns out the authors are part of George R. Martin's writing group.  It was exactly what I was looking for at the time, a real page-turner with a pretty cool scope.  It's the future, we have colonized most of the inner planets and human society is divided into three major political factions, Earth, Mars and the Belters.  We meet a bunch of disparate characters in cool situations that you know are all going to be connected.  The connection here is some weird package/disease that turns people into a grey stew that may or may not still be alive.  Lots of interplanetary politics and action with a really compelling setup make this book feel like a well put together summer blockbuster.

11. Blood and Judgement by Michael Gilbert

(written Dec 5, 2015 catching up)

This is really the Gilberts I love.  Urban (Londong) procedural investigations with really smart police (often Petrella).  This is early in Petrella's career and though clearly a gifted character, Gilbert never makes it easy for him. His career is often at risk.  The violence is limited, but what there is quick and brutal.  Good stuff.

10. A Kind of Anger by Eric Ambler

(written Dec 5, catching up)
I have a beautiful Atheneum book club edition of this later Ambler (1964), in great condition.  The story is a nice combination of sleazy journalism and current (at the time)events.  A reporter gets caught up in the middle of a murder of an expat Kurdish general and flees with his mistress.  A little more fanastical in the end than is usual for Ambler, and a lot of fun.

9. The Killing of Katie Steelstock by Michael Gilbert

(written Dec 5, 2015 catching up)
I always remember the setup of this one, a popular TV actress is murdered back in her home town and we get to see all the nasty local politics and infighting.  I didn't remember the solution, fortunately, and it hit me with a bang.  Enjoyable as always with Gilbert.

8. The Schirmer Inheritance by Eric Ambler

(written Dec 3, 2015 catching up)

This is the first post-war Ambler that I read in my re-read and it was really enjoyable.  Ambler's style is smoother now, but his treatment of the setting (Greece near the end and after WWII) is complex and subtle as his earlier books, with a great sense of intrigue.

7. The Empty House by Michael Gilbert

(written Dec 3, 2015 catching up)

As you cans see, I was deep (and happily) into my Ambler Gilbert revisiting.  Gilbert does a good job of portraying competent young men who are slightly out of step with the expectations set for them.  Here, Peter Manciple as an insurance adjustor is not really supposed to be making any waves, investigating the death of a scientist who drove off a cliff.  He of course makes a lot.  Nice transition from murder mystery to modern espionage. 

6. The Mask of Dmitrios by Eric Ambler

(written Dec 3, 2015 catching up)
This is probably my least favourite of Ambler's early pre-war books.  It's still really good, but the set up never quite grabbed me, with the writer following the trail of Dimitrios across Europe. He isn't really in danger until the last third, so there isn't a lot of tension. The story and backstory of Dimitrios himself is really cool.  It also has one of the best descriptions of heroin addiction I've ever read.

5. Anything for a Quiet Life by Michael Gilbert

(written Dec 3, 2015 catching up)
I had completely forgotten about this book, thinking it was a novel. It's actually a series of short stories about a super sharp London lawyer who sets up shop in the country to take a break from things.  Really enjoyable mix of fun crime law and investigation with a dash of action.  Great local rural character as usual from Gilbert.

4. Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler

(written Dec 3, 2015 catching up)

Another one from the Intrigue quartert, A Cause for Alarm, stars a young engineer who desperate for work ends up running an arms factory in Italy.  It's a great telling of the naive guy slowly realizing the forces conspiring around him.  The adventure part of the story is a flight across frontiers, which was really cool.  Great book.

3. The Main by Trevanian

I bought this at a book sale on Avenue de Parc, which is the next big boulevard to the west of the real Main.  I have wanted to read it since I got here and even saw it once at Welch's.  But I got it here for a buck and the time was right.  Me and my adolescent reading buddies back in Lantzville went through a Trevanian phase, but we liked the over the top action stuff (Especially Shibumi) and I at least didn't find The Main appealing at the time.  It is kind of a dour, melacholy book, more concerned with painting a picture (possibly exaggerated and definitely florid) of what Trevanian clearly considers a very special culture corner of North America.  The pages turn quickly.

