61 Hours - Lee Child

Reacher! This is the first of two Reacher novels due in 2010, and although this book isn't available in the U.S. until mid-May, it was released in the U.K. in March. Hurrah! Once again, Reacher finds himself in a strange situation as the old folks bus tour he's hitched a ride with crashes in remote South Dakota, just as two winter storms are about to converge. He is thrust into a situation wherein a police force is stretched thin via a deal with a new prison at the same time that they are attempting to protect an elderly witness to a major drug crime. Bikers have settled on an old base just outside town, and after the first murder, things start heating up quickly. This was a great book, and I'm looking forward to the follow-up in September!

Misspent Youth – Peter F. Hamilton

This was just a so-so sci-fi novel.  Low on science, high on character building and some hint of the misguided European socialism gone to its inevitable awful conclusion.  This novel was a preamble to Hamilton’s novels Judas Unchained and Pandora’s Star.  Misspent Youth was written after those other novels, but it’s timeline happens about 300 years or so before Pandora’s Star.  I’ve yet to read those other two novels, but I suspect I should have read them in published order and not based on timeline.  While this novel was ok and I doubt that this gave away any secrets that will ruin the other novels, I think this was meant to be more of a enhancement to the back story of those other novels and not a setup to them.  This novel stands alone, but I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more had I read this one later.

American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia - Joan Biskupic

My parrot's middle name is Scalia, an act of admiration for this Justice when I was in law school eleven years ago. I don't agree with all of Scalia's politics, nor do I buy completely into his originalist method of interpreting the Constitution (though I do believe that words should be read as they were defined at the time of drafting). I've always admired Scalia's talent with words, and his strength in saying what he wants in a world where too many are worried about consensus-building. Admittedly, the conservative slant of the current Court scares me a bit, and I believe that Justice Scalia is going to move more to the forefront in the coming years. This book is an excellent view of the man and his politics, and I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Supreme Court.

The Pilo Family Circus - Will Elliott

This is an odd little book. Who doesn't find clowns just a tad bit creepy. This book draws you in from the beginning with it's scenes of psycho, killer clowns. Once part two kicks in we're whisked away to the Pilo Family Circus, a deranged place where our protagonist begins to fit right in. This is a novel, that you're never quite sure which way we're heading, but you'll enjoy the trip there nonetheless. Expect violence, a bit of non-explicit sex, and plenty of head games in the pages. Nothing seems out of place. I was a bit worried, once we arrived at the circus that this would turn into a dreamy, psychotic place where it would be difficult to follow, but I was rewarded with a story that was easy to read and understand. One disappointment I had was the ending did wrap up a bit too quickly and cleanly leaving quite a few threads hanging. Not sure if this was too increase the mystery or to pave the way for a sequel.

This book was set in Australia and I've got to say that I was a bit nervous starting this. When I read books by authors from outside the US (mostly British) I tend to find the subtle differences in language and sentence structure difficult to follow at times. It's a subtle thing and hard to truly explain, I just find British books hard to read and enjoy. I was expecting the same from this one. But I have to say that this was an easy read and other than a few town names I didn't realize I was reading a book set elsewhere. Some may find that a negative, but I was happy. For me, the book became much more accessible. Truly enjoyed this one.

What the Dog Saw - Malcom Gladwell

The author has a gift for writing interesting pieces and offering insights about commonplace things. This is a collection of writings from the New Yorker, and covers ketchup (why isn't there a Grey Poupon of ketchup?), criminal profiling (science or an old-time illusion?), and a host of other topics. Gladwell really digs into his subjects, beyond the point where most of us would have lost interest ourselves, and in this book you may learn more about the hawking of kitchen rotisseries than you ever thought possible! If you liked Gladwell's other books, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

The Black Train – Edward Lee

This book was a bit of an enigma for me. It came highly recommended so I was looking forward to reading it and in fact in jumped the queue ahead of many, many other books and was read almost as soon as I got it. It started off a little slow as it built some back story which was interesting enough. I soon began to fear however that this was slowly turning into a Richard Laymon style story. Sex for the sake of sex adding little to the story. However, I was pleasantly surprised, sure there was plenty of sex (not as much as most of Laymon's novels I've had the misfortune to read) and in fact it seemed to play nicely into the story. It wasn't really graphic and it was actually an important plot element which put this novel head and shoulders above Laymon (I know I'm picking on him a lot here).

I went about 300 pages into this 340 page novel thinking, “Wow this is living up to the billing I’ve heard about it.”  The tension was building, the characters and plot threads were all coming together nicely, and then….. just like that it was over.  I was like WTF?????  There was no satisfying resolution, good or bad for the characters…. it just seemed to end.  What a disappointment for what started off, and in fact stayed, a great novel most of the way through.  The ending absolutely ruined it for me.   I’ve got one more Edward Lee book on the shelf that I will read some day, but I’m in no real hurry now.

Horns - Joe Hill

This author is doing a great job at staying out of his dad's shadow, and certainly Stephen King has cast a large shadow on this genre. Although probably classified as horror, this novel has merit on several levels and has more than a few humorous moments. Ignatius Perrish, Ig, wakes up after a night out to find that he has grown devil's horns and that people suddenly want to share their darkest thoughts with him. Ig is already living in a hell of his own - his girlfriend is killed on the night that they break up, and of course, Ig is the primary suspect. The story jumps back to Ig's youth at intervals to develop his modern day friendships and acquaintances, which gives a depth to this story that, frankly, has been missing from Mr. King's novels in recent years. Joe Hill has done a great job with this novel, and I am, officially, a fan!