daddygoth's 75 Book Challenge

Well, I originally posted over in the 50 Book Challenge. I had planned on trying to read 100 this year, but that's not going to happen. I don't have near enough time to devote to reading that many books, but I think 75 should be achievable. I'll eventually port by 50 book list to here, but until then will link to it:

50 Book Challenge list

Here's the list. For short reviews/opinions, please refer to the link in the original post:

1. Hell House by Richard Matheson
2. Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn
3. Earthcore by Scott Sigler
4. Vacation by Jeremy Shipp
5. Dark Hollow by Brian Keene
6. Worldbinder (Runelords, Book 6) by David Farland
7. Vaders by R Patrick Gates
8. The Missing by Sarah Langan
9. Fires Rising by Michael Laimo
10. Cemetery Things by Keith Latch
11. Mine by Robert McCammon
12. The Dead by Mark E. Rogers
13. Ilium by Dan Simmons
14. Queen of Blood by Bryan Smith
15. The Undead: Zombie Anthology, edited by DL Snell.
16. The Shell Game by Steve Alten
17. Flesh Welder by Ronald Kelly
18. Triage by Richard Laymon, Edward Lee, and Jack Ketchum
19. The 6 Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly
20. The Vanishing by Bentley Little
21. The Last Oracle by James Rollins
22. The American by Andrew Britton
23. The Crib by Paul Kent
24. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
25. Empire by David Dunwoody
26. The Lost Ark of the Covenant: Solving the 2,500 Year Old Mystery of the Fabled Biblical Ark by Tudor Parfitt
27. The Bleeding Season by Greg F. Gifune
28. Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
29. The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
30. Long Horn, Big Shaggy by Steve Vernon
31. The Ruins by Scott Smith
32. Intensity by Dean Koontz
33. The Desert by Bryon Morrigan
34. Fear of Gravity by Brian Keene
35. Doom Spore by John T. Cullen
36. It's Only Temporary by Eric Shapiro
37. Madmen's Dreams by Eric S. Brown and D. Richard Pearce
38. Dark Voices Volume 1 by Thomas Monteleone
39. 13 Bullets by David Wellington
40. Bloodstained Oz by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore
41. The Words of Their Roaring by Matthew Smith
42. White Tribe by Gene O'Neill
43. Dead Heat by Joel Rosenberg
44. Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks
45. High Time to Kill by Raymond Benson
46. The Woods are Dark by Richard Laymon
47. Ancestor by Scott Sigler
48. Nobody Lives Forever by John Gardner
49. Watchmen by Alan Moore
50. Infected by Scott Sigler
51. Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry
52. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

53. The Last Patriot by Brad Thor -- Thor's latest novel featuring Scot Harvath. While I've enjoyed all of Thor's novels, I didn't care for the da Vinci Code/National Treasure-like background in this one. Thor is best when he sticks to action and leaves historical fiction/mystery to other writers.

54. Luster by Shane Ryan Staley -- this chapbook had two good stories, two so-so stories, and two forgetful stories. It was cheap and I thought I'd give the author a try. It's not for everyone based on the subject matter.

55. Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse by William D. Carl -- this is Carl's debut novel and it's a good first effort. I've never been a big fan of werewolf fiction or movies, but I would recommend this novel. It drags in the middle third, but the beginning and ending are very entertaining.

Nice list! We've had some of the same discussions of Sarah Langan and others here in the 75 book group.

Have you seen 99 Coffinsyet? I thought it was even better then 13 Bullets. And I completely agree with your assessment of *that* one.

drneutron,

I have 99 Coffins, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I'm not sure if I'll read it soon or wait until the third book in the trilogy is released in October.

I mentioned Sarah Langan in my 50 Books posts and beeg, who has a list here at 75 Books, picked them up and really enjoyed them.

I just finished the latest Brian Keene novel today, which I'll mention in another post. If you haven't read Keene, it's hard to go wrong with his works.

56. Ghost Walk by Brian Keene -- the latest horror novel from Keene and it ties together several other books in his overall Labyrinth storyline. There are links to his zombie duology, Terminal, Ghoul, The Conqueror Worms and Dark Hollow, the first book in the LeHorn's Hollow series. As with his other works, I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did Dark Hollow. The ending seemed to happen too quickly, especially considering the buildup to it and the overall direness of the situation. If reading Keene for the first time, you could really start anywhere in his universe, but I would recommend reading Dark Hollow before this one to avoid some spoilers.

adding Dark Hollow to the list

57. 99 Coffins by David Wellington -- I decided to go ahead and read the sequel to 13 Bullets on drneutron's suggest and the fact that I was going to read it in the near future anyway. I really enjoyed this one as well, just not quite as much as 13 Bullets. The last 100 pages were excellent, but what brought it down just a bit in my opinion was the diary entries that reflected upon what had happened 140+ years in the past. While important to the overall story, I think it went on a bit too long and should/could have been condensed. I preordered the third book in the trilogy (Vampire Zero) yesterday since I was able to snag it for less than $10 shipped. I'll probably read that one as soon as it arrives in October.

58. Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez -- What can I say, I really enjoyed this one. It's a B-movie type monster tale about giant crustaceans that terrorize a small town. However, while they are on the rampage, something more sinister is after them. Literally no one is safe from the one-two punch delivered by the creatures. I'm glad that Delirium decided to re-release this one in trade paperback, along with Clickers II, which I'll be reading next.

Oh freakin' cool! Another Wellington vampire book...I'll keep an eye out for that one!

59. Clickers II by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene -- I enjoyed the sequel, but not as much as the first. The characterization of the President was so over-the-top/ridiculous, that I felt it detracted from the rest of the story. OK, we understand that the author(s) don't like the current POTUS, and the character in the novel was part Bush and part religious zealot (along the lines of Pat Robertson, who was mentioned in the book). The President was a total nutjob who acted on blind faith. Other than that character, who if he was toned down just a bit would have been more believable, the book was just as good as the first. I will read the Clickers III when it's released, tentatively next year.

60. See No Evil by Patricia Wallace -- a so-so horror novel from the 80's boom period of horror. There's nothing new or groundbreaking about this and seemingly like many from that era, the ending is abrupt and loose ends are not tied up. This one involves two kids who receive cornea transplants from a child who "dies", then notice they have special powers and use them to right some wrongs in their lives.

61. The Rising: Selected Scenes from the End of the World by Brian Keene -- a good series of short stories that occurred during and after The Rising and City of the Dead. The best ones were the ones that took place during and after the ending of City of the Dead.

62. City of the Dead by S.D. Perry -- the third book in the Resident Evil series. This one is supposedly the adaption of the RE2 video game. I never played the game, so I'm not sure how faithful it is. Overall, it's a good novel that did not read like a game adaptation.

I decided to read a couple of "light" horror books (and they weren't very good either):

63. Bats Out of Hell by Guy N Smith -- a short novel about bats that escape from a lab and terrorize the locals. The beginning was entertaining, but the attempted resolutions to the problem were ridiculous. Then again, this is a Guy N Smith novel, so you can't expect much.

64. The Slime Beast by Guy N Smith -- OK, this one was crap. The monster isn't terrifying, the writing is bad, the sex scenes are ridiculous with bad dialog, and a scene from this one was essentially duplicated later in Bats Out of Hell (locals decide to stone those responsible for the monster, wanting to rape the woman, etc.). I enjoyed the comedic dialog more than the central storyline.

I only on occasion read a Guy N Smith novel or two, just to see if they are any different from any of this others. I don't remember his six crab books being that bad, but I did read them 20+ years ago and don't remember much about them.

65. American Savior by Roland Merullo -- I really enjoyed this politically satirical novel. Jesus returns and decided to run for President of the United States. The first half is filled with laughs, but the second half is more serious. The second half tends to wander/drag a bit and the election night part occurs too quickly. There is a nice lesson delivered at the end. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone as it isn't preachy. It might step on a few toes, but this has to be view as satire, not gospel.

66. Creepers by David Morrell -- This was an excellent novel, very suspenseful, well-written, with no open ending. I had never heard of creepers before, but at the end, Morrell describes creepers and what led him to write this novel. I've enjoyed most of Morrell's works and this is one of his best.

#17: I read Creepers about a year or so ago and like it a lot, but I have never read any of Morrell's other books. I may have to check out the rest of them - except for possibly Rambo, probably because my aversion to Sylvester Stallone.

I am also a big Morrell fan. Don't avoid First Blood because of the movie and Sly. Morrell's books, while laced with testosterone, are good action/adventure books. Some of them are also pretty good character studies. They are usually better written and more thoughtful than much of the spy/adventure pulp available. I recently read a short story collection of his that ran much more to the horror genre, but it showcased Morrell's ability to build tension and anxiety in the space of just a few lines, Nightscape. Try some others, as there are many from his long career.

Hi daddygoth

My partner loves satricical books. I'll try to obtain a copy of American Savior for him. Thanks for your descriptive post re. this one.

67. Brides of the Impaler by Edward Lee -- Lee's books are hit or miss. Well, this one was a big miss. There is little suspense, little gore (which is a trademark of Lee novels) and the sex is ridiculous. There is an eternal buildup to the ending and the ending occurs too quickly. Even though it's not, this one seems like a short story that was expanded to novel length.

68. The Coil by Gayle Lynds -- I really enjoyed this espionage thriller. This is the first Lynds book I read, and even though this is a sequel, I don't feel like I missed anything by not reading the first book. Toward the end, the book began to drag a bit and the big surprise at the end was not a surprise at all. Other than that, a great read that I would recommend to fans of the genre.

