Chasing Darkness - Robert Crais

I wasn't as into this novel as the others that I've read by this author, as the premise seemed a little tired and perhaps well-used by others. Elvis Cole is approached by cops that have discovered that a man he helped acquit years before has been found dead with a photo album of women that he had apparently killed over the years. The novel turns into a who-done-it, with the focus turning to a politician using an organization named Leverage to manage his public image. Joe Pike makes a few appearances, the action is decent, and all-in-all, this wasn't a bad novel - just not the best that I've ready by this author thus far.

Homeland – R. A. Salvatore

R.A. Salvatore is one of my favorite fantasy authors. I've read many of his novels many times over and keep coming back for more. I recently decided to read through all his books containing Drizzt Do'Urden just for completeness. I hadn't read many of the newer books, but wanted to start chronologically and progress through the novels. Homeland is the first novel in The Dark Elf Trilogy which details Drizzt's life from birth through early adulthood. We get to witness the brutality of the drow culture and see how Drizzt is different from his kin. I read this book many, many years ago and still enjoyed this immensely. This just shows that Salvatore can write an entertaining novel. And despite having read this trilogy before, I can't wait to continue on with it again.

Redwall – Brian Jacques

This was an enjoyable read. Typical fantasy fare with a twist. Most everyone probably already knows the premise of this one. World filled where animals are the main characters. Here we have an abbey filled with mice and other woodland characters that come under siege by a army of rats. Multiple standard fantasy themes all wrapped up into one novel. We have a coming of age story, finding the lost artifact story as well as plenty of battle scenes. It is interesting how Jacques picks his heroes and villains, they fit the stereotype that at least I have, of a lot of animals. While this isn't classic literature, it was a fun read and I think most adults and teens would enjoy, though there is quite a bit of death that I suspect that this may not have been targeted at the younger audience like it seems to typically be labeled. Good stuff, looking forward to further books in the series.

The Somnambulist – Jonathan Barnes

This was an interesting book.  I really enjoyed it most of the way through.  There was something about it that kept me reading and made this hard to put down.  I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what that thing was though. 

However, despite a twist I was not expecting towards the end, though it made complete sense when it happened, I ended the book feeling somehow incomplete.  So many unanswered questions, so many threads left hanging that I’m dying for a sequel that will explain it all.  Yet that mystery is what intrigued me about this story I think.  Great read, highly recommend, but expect to be left wanting for more when you’re finished.

The First Rule - Robert Crais

While I'm waiting for the next Jack Reacher novel, I'm going to be working through this author's backlist of novels featuring Joe Pike, a "former" mercenary and current private detective. Pike is an interesting hero - a lethal enemy but a man with a strong sense of morality and honor. In this novel, he ends up in middle of a Serbian power struggle after his former colleague is gunned down with his family. Pike pulls the competing gangs towards himself to create an entertaining double-cross and a few action-packed pages at the conclusion. This is a great summer read!

The Faculty Club by Danny Tobey

Disappointed, very disappointed. I expected more from this novel, and the initial pages were actually promising and relatively well-written. The story follows a new law student at a Harvard-like law school, and a secret society that invites him to compete for one of three slots. Some of the dialogues and classroom exchanges at the beginning of the book took me back to law school myself, and I was ready for the rest of the novel to impress me. It didn't. The book fell into a strange layering of intrigue and voodoo ceremonies that just didn't resonate with me at all.

Something Passed By - Robert McCammon

I don't normally read many short stories unless they're in a collection of some sort, but I stumbled upon this one my McCammon that another reviewer said was “… one of the scariest things I’ve ever read.”   I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it was enjoyable and a very interesting premise.  Here is a world that for some unknown reason water has turned explosive, oil based products are now safe to drink, weird gravitational anomalies occur, cement turns to quicksand and so many other odd-ball physical phenomena all caused by “something that passed by.”  Not necessarily the scariest thing I’ve read, but a very short that I would love to see expanded and has kept me thinking about what “passed by.”   Find the story free on McCammon’s website.

Queen of Blood – Bryan Smith

Bryan Smith's follow up to his House of Blood novel which I've reviewed previously follows in the path of it's predecessor. This novel continues the story of the House of Blood and the rise it's tormentors that thrive on the agony and torture of innocents. Again we follow a few characters that we first saw in House of Blood and eventually defeated the "Master" and escaped the torturous world he created. We have a new "Mistress" which arises to recreate the world that was destroyed when the "Master" fell, the victims that escaped trying to recover and move on with their lives and a new mysterious "Order of the Dragon".

Overall, not a bad follow up and I blew through this very quickly, but there are problems with the book that seem to be systemic in Smith's novels (though he does seem to be improving as an author.) His novels tend be more like disjointed scenes that are pulled together to form a very loose plot that moves forward to an ending that, at least in this case, seems to be an unfulfilled climax that is there just because we've reached a certain word count. One complaint that I have that I've heard others agree with as well is we get an author that uses slang in his narration of the story in ways that I think should be reserved for his characters dialog. Just seems sloppy and somewhat juvenile. Not expecting Shakespeare here, but perhaps a higher level of narration that what we are getting.

Having said that, if you enjoy 'B' style movies, then this novel may fit well and you can enjoy an afternoon of reading with this one. There's a story in there that while it seems a bit unfulfilled, still presents us with a worthwhile quick read.

The Marrowbone Marble Company - Glenn Taylor

I saw a review on this book in Entertainment Weekly that stated that "it felt like this novel was dug out of the earth" and the brief write-up inspired me to buy it. What a great book! The story follows Ledford, an everyman toiling in a West Virginian glass factory before joining the Marines. Upon his return from Guadalcanal, he marries and founds a marble manufacturing plant on the land of some distant relatives, and embraces integration in an environment where many are not ready for different races to be equals. The book is full of grit - corrupt politicians, the Bonecutter brothers, a fellow Marine turned bookie. I can easily see this book become a modern classic, as it paints a very believable picture of the 1940s through the 1960s. Read this!

Kent - Images of America

I'm a big fan of this series, which primary features old postcards and photographs with a loose narrative of an area or subject. Ever since attending Kent State as an undergrad, I've been intrigued with the downtown area and the history of the college. This book covered both really well.

The Sentinel - Jeffrey Konvitz

This was an interesting book. Horror written back in the early 70s has the feel of the time. Typical religious type horror that revolves around demons and the Catholic church. The back cover compares this to The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby and it does have that sort of feel. I really enjoy novels from that era and this one doesn't disappoint. I can not tell too much as it would give away too much plot and this one is to be savored. The story itself is really just so-so, but the delivery of the story by Konvitz is what makes this one superb. Atmosphere and characters are key here and he pulls it off quite well. Short novel, but so much story. There is a sequel to this novel which I've heard isn't quite as good as this one, but it's on it's way to me and I look forward to digging into it.