2. The Country-House Burglar by Michael Gilbert

(written Dec 6, 2015 catching up, actually had not recorded when I actually read this, so the date could be off, but it was definitely part of my Gilbert/Ambler binge early 2015)

I enjoyed this one as all Gilberts, but it is not my favourite.  Focuses on the older people, who are cool, but I didn't find them particularly compelling.  The culprit didn't seem super connected with the rest of the story either, so the ending was not totally satisfying.  Still, I'm picking nits because all of Gilberts books are worth reading.

2. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

(Written Dec 3, 2015 catching up)

It seems like a lot of the classic sci-fi books from the 70s and 80s (is that the Silver Age?) are about first contact, with most of the story following the actual learning process.  Lots going on in this book.  I really enjoyed it, but found it ultimately not sure if it wanted to be a political treatise on xenophobia or an actual story.  The comparison of the alien advanced tech compared to the human was innovative and believable.

1. What's So Funny by Donald E. Westlake

[written Dec 1, 2015 catching up.]

Westlake was still very much in form when he wrote this second to last Dortmunder caper.  Great characters and situations that hilariously and consistently screw Dortmunder yet somehow you love it while still rooting for him.  Love the upstate New York cabin. Though it's comedic, Westlake demonstrates once again his mastery for procedure and description of place.

2014 Year-end Review

[writing this on Dec 1, 2015 catching up.]

I can't actually remember my thoughts at the end of 2014, but looking back, I am pleased at my output and the diversity thereof.  Not bad considering my ongoing internet addiction, which filled much of my little free time between parenting and work.  So basically same excuses as at the end of 2013.  We strive on.  Reading is great.  Let's all keep doing it.

28. Brink's, The Money Movers by R.A. Seng and J.V. Gilmour

(written dec 6, 2015, can't remember when I actually read it!)

I found this in a free box a long time ago.  It's a corporate published history of Brink's, well-researched, parochial and totally biased.  As a fan of the heist genre, I thought this would have some good information and be entertaining as well.  I wasn't disappointed.  The first half in particular, talking about the early days of Brink's moving money in the early West via horse carriage (real cowboy stuff) and it's growth into the twentieth century was good. The second half was a bit duller, but I still enjoy some of the corporate history. 

27. The Etruscan Net by Michael Gilbert

[Written Dec 1, 2015 catching up.]

Also found at my parent's, had to offset the Gilbert murder mystery with a Gilbert thriller.  The reveal of the antagonist in this one was much weirder and colourful than I had remembered.  Made it a bit uneven, but a really cool portrayal of rural Italy and the art/archaeology world. 

26. The Black Seraphim by Michael Gilbert

[written Dec 1, 2015]
This is the spark that fuels my Ambler/Gilbert fire that was the first half of 2015.  I am always in the mood for a good British murder mystery when I am staying at my parent's for the holidays and found this classic in the shelf.  Reading it at this age, I get all the cultural subtleties and manners, so the book seemed less subtle than when I was a younger man.  Still, thoroughly enjoyable.

25. Uncommon Danger by Eric Ambler

[written Dec 1, 2015 catching up.]
Uncommon Danger is in the 4-volume Eric Ambler omnibus, but the copy I read I found in my parent's guest bedroom bookshelf, a really old paperback with a breaking spine and flaking corners.  I read it anyways.  It was great, though I preferred the setup (with the down and out journalist on his last dime crossing a frontier with unknown contraband) then the conclusion.  Still, great stuff.

24. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

[written Dec 1, 2015 catching up ]

I can not remember the context of when I was reading this, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  My aunt pointed out that it was really a satire, subtly ridiculing most of the characters.  Good.