RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Good to hear. Don't go in with the expectation of it being up there with the quality of Scott Lynch, but I found it very entertaining and immensely enjoyable. I'll be interested to her what you think when you have read it.
Books & Reading Thread 2025
- Thread starter RobMCFC
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Pancake Arse
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- 19 Nov 2024
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Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
Nuclear War: A Scenario is a 2024 non-fiction book by American journalist Annie Jacobsen. It outlines a timeline of a hypothetical first strike against the continental United States by North Korea.
Very very interesting but damn scary as well
Nuclear War: A Scenario is a 2024 non-fiction book by American journalist Annie Jacobsen. It outlines a timeline of a hypothetical first strike against the continental United States by North Korea.
Very very interesting but damn scary as well
richardtheref
Well-Known Member
6. Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi 5/5.
Probably my favourite horror that I have read for quite some time. Did remind me quite a bit of It. However, to me, it came across as a love letter to the golden age of Stephen King.
Probably my favourite horror that I have read for quite some time. Did remind me quite a bit of It. However, to me, it came across as a love letter to the golden age of Stephen King.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
I've heard good things about Ronald Malfi and I have one of his books on my TBR list.
richardtheref
Well-Known Member
Friends on Goodreads have been recommending him for years and finally got round to reading 1. Have ordered The Narrows and Floating Staircase following this.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Just checked my list and it’s The Narrows that’s on there.
heslops barnet
Well-Known Member
Just started. Sony Boy Al Pacino Great read so far….
Munich - Robert Harris - 5/10.
I've read lots of books by Robert Harris, and have enjoyed them all, until this.
It's an extensively researched book, in which Harris constructs a story around Chamberlain and Hitler's infamous Munich agreement. The historical characters are extremely realistic. There is a very strong sense of Hitler's menace, and Chamberlain's determination to broker a peaceful settlement, which as we know, proved futile.
The principle fictional characters are two friends from Oxford university, who years later ended up as junior members of the English and German entourages, each with access to their country's leader. The German friend is a member of the resistance, plotting to stop Hitler, and conspiring with his English friend. This provided the jeopardy, but as this wasn't billed as an alternative history, it was always obvious that the sub-plot didn't amount to anything significant. Hence my disappointment with the book.
I've got Conclave by the same author on my to read list. Hopefully, Munich was just a blip.
I've read lots of books by Robert Harris, and have enjoyed them all, until this.
It's an extensively researched book, in which Harris constructs a story around Chamberlain and Hitler's infamous Munich agreement. The historical characters are extremely realistic. There is a very strong sense of Hitler's menace, and Chamberlain's determination to broker a peaceful settlement, which as we know, proved futile.
The principle fictional characters are two friends from Oxford university, who years later ended up as junior members of the English and German entourages, each with access to their country's leader. The German friend is a member of the resistance, plotting to stop Hitler, and conspiring with his English friend. This provided the jeopardy, but as this wasn't billed as an alternative history, it was always obvious that the sub-plot didn't amount to anything significant. Hence my disappointment with the book.
I've got Conclave by the same author on my to read list. Hopefully, Munich was just a blip.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Dark Matter and the Wayward Pines trilogy comes a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory—his most mind-boggling, irresistible work to date, and the inspiration for Shondaland’s upcoming Netflix film.
‘Gloriously twisting . . . a heady campfire tale of a novel.’—The New York Times Book Review
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time �� NPR • BookRiot
Reality is broken.
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.
In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.
Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.
Praise for Recursion
‘An action-packed, brilliantly unique ride that had me up late and shirking responsibilities until I had devoured the last page . . . a fantastic read.’—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian
‘Another profound science-fiction thriller. Crouch masterfully blends science and intrigue into the experience of what it means to be deeply human.’—Newsweek
‘Definitely not one to forget when you’re packing for vacation . . . [Crouch] breathes fresh life into matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.’—Entertainment Weekly
‘A trippy journey down memory lane . . . [Crouch’s] intelligence is an able match for the challenge he’s set of overcoming the structure of time itself.’—Time
‘Wildly entertaining . . . another winning novel from an author at the top of his game.’—AV Club
I've read a few books by Blake Crouch. I consider this one to be his best.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Read a few by Blake Crouch. The Wayward Pines trilogy was fantastic - I read it before seeing the TV adaptation and was overjoyed to see how ell they did with the TV series, which is one of the best adaptations that I have seen (the first series, not so much the 2nd).
I also watched the Dark Matter series recently which was a pretty good adaptation too.
Not read Recursion so I'll add it to me TBR list.
I also watched the Dark Matter series recently which was a pretty good adaptation too.
Not read Recursion so I'll add it to me TBR list.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
- A Lesson in Violence – Jordan Harper - 7/10
- The Silverblood Promise – James Logan 9/10
- Exiles – Jane Harper 9/10
This is the third and final book featuring Aaron Falk, a federal investigator in Melbourne, who we first met in The Dry. Once again, the action takes place far away from the city, this time in the wine-producing region of South Australia. Falk is in town for a few days because he has been chosen to be the Godfather of his friend’s son. But his visit coincides with the first anniversary of the disappearance of Kim Gillespie at the town’s annual festival.