Regarding Morrell's other books, I've read a few and remember enjoying all of them. Assumed Identity was a very good read. I don't have Nightscape in my collection, but I do plan to read it eventually.

Assumed Identity is one I agree with you on. The series with The Fraternity of the Stone and League of Night and Fog was also a favorite.

69. Deity the Almighty's Adventures on Earth and Beyond by Vic Mudd -- this is a hilarious novella about God deciding to come to Earth in the form of a teenage boy to see exactly what has gone wrong with his primary creation -- man. There are some very funny scenes, especially those with Satan.

70. Africa Zero by Neal Asher -- this is two novella together with the central character of a cyborg in future Earth. The first novella which involves the tracking of another cyborg was entertaining. The second novella that involved a religious cult was difficult to finish.

71. Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results by Travis Bradberry -- a story told from the viewpoint of a leader of a group of seagulls. This is a book on management and how to deal with the various types of employees, how they view management, etc. Being in a somewhat managerial role myself, most of this made sense and I could see the various employee types in my organization and in similar ones. I thought it was a good read.

72. Scavenger by David Morrell -- a pseudo-sequel to Creepers in that the surviving characters return. However, instead of urban exploring of abandoned sites, the central theme of this one is a scavenger hunt with geocaching. This one was almost as good as the first one, but not quite. I think the early revelation of the villain affected the atmosphere and the villain's methods seemed somewhat Saw-ish (the films) to me, minus the gore. Still, I'd definitely recommend this one.

73. Aegri Somnia edited by Jason Sizemore -- this one had some good horror/sci-fi/dark fantasy stories and some bad ones. None really stood out as excellent and overall, it was just an average anthology.

74. The Amber Room by Steve Berry -- this was my first Berry novel and the first one he had published. Overall, I didn't really care for it. It seemed like he tried to mirror The Da Vinci Code in ways, which was not a book I cared for either. I'm not a big fan of legal fiction, but the part of the novel I enjoyed most was the legal portion at the very beginning. Unless his later books are better, I doubt I'll read another of Berry's novels.

I dodn't realize there was follow-up to Creepers. Yet another for the TBR list...

On the subject of Steve Berry, his Cotton Malone books were better than The Amber Room, but still somewhat run-of-the-mill thrillers. He's rather Rollins-ish, but with more plot twists. I liked both authors as quick reads suitable for airplane rides and beach trips.

congratulations on near completion of the 75 book challenge.

I am with drneutron in that I did not know there was a follow up to Creepers. I will definitely be looking out for that one. Thanks for the recommendation!

drneutron and alcottacre,

I wasn't aware there was a sequel either until I ran across it while looking for other Morrell books I didn't have on an Amazon search.

Whisper1 -- Thanks. I'm aiming for 100 books for the year. Originally when I joined this group, I didn't think it was possible. However, I've had some extra time recently and have caught up. If I can average about seven books a month until the end of the year, I should reach 100.

75. The Atlantis Prophecy by Thomas Greanias - a so-so sequel, to a so-so first book (Raising Atlantis. This one has little to do with Atlantis and is more of an espionage thriller. There is a third book due to be released next year. I'll read it, only to see how the story ends. Both books have been quick reads, so I won't have to invest that much time in it.

congratulations daddygoth on reaching #75 !

Another one joins the club! Congrats!

add my congratulations to the list of well wishers!

Thanks, everyone. On my way to 100...

76. Testament by David Morrell -- what can I say? Another awesome book from Morrell. This was his second book after First Blood and it's gruesome in places, shocking in others, and very well-written. Some complain about the ending, but I didn't have a problem with it. Would most people react the same way? Probably not, but that doesn't mean there was anything wrong with it.

77. Last Reveille by David Morrell -- well, every author has a stinker, and I think this was Morrell's. I never could get into the story, but since it was short, I did manage to finish it, with some skimming toward the end. I don't normally care for novels set in that era and the story simply did nothing for me. This is the only Morrell novel I would not recommend.

78. conspiracy.com by R.J. Pineiro -- I've enjoyed most of Pineiro's books, the majority of them being cyberthrillers. This one was a little farfetched, but it is fiction. Many of his older books now seem outdated since they were written years ago and the technology in them (like the implying of ISDN lines being fast connections -- they were back in 2000 when this was written) isn't cutting edge. His virtual reality project in this one could still be considered cutting edge, but the whole VR project is hokey. Overall, it's another good thriller, if you can get past the outdated items.

#37 daddygoth: Well, for someone like me who is technology challenged, I would not know that anything in the book is outdated, so it would probably work for me. I will have to check it out - I have never read anything by Piniero.

Congrats on 75!!!

It's been a while since I posted anything, because I haven't been reading much. I go through phases where I read several books quickly, then others where I don't want to read anything. Anyway, the recent reads:

79. Firefox by Craig Thomas -- The classic thriller and one of the novels that helped usher in the modern day technothriller. It's a great read, but a little dated.

