[HarryT]

1st Jan: "Personal", by Lee Child.

The 19th book in the "Jack Reacher" series, and an enjoyable romp, as always. This one sees Reacher on the trail of an assassin targetting a meeting of the G20 in London. Recommended.

3rd Jan: "The Egyptian Book of the Dead", by E.A. Wallace Budge.

Part of my on-going (and VERY long term!) project to read all the Penguin Classics. The Book of the Dead is a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary "spells" to provide the deceased person with the information required to safely navigate the perils of the underworld and reach the "Field of Reeds" - a heavenly analogue of Egypt - where he or she could spend eternity in an idyllic existence while other people did all the work . Fascinating, although definitely not a book to read from cover to cover in a single read. Next on the list is "The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse", which will be something completely different and new to me.

3rd Jan: "Bedlam's Edge", by Mercedes Lackey and others.

A collection of short stories set in the world of elves, bards, etc, encountered in her "Bedlam's Bard" and "Serrated Eges" series. Bought from Baen in 2005, and very enjoyable.

6th Jan: Gently Floating", by Alan Hunter.

The 11th book in the "George Gently" series. This one has Gently investigating the murder of the owner of a boatyard on the Norfolk Broads. Enjoyable, as always. Highly recommended.

Been away on a long trip, during which I read the following:

"The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse", by T. Carmi.
Books 19.5, 20, 21, 22 of the "Jack Reacher" series.
"Crocodile on the Sandbank" by Elizabeth Peters.
"Music to my Sorrow", by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill.
"Twilight at the Well of Souls", by Jack L. Chalker.
"Old Soldiers", by David Weber.
"Bridge of the Separator" by Harry Turtledove.

5th Feb: "The Cross-time Engineer" by Leo Frankowski.

This comprises the first third of the Baen "Conrad Starguard" omnibus that I bought in 2004. A very enjoyable time travel romp about a young engineer accidentally transported back to 13th century Poland, and his attempts to kick-start an early industrial revolution to hold off the Mongol invasion he knows will be coming in a few years' time. Extremely enjoyable.

6th Feb: "Past Tense", by Lee Child.

I'm now completely up-to-date with the Jack Reacher series, which I've very much enjoyed.

7th Feb: "The High-Tech Knight" by Leo Frankowski.

This comprises the middle third of the Baen "Conrad Starguard" omnibus that I bought in 2004, and continues the story of a young engineer accidentally transported back to 13th century Poland, and his attempts to kick-start an early industrial revolution to hold off the Mongol invasion he knows will be coming in a few years' time. Extremely enjoyable.

8th Feb: "Crisis", by Felix Francis.

His latest release. Set, as always, in the world of horse racing, this one features a "trouble shooter" hired by a wealthy Arab Sheikh to investigate the death of one of his best horses at a fire at a training stable in Newmarket. Excellent, and highly recommended. I actually borrowed this one from the library because the ebook is still too expensive. Doubtless the price will fall when the paperback is released later this year.

8th Feb: "The Radiant Warrior" by Leo Frankowski.

This comprises the final third of the Baen "Conrad Starguard" omnibus that I bought in 2004. A very enjoyable time travel romp about a young engineer accidentally transported back to 13th century Poland, and his attempts to kick-start an early industrial revolution to hold off the Mongol invasion he knows will be coming in a few years' time. Extremely enjoyable.

12th Feb: "Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds.

The first book of his that I've read, and a very enjoyable example of hard SF "space opera" on an epic scale.

Amazon description:

Nine hundred thousand years ago, something wiped out the Amarantin. For the human colonists now settling the Amarantin homeworld Resurgam, it's of little more than academic interest, even after the discovery of a long-hidden, almost perfect Amarantin city and a colossal statue of a winged Amarantin. For brilliant but ruthless scientist Dan Sylveste, it's more than merelty intellectual curiosity - and he will stop at nothing to get at the truth. Even if the truth costs him everything. But the Amarantin were wiped out for a reason, and that danger is closer and greater than even Syveste imagines ...

