Winter of the World (The Century Trilogy #2) - Ken Follett

 

I love history and reading these books by Follett is like reading a history book but better. The characters are woven into the actual events bypassing the cold hard facts of history and making them come alive. Through the eyes of the  characters we see the events as if they are happening now. Well written and hard to put down.

What Seems True by James Garrison

 

When I started this book, I thought it would be a modern western. It had a murder, a Texas Ranger

but it soon morphed into a union problem at a Texas refinery. Soon, the murder and the Ranger 

fell into the background and the story became an arbitration hearing with union employees. 

The story had a good lead in and the descriptions were good but the author had trouble finding 

names for his characters, falling back on celebrities' like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and others.

The arbitration went in circles, no one was charged with the murder, a black man by the name of

Billy Graham, by the way. Being a black man might have had something to do with it.

Hamer's Quest - Jack Walker

Hamer's Quest is a book of fiction, a total fabrication bordering on the absurd. I wanted a western, something different from my usual reads but was disappointed by my choice. The pages are filled with name dropping of famous people, products and books, all to fill in pages. In a western one expects the usual fare of gunplay but this has been replaced by explanations of faith from old time religion, running on for pages and pages. Silly conversations make up another large part of the book. I am giving it three stars because it might be suitable as a screenplay.

Fair Warning (Jack McEvoy #3) - Michael Connelly

 

A crime story that has us believing that and old reporter is a seasoned member
of the information highway. The book has great flow and holds us from beginning
to end. It leaves us with the belief that there are more stories to come.

"Ashes of the Elements" by Alys Clare

This is the second in "The Hakenlye" series. It has an exciting opening giving you an anticipation of what is to come. But it is light reading, silly at times. Perhaps the author, on realizing this, decided to spice up the story with sex scenes, the worse being a gang rape. She also is trying to push the nun into something sexual. Not a way to make the book interesting. Gave it three stars.

My Reviews.

      I seem always to have a different hobby. Maybe I can't call it a hobby, more like an interest for a period. A couple of years ago, my interest was to learn how to repair a lawnmower. Not that I planned on going into the repair business - it was because of my neighbor. At the time, I was using an electric mower, and he kept giving me a hard time. He said that he couldn't stand to see my feet getting tied up in the cord. So I picked up some mowers from people and learned how to fix them.
      This summer my interest is learning to do book reviews. Normally, I just gave them stars. Now, I write reviews and put them on Goodreads, Amazon, and my blog. I guess I use something like a template. I've written down all the things I want to cover and them put the book through it. I notice the reviews are getting longer.
      I used to belong to this book club, not Wattpad, where everyone wrote stories, and anyone could comment. It was ok, I got some useful hints. I read this story one time and gave it four stars. Well, it was a woman author and she was livid. How dare I give her only four when it should have been a five. Afterwards, I quit that group. If that were now, I would change the four to a three.
      On Goodreads, they have these threads where people offer reviews for reviews. I thought about that for myself but changed my mind as I read on. This one guy wrote that if you gave him a review he would do one right away without reading the book. Now, the reviews I read, I take with a grain of salt. So I thought that this might not work out too well for me because I would read the book and give it an honest review.

A Thriller Is About People In Danger

A thriller is always about people in danger. The key is to make the reader share the hero’s anxiety. In all popular fiction, the author’s aim must be to get the reader to feel the emotions of the characters. That’s what makes the reader turn the pages.

KEN FOLLETT