80. You In? by Kealan Patrick Burke -- a short, but good, chapbook that tells of a security guard who needs a little extra cash. His encounter at his one week job turns out to be more than he expected.

81. The Folks 2 by Ray Garton -- a short novel about a guy's attempt to turn his life around after a serious accident. The family he lives with is "different" and they want revenge on him when he decides he no longer wants to stay with their daughter. I didn't read the first one, but I don't think it's really required as you can guess from the details in this one what happened in the first.

82. Restore from Backup by J. F. Gonzalez and Michael Oliveri -- an excellent chapbook about an out of work IT guy who finds a job with the assistance of a friend. However, there are a number of secrets surrounding the job which the main character begins to discover when something happens to his friend. This reads like an episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. I would recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of the genre.

#40 daddygoth: Restore from Backup sounds like something I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation.

Is Firefox the book on which the Clint Eastwood movie is based?

I liked the Firefox book more than the movie. It might be that I read it before seeing the movie and Eastwood just didn't match my mental image, but I found it more gripping.

Yes, Firefox is the novel on which the Eastwood movie was based. I've only seen bits and pieces of the movie, but like most movies based on novels, I'm sure the movie paled in comparison. I have read the sequel, but plan to do so soon.

I have never seen the movie - I do not care for Clint Eastwood - I was just curious. I will check out the book, though. Thanks for the input guys.

83. The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III - a novel in the Bizzaro horror line that tells of a guy's adventure inside his girlfriend's, um, private area. It's actually a portal to another world. What's in the other world and how the real world interacts with him while he's inside will elicit a chuckle or two. I recommend it for the humor and the uniqueness of the story.

84. Extinction Journals by Jeremy Robert Johnson -- another novel in the Bizzaro line, but I didn't like this nearly as much as The Haunted Vagina. This one is about one of the last of the human race and what happens to him in the post-nuclear era. It's very warped, but the ending was a letdown.

85. Vampire Zero by David Wellington -- the third book in Wellington's vampire series. Officer Claxton hunts the ultimate vampire in this one along with a returning vampire from the previous books. I won't spoil who the ultimate vampire is in case you haven't read 99 Coffins, but I saw this coming a mile away while reading 99 Coffins. Unlike his zombie series, this one doesn't appear to be a trilogy. Like the other two in the series, this one is a great read.

So does "this one doesn't appear to be a trilogy" mean you think there will be more? That would be fantastic!

Based on the ending, and the fact that one major storyline did not reach its conclusion, I would say there is one more book. I don't see how Wellington could stretch it past one more book, but I thought going in that Vampire Zero was the ending to a trilogy. Most of the loose ends were tied up in this one, but not an important one. If you've read 99 Coffins, you'll know the two major storylines that were addressed in this one, with only one reaching a conclusion. I still need to read his online serialized novels as one is a standalone zombie tale and I think another is werewolves (I don't care much for them, but I'll probably read it).

edit:
I just checked his message board and in a post, Wellington states:

"There will be a fourth vampire novel, and I'm not done with Laura Caxton even after that."

So, there you go. A fourth in the series along with a sequel to Frostbite, the aforementioned werewolf novel, which will be published in trade paperback format soon.

86. The Vanishment by Jonathan Aycliffe -- a better than average ghost story from Aycliffe, which is a penname for Daniel Easterman. The author did an admirable job of creating an eerie atmosphere, but the story (and ending) have been told countless times before. Ghosts, possessions, hauntings, etc., there's nothing new here but it's still a worthwhile read.

87. Blasphemy by Douglas Preston -- an average thriller from one half of the Preston and Child duo. This novel will definitely step on some toes, and one group in particular, but I can't be specific as it would be a major spoiler. I had figured out who was behind the entire purpose of the Isbella project, just not the why. A major clue is given in the first third of the book, but I, and I'm sure many others, wouldn't have ever been able to get it without a little research. Overall, it was OK, but I'd recommend The Codex or Tyrannosaur Canyon, or all but the duo's Mount Dragon over this one.

88. The Condemned by David Jack Bell -- a good, somewhat post-apocalyptic tale (as the affected area is one city). The is Bell's debut novel and it's better than many of the recent debut novels I've read. A city is infected and its inhabitants, who only come out at night, aren't all they seem to be. The main character resolves to correct something that happened in his life, and it leads him to get a better understanding about the lives of the affected as well as his own.

Sounds like I would like The Condemned. I will have to keep an eye out for it.

89. Fires of Eden by Dan Simmons -- Most authors couldn't pull this one off as they couldn't write about a talking pig god without it seeming like a comedy. However, Simmons is a always good, sometimes great, author and he did a very good job with this one. This one isn't in the same league as Carrion Comfort, but it's still a good read.

