"Drums Along the Khyber" is the first of an historical series set in 1897. It is the story of a young Lt. sent to India on his first deployment. It goes along at a good pace, not plagued by pages of description about scenery etc. It is well written. Some may be offended by the language, but it is the attitude of the times. Five stars for me.
Got a call this morning at 6:30. It was about my VISA card. A kind gentleman from India wanted to warn me that someone was making charges to my card. So thoughtful. I wish I had his phone number so I could show him how thankful I was and call him at 6:30 AM his time.
"Puppet on a Chain" is another MacLean spy novel set in the 50's. I did like that it had the morals of the era and a lack of swearing. That's as far as it went. Mjr. Sherman is an ass. I don't know how anyone could work for him or how he got prompted in the first place. Lots of gruesome murders to read about and a drug culture you would expect in Amsterdam.
A very short novel with characters Reacher and Heller. No morals exist when criminals attack one of their own. They can work together for mutual benefit.
"Ramage" is the first in a series of sea novels. The story opens up with a sea battle and our ship sinking. Our hero becomes the captain of a sinking ship and the start of his troubles. Ramage is likable, perhaps too much so with the crew. I found some parts boring, too much description about putting up sails. Another part that annoyed me was his reaction to the lady in the story. A bit overdone. He sounded like a wide eyed schoolboy. I'm hoping it doesn't take him too long to become a adult.
Like any novel, it starts of with its list of characters. As the story evolves, most of the them are killed off. It makes a compact story with few characters remaining at the end. It goes back and forth between two time periods: the 60's and the present. I thought it would be an exciting story but it just seemed to drag on. There were boring parts that seemed to have no end. Don't think I'll be reading any more in this series.
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.
Not all scam criminals are stupid, contrary to what some law enforcement and newscasters tell us. Take for example telephone scam artists. Some have put a lot of thought into this and over the years have become quite successful. They have a good idea who will fall into their trap, the naïve and elderly. I received a phone call yesterday at 6:20 AM. A woman said she was from VISA and was calling to check on two charges to my card. If I wanted to question these charges, press two. I did. A man with an Indian accent answered the phone. I was hardly surprised. Yes, he could help me. All I had to do was give him my credit card number. I laughed and hung up the phone.