The central question that the police and people who knew Kim are trying to answer is why she would abandon her newborn baby in a pram at the festival and go and fling herself in the lake? The fact that no body has been found only deepens the mystery.
Harper's handling of the various characters is impressive – whether it’s Kim’s ex-husband, her current husband or various characters who knew her growing up, one minute you are suspicious of each of them in turn and the next minute you are crossing them off your suspects list only to add them back in again later! Much like The Dry, there’s also a lot of relevance placed on what happened to Kim and her friends when they were kids.
As usual, Harper makes great use of the book’s locations – there aren’t many in the small town, but by the end of the story, you feel like the festival, the lookout over the reservoir and the family home where much of the discussion takes place, are familiar to you.
Like the best mysteries, when the reveal comes, it’s all very logical and well thought out and you kick yourself for not seeing the obvious.
An excellent book and the end of a highly recommended loosely-connected trilogy that started with The Dry, one of the best thrillers that I have read.
stoneblue
Well-Known Member
I really enjoyed this book too.
It was someone on here who recommended “The Dry” that sent me down an Aussie Noir rabbit hole from which I rarely emerge! I can recommend Chris Hammer and Garry Disher as equally good authors of this genre.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
I read, and enjoyed, Scrublands by Chris Hammer on your recommendation but then didn't carry on because you warned me the next book wasn't as good.
richardtheref
Well-Known Member
7. Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly 4/5. Connelly is probably my favourite crime author. This was the 4th in his Lincoln Lawyer series and something like the 27th involving Bosch. Usual quality
richardtheref
Well-Known Member
8. Broken Light - Joanne Harris 4/5. Very much a book written from a feminist point of view. Most of book has men being evil and women all sweetness. However, that may be the whole point. Certainly made me think about my attitudes.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
- A Lesson in Violence – Jordan Harper - 7/10
- The Silverblood Promise – James Logan 9/10
- Exiles – Jane Harper 9/10
- Palace of Shadows – Ray Celestine 6/10
Regular readers here will know how much I enjoyed Ray Celestine’s City Blues Quartet, in which he told the story of the mob and jazz during the 20th Century. So it came as a surprise that his next book would be a gothic haunted house kind of affair – Palace of Shadows.
London-based artist, Samuel Etherstone, is down on his luck – nobody seems to want to buy his twisted and unusual art. Then he hears via a friend that an old woman in Yorkshire is willing to pay him a handsome fortune if he accepts a commission at a rambling old house on the North Yorkshire Moors. What could possibly go wrong? Cue a barrage of spiritualism, witches and lots of mysterious characters.
This Lovecraftian tale is competently written and the structure is a little unusual. As the protagonist spins his tale, we get to see the journal of the house’s Italian architect, who disappeared, plus letters written by another character, all of which bring home how much danger Samuel is in.
It’s an OK read. The house and it’s eerie and evocative location is the best thing about the book, but the ending felt a bit rushed.
When I finished and did a bit of background reading, I was surprised to see that the story is actually based on a real-life house: The Winchester Mystery House – right down to the fact that its owner was the widow of an arms manufacturer, but with the story transplanted from California to Yorkshire.
Conclave - Robert Harris - 8/10
I don't often read the same author consecutively, especially after a disappointing reading experience. I made an exception here, having just finished Munich.
Conclave tells the story of the death of a pope, and follows the journey of one of 118 cardinals whose job it is to elect his successor.
All of the cardinals are eligible to succeed the departed pope. Some have papal ambitions, some don't, and some think they don't. Cardinal Lomeli needs to weed out some of the unsuitable candidates, which increases his own chances of succession, despite his protestations that he isn't interested in the top job.
There is much intrigue and mystery woven into the plot, and a nice twist at the end.
I'm a religious man, though not a Catholic, and this well researched book provided some detailed insight into the Catholic faith, and the process for selecting a new pope. I suppose for me, it will bring to life the next papal election, whenever that might be. I'll try and take in the film at some point as well.
My faith in the author is restored.
I don't often read the same author consecutively, especially after a disappointing reading experience. I made an exception here, having just finished Munich.
Conclave tells the story of the death of a pope, and follows the journey of one of 118 cardinals whose job it is to elect his successor.
All of the cardinals are eligible to succeed the departed pope. Some have papal ambitions, some don't, and some think they don't. Cardinal Lomeli needs to weed out some of the unsuitable candidates, which increases his own chances of succession, despite his protestations that he isn't interested in the top job.
There is much intrigue and mystery woven into the plot, and a nice twist at the end.
I'm a religious man, though not a Catholic, and this well researched book provided some detailed insight into the Catholic faith, and the process for selecting a new pope. I suppose for me, it will bring to life the next papal election, whenever that might be. I'll try and take in the film at some point as well.
My faith in the author is restored.