I finally got around to reading *something* the past few weeks. I go through these time frames where I don't really want to read and/or have too many other things to do. It's looking like my goal of 100 for the year might not be achievable, but we'll see.

I read The Terror by Simmons earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on your comments, it looks like I need to delve into his other works as well.

Simmons can be overwhelming unless you are willing to go with the flow, especially in his fantasy/science fiction series starting with Hyperion. But if you want a scary story, try Song of Kali--it was his first, is one of his shortest, and I think of the dozen or so I've read--one of the best.

I enjoyed Song of Kali, but thought that both Fires of Eden and Carrion Comfort were better. The Terror was also a good read, but a bit long and the ending was a bit lacking. Children of the Night was another very good horror novel by Simmons. I've read Ilium and thoroughly enjoyed it, but had a hard time getting into the sequel (Olympos). I haven't read the Hyperion series, but do plan to do so (sometime).

Just remember that the Hyperion series is four novels--and not one of them under 400 pages! I liked Ilium and Olympos a bit better, but that may be because I have a long-standing affinity for the Greek gods. I thoroughly enjoyed The Terror but I was reading it in a freezing basement guest room, so the atmosphere helped! I'd also recently finished two books about Shackleton's expedition, so I had another reference as well. I have to try out Fires of Eden and Carrion Comfort.

Thanks to the both of you, daddygoth and Prop2gether, for your suggestions regarding Simmons work. I will probably start with his Hyperion series as I am definitely more into fantasy/scifi (the 400 page length really does not intimidate me), but will probably at least give the horror novels a try down the road.

Yeah, I'll bet War and Peace doesn't intimidate you...8^}

You know, I never connected the Dan Simmons that wrote The Terror with the Dan Simmons that wrote the Hyperion series until this thread. Duh.

Now I want to find a book that will intimidate alcottacre. Maybe as a group we can come up with one!!

#58 BDB: Somehow, this does not seem like a fair challenge - all of you peoples against little old me!

I can make several suggestions for books that will intimidate me, if you are interested, lol.

Of course it's fair, especially given your voracious reading style!!!! My first thought was to find a book that was in some long-dead, unspoken language. But that would not be fair. Now I'm thinking that we need to get some kind of a extremely obscure and jorgon ladden scientific tome on a truly esoteric subject. Might need the doc's help with this. We'll find something for you!!!

Physical Chemistry by Peter Atkins. It cured any tendency toward insomnia when I was an undergrad.

Classical Electrodynamics by J. D. Jackson. Nearly incomprehensible, but thoroughly covered on any physics graduate school comprehensive exam.

Well it looks like you're going to hit 100 afterall :)

By the end of Simmons Hyperion/Endymion saga I was very tired of the preaching. Is it the same kind of shtik in Iliad?

Wonder if you might like Anne Bishop's Black Jewel series? Have you read it?

Actually, it's a different shtick in Ilium/Olympos. The premise is based on being able to playact in the worlds of the gods--and question whether the gods themselves are real. Maybe because my Greek/Roman myths training was pretty extensive, I had a lot of fun with these books, because even some of the minor ones were involved in the action. Plus a couple of android/robot beings and such--I did enjoy them a great deal more in the reading than the Hyperion saga, which, incidentally, was my introduction to Simmons's work.

#61/62: I am teaching both Chemistry and Physics this year, but I still think I will pass on your reading suggestions in both subjects, if you do not mind. I do not wish to be cured of insomnia (I would never get any reading done at all then!) and I really do not want to read anything totally incomprehensible to a guy with a PhD, when I never even graduated college.

Msg 64 Prop- thx for clearing that up :) I'll go forward without fear -- lol

I love mythology. When I was a kid, middle school, our library had a series on mythologies of the world. I gobbled them up. And our teacher for the Greek & Roman myths did some fantastic stuff which captured, no doubt, the interest of all of us. She didn't have to work that hard with me.

suslyn
If you love mythology, you might want to check out this website. J.W. Waterhouse was a Pre-Raphelite artist. Many of his paintings contain mythological characters, such as Circle, Hylas and the Nymphs, the Danaides, Echo and Narcissis...

http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/

>58 blackdogbooks: BDB I am planning to read three 1000 page books in 2009. alcottacre's assignment is to read them back-to-back!

Shantaram
The Crimson Petal and the White
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norris

Or is that too easy!

Edited to change year from 2008 to 2009!

- TT

If you're planning to finish them in 2008, we better let you get to them! I have several lined up for 2009 as well, but decided not to push too hard before the end of the year:-)

Msg 67 I do whisper, thx.

#68 TT: I have already read both The Crimson Petal and the White and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norris in years past. I have never heard of the third book you listed, however. Could you elucidate?

90. Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child -- I'm a big fan of most of their earlier books (Riptide being by favorite, Mount Dragon being the only one I thought was average). I wasn't too impressed with Brimstone, so I was hesitant to read the next in the Pendergast series. However, this was a very good read and one I'd recommend to others. You don't have to read Brimstone first since its concluding events are summarized at the beginning of this one. I knew this was the second part of a trilogy and it seemed like the authors went in another direction toward the end of this one to ensure there would be a storyline for the third book. Other than that sudden change toward the end, I thought this was the best of their Pendergast books outside of Relic. I'll probably read the third book in the trilogy, The Book of the Dead early next year (too many other books to finish this year in between the holidays).

for what it's worth, I've kept up with the series and liked them for the most part.

I have not read any of the series, although I own Relic and it has been sitting on Continent TBR for a while now. Maybe in January I will actually read it - if I can find it, that is.

> 71 Alcot, my new Manager arrived with a copy of this book - I noticed he was carrying a book and he told me it was Shantaram and he said it was fantastic. He has offered to let me have it when he has finished it!

Checking on LT, many love this book.

Here is the description from Amazon:

Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means "man of God's peace," which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that's only the beginning.
He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident "doctor." With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla’s connections are murky from the outset.

Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some of his prose is downright embarrassing. Throughought the novel, however, all 944 pages of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy with a tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but a basically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldier of fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for the prequel and the sequel. --Valerie Ryan

- TT

Relic is a pretty good thriller/adventure. Though I have to say, I enjoyed Preston's non-fiction book The Monster of Florence much more than I did the novel. I have one other by Preston and Child and I am going to give it a go someday and see if their novels grow on me.

Sounds like Shantaram is definitely one I need to watch out for. Thanks for the info and the recommendation!

Well, I finally got around to some serious reading this past week. We took a week to give large sums of money to the Great Orlando Rat, but I had plenty of time to read in the evenings while everyone was asleep.

91. Gone South by Robert McCammon -- another very good book by McCammon. It's not horror, or coming of age (like Boy's Life), but more of a thriller. As always, McCammon is a great storyteller and up until the end, this was a great novel. However, the ending was predictable and not handled well in my opinion. I'd still recommend it to others, just not as much as I would many of his others.

92. Shadow Account by Stephen Frey -- this is the second Frey novel I've read, and like the first, it's an entertaining Wall Street based thriller. I think Frey was noted by a reviewer as the Grisham of the Wall Street thriller world and I think that's an accurate description. My only knock on Frey is that his characters throughout his books (I read #3 later and described below) are similar and some names are reused. Some themes such as affairs and double identities are common and sometime done in the same manner. Overall, I did like this one and would recommend it. It is weird now to see mention of all the large investment firms that have collapsed in the past year.

93. The Legacy by Stephen Frey -- my third Frey novel and it's on par with Shadow Account. This one involves a second tape of the Kennedy assassination and the hunt to keep it out of the media. The hero is somewhat unbelievable, like all of Frey's main characters, but the story is entertaining. Note my comments about the similarities of Frey's works above.

94. Dead Lines by John Skipp and Craig Spector -- one of the duos horror novels from the splatterpunk era of the late 80's/early 90's. With Skipp and Spector, it's hit or miss with me. I really enjoyed The Bridge, didn't like Skipp's The Long Last Call, and didn't care for this novel of possession either. I'd recommend skipping this one.

I'll probably add #95 later tonight as I've almost finished that one. I might make it to 100 for the year after all.

95. The Mask of Atreus by A.J. Hartley -- a decent thriller that involves a long buried secret, a series of murders related to the secret in modern day, and the unraveling of the mystery of the secret item(s). I liked the premise and the first 3/4 of the book was worthwhile, but it seemed to fall apart at the end. The conclusion seemed a bit rushed, the identity of the big baddie was no surprise, and the ultimate revelation of the secret wasn't shocking. Overall, an average read, but not one I'd really recommend.

#79 daddygoth: Hope the trip to Orlando was worth it (even if it was just for the kid's sake). Sorry about how The Mask of Atreus turned out - it sounded like something I might be interested in, but I hate when the author tells a good story and then the end falls flat.

>77 alcottacre: Stasia, I am 80 pages into Shantaram. Roberts can certainly write! Mesmerising detail, the sights, the smells, the sounds and the people of Bombay are delineated with startling clarity. I read some to Mrs. T and she cried and begged me to stop! Only 800 pages to go!

- TT

#81 TT: Your mission, Tortoise, if you choose to accept it, is to read the book before it explodes and report back fully on said reading.

#80 - Yes, we enjoyed the trip. The Orlando Rat enjoyed it more. It's amazing how commercialized the parks are now. They always have been, but it's insane now. After many of the rides, they have you exit through a gift shop to entice you with overpriced, imported crap. We let the boys pick out a few things, but not the bag after bag full of junk that we saw some people carrying around with them.

>82 alcottacre: Mission Impossible accepted, Stasia - haring off to read it - at a Tortoise pace of course!

- TT

96. Kindred by John Gideon -- an average horror novel advertised as a vampire novel, even though it's not a traditional vampire. The first third of the book is backstory from the main character's time in Vietnam and is excellent. His encounters and decisions then helped to mold his modern day character. As the modern day events are told, the book becomes tedious for about a third of the book. The final third deals with his modern day decisions and concludes with the typical battle at the end. I wouldn't recommend the novel as a whole due to the tedious middle third.

I think I read one of Gideon's other books (Golden Eyes), but it's been so many years that I can't remember. It must not have left much of an impression on me, just like this book.

#85 daddygoth: OK, gotcha - one not to read. I do not seem to run into too many of those!

97. Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn -- Flynn's tenth book and the ninth featuring Mitch Rapp. While many didn't care for this one, due to the introduction of a new character (Mike Nash) and the lack of action as compared to previous Rapp novels, I really enjoyed this one. Nash isn't on Rapp's level of super soldier/spy, but the character (unless Flynn decides to use him as fodder later) shows promise. There are more backstage politics in this one than previous novels, and that takes the place of the action-oriented style of the other books. As with all Flynn novels, he leaves it open for the continuing saga, but the rules have changed for the future.

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that Rapp was portrayed as overly aggravated throughout most of the novel. I understand that it was to show the importance of his methods and what he was trying to accomplish, but Flynn went a little overboard with it at times.

I liked this one more than many of his recent novels, but I still prefer Brad Thor's novels a little more than Flynn's because his Rapp character had grown a little stale in the past few books. Deflecting some of that attention to the new character help to alleviate some of the staleness.

#87: David, It does seem that the longer an author writes a character, the more stale that character becomes unless the character grows in some way. I have seen it numerous times in some of the mystery series that I read. Keeping a character fresh must be one of the toughest jobs writers have in writing series.

Yes, very few authors can keep a recurring character fresh. R.A. Salvatore did well with his dark elf character Drizzt for a while, but either the character and/or stories have become stale and repetitive to me. Brad Thor's Scot Harvath is still fairly fresh, but I think that's due to the large number of complementary characters, including recurring villains, in Thor's books. Agatha Christie's Poirot and Marple stayed fresh, but I feel that was due to the story not really being centered on them, but the various mysteries with which they were involved. James Rollins Sigma Force has become somewhat stale to me and his attempt to breath some life into the group through an attempted change two books ago was promptly reversed in the most recent one. I used to be a big Cussler fan, but haven't read any of his recent ones because many reviews I've read said that Dirk Pitt has become repetitive. However, in the case of Pitt, the character has aged appropriately through the years, unlike many recurring characters.

98. The Day Before Midnight by Stephen Hunter. This was my first Hunter novel and it does not involve his main character from many of his other works. Those books just don't seem intriguing to me, but this one did. An enemy commando group kidnaps someone to help them launch a missile from a nuclear complex. Their plan had been devised well in advance and not only are they inside a near impenetrable fortress, but they have commandos outside with automatic weaponry, Stinger missiles, etc. to help keep the good guys (Delta force, National Guard, tunnel rats) at bay while they attempt to launch the missile. The action is intense and non-stop and no characters are off limits when it comes to safety. By the end, the death count is high on both sides. The ending was superb and intense in many ways. I'd definitely recommend this one to fans of technothrillers, action-filled books and pre-Armageddon works.

Book 98 sounds pretty good! thx.

It does sound good. On to Continent TBR it goes!

99. The Wyrmling Horde by David Farland -- the seventh book in the seemingly unending Runelords series. While an average read, I think this one could have been combined with book 6 and had 40% of their combined length removed to make one, albeit longer, novel that didn't seem to wander aimlessly at times. This series, like many fantasy series published by TOR, just keeps going and going. Granted, book 4 seemed a bit rushed, but it did essentially close the saga. With book 5 to the present, they deal with the children and other descendants of the main characters from the first four books. The big baddie in this is finally one that holds a candle to the main one in the first four (Raj Ahten).

The theme of transferring abilities (called endowments) has grown a bit stale, but a few new techniques were introduced in this one. One of them was pertinent to the story, the other just seemed to be a waste based on what soon happened to the characters involved (can't say more without spoiling). This book doesn't really advance the story much as the heroes try to rectify the situation that happened at the end of book 6. Some characters take many endowments, which compromised their beliefs, only to find they didn't have the effect they desired. The book ends with another battle with a little baddie, yet nothing is really resolved as it seems like everything is about to returned to the way it was when it started.

If you've read the first six books, you need to read this one as well just to see what does happen and to form your own opinion. I think Farland needs to wrap up the series with book 8, but I can't see him doing that for two reasons -- there are too many loose ends to tie up and TOR is notorious for asking their popular fantasy authors to milk their storylines for as long as possible. I would guess that this will end up being a 9 or 10 book series, unless TOR throws more money his way and the next part of the saga deals with the descendants of the characters in the (hopefully resolved soon) merged worlds.

Here it is, the big:

100. Santa Steps Out by Robert Devereaux -- a simple, family oriented novel about jolly old St. Nick... Ha, not even close! This twisted book, labeled as "A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups" on the cover, is just that. Santa strays from his centuries long wife, has a tryst with the Tooth Fairy for years, the Easter Bunny is a voyeur, Mrs. Claus gets her revenge via some elven lovin', etc. The owners of the Rudolph copyright would not permit his incorporation into the novel. It's easy to see why, based on the usage of Santa's lead reindeer in the story.

Hide the kiddies because this one is definitely not for them. It's labeled as horror, but it's really more along the lines of dark fantasy. The scenes before the epilogue (God has his revenge) were a bit slow, but other than that, this one was a hoot throughout.

go you with your bad self!

101. The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons -- a gothic/haunted house story that has been mentioned several times in the horror group here, I thought I'd give it a shot. It was good, but not great. The little twist at the end was nice, and I enjoyed the stories about the second and third families that inhabited the house. I didn't care for the first story involving the daddy's girl/princess. I'd probably recommend it to someone who wanted to read a haunted house story.

102. Vertical Run by Joseph Garber -- a non-stop action book that was a great read. The main character gets up, goes through his morning routine, heads to work, and is confronted by his boss who tries to kill him. From there, it's a non-stop chase as everyone, including longtime friends and his wife, seemingly is out to kill him. I think one of the interior blurbs mentioned Die Hard and I guess that would be a good way to describe it.

#97: David, sounds like Vertical Run is a fun read. I will have to give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

Stasia, Vertical Run is one I'd definitely recommend. It's also a quick read, so for you that would be a really quick read :-D

103. V: The Original Miniseries by AC Crispin and Kenneth Johnson -- this is the first half of the original novelization of the miniseries from 1983. I thought that Johnson might have updated it a bit, but he didn't. There are references to top of the line Betamax, Walkmans, Dan Rather giving a broadcast, terms like "grody", etc. The ending was changed, because Johnson had no involvement with the second miniseries (V: The Final Battle). I'm sure he wrote it to tie into his sequel from last year (V: The Second Generation) since it totally ignores the second miniseries and the (awful) TV series. I haven't read that one yet, but I'm on the wait list for it at my local library. If you've seen the original TV series or read the original Crispin book (and remember what happened), you could skip to the epilogue of this one to see the different ending.

104. Redemption by Brian Keene and Shane Staley -- the first digital book/novella produced by Horror Mall. This excellent tale involves a father who has lost his child and performs a never-ending search to find him, although he fears/knows in his heart he is dead. A character named Mellick talks to him of his future as an agent of God to expose and deliver justice to evil persons, but while searching for his son, he lets the rest of life pass him by. This is an excellent novella, part horror, part mystery, part thriller.

#101: David, you mention that Redemption is a digital book - do you have to have a Kindle or some such device, or is it something that can be downloaded on to a computer? It sounds like a novella I would like to read.

Redemption is a downloadable .pdf file ($4.95), but in order to read it, there is some security built in where you must read it on that PC/IP address. I'm not familiar with the technology, but supposedly since it's IP based, if they see it opened elsewhere, your account will be deleted and the file cannot be opened again. Understandably, it's to prevent someone from buying a copy, then sending it to all their friends and so forth. Horror-mall.com will have all the details. They have a few other downloadable items as well, but I think the rest are individual short stories at $1.95 each.

OK, thanks for the info. I might give it a try.

BTW - Have you read World War Z yet? I think you would like it.

I tried reading it, made it about a third of the way through, then dropped it. Something just didn't click with that one. I've thought about finishing it, to see if it improves, but haven't gotten around to it.

105. Dead Man's Song by Jonathan Maberry -- the second book in Maberry's Deep Pines trilogy. I enjoyed this one as much as the first one (Ghost Road Blues) and the true nature of the horror surrounding the small town is finally started to be revealed, but it's not surprising. Like the first one, it's a little long and the third book, Bad Moon Rising, is even longer. I'll probably finish the trilogy early next year. I really like the series and would recommend it to others, if they have the time to read three 500-600 pages books.

#105: That's too bad. I loved it. Different strokes, I guess. If we all liked the same things, then where would we be?

I will have to look for the Maberry books. My local library does not have them (I already checked with your mention of the first one), so I will have to go further afield.

106. Embryo by Charles Wilson -- a thriller involving the creation of a baby totally outside the womb. The premise was intriguing, but some of the characters were bland, the middle third of the story was slow and the ending, including the scene on the last page was very predictable and cliche. Overall, it was an average read, but not one I'd recommend to others.

A 2+ hour wait at the doctor's office allowed me to read a good chunk of this book today. It made the wait tolerable. I guess.