Highly recommended. My only complaint is the rather lax editing of the book. Numerous typos, and in several places the protagonist "Dan" becomes "Don".

13th Feb: "The Flying Warlord", by Leo Frankowski.

This is the 4th book in the "Conrad Stargard" series, and comprises the first third of the Baen omnibus called "Conrad's Lady" that I bought in 2005. A very good time-travel romp. Recommended.

14th Feb: "Gently Sahib", by Alan Hunter.

The 12th book in the George Gently series. This was an excellent read: Gently is called in to investigate when a local man (who turns out to have been a blackmailer) is eaten by a tiger in a small English village. There's no shortage of suspects - all the blackmailer's victims - but can Gently persuade anyone to tell the truth? Very good indeed, and not just for the creative use of a tiger as a murder weapon

15th Feb: "Conrad's Lady" by Leo Frankowski.

The 5th book in the "Conrad Stargard" series, and the middle third of the Baen omnibus which is also called "Conrad's Lady". Excellent time-travel story. Highly recommended!

22nd Feb: My recent reading:

"Chasm City" by Alastair Reynolds. The 2nd book of the "Revelation Space" series, and expands into a whole book a minor point in the first book. I thought this was way better than the first book, "Revelation Space". That, though, was his first book, so he'd gained considerable expertise in his craft by the second book. This book was also free of the typos which plagued the first book.

Amazon description:

Tanner Mirabel was a security specialist who never made a mistake - until the day a woman in his care was blown away by Argent Reivich, a vengeful young postmortal. Tanner's pursuit of Reivich takes him across light-years of space to Chasm City, the domed human settlement on the otherwise inhospitable planet of Yellowstone.

But Chasm City is not what it was. The one time high-tech utopia has become a Gothic nightmare: a nanotechnological virus has corrupted the city's inhabitants as thoroughly as it has the buildings and machines. Before the chase is done, Tanner will have to confront truths which reach back centuries, towards deep space and an atrocity history barely remembers.

Very highly recommended!

I've also read the first two books of the "Radio Boys" series, published by Grosset and Dunlap in 1922, and downloaded from the MR library. Classic early 20th century American juvenile fiction (which I have a liking for) set against the backdrop of early experiments with radio. The usual formula of clean-living "wide awake" (an adjective much in vogue at the time, it seems!) American boys having adventures against a backdrop of the classic "school bully", local villains, etc. The publisher's description of the series is:

Here is a series that gives full details of radio work both in sending and receiving--how large and small sets can be made and operated, and with this real information there are stories about the Radio Boys and their adventures. Each story is a record of thrilling adventures--rescues, narrow escapes from death, daring exploits in which radio play a main part. Each volume is so thoroughly fascinating, so strictly up-to-date, and accurate that all modern boys will peruse them with delight. Each volume has a forward by Jack Binns, the well known radio expert.

The books make it clear just how amazing the idea of radio was to a world which had never encountered it before. Imagine living in a small town all your life, and suddenly being able to hear an orchestral concert or the commentary of a baseball game from a city hundreds of miles away. It was completely revolutionary!

The first two books are "The Radio Boys' First Wireless" and "The Radio Boys at Ocean Point". Great fun!

23rd Feb: "Conrad's Quest for Rubber" by Leo Frankowski.

This is the 6th book in the "Conrad Stargard" series, and comprises the final third of the Baen omnibus titled "Conrad's Lady".

I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as the previous books in the series; it seems to have been written almost as a "filler". The first half of the book essentially repeats the events of the earlier books in the series from the viewpoint of a Polish peasant, and the second half of the book is a story of an expedition to South America to find rubber (hence the title).

If you've bought the omnibus, it's an engaging way to spend an afternoon, but not worth buying on its own, for me.

25th Feb: “The Radio Boys at the Sending Station”, by Allen Chapman

Downloaded from the MR library. The third book in the “Radio Boys” series. Very enjoyable early 20th century juvenile fiction.

4th Mar: “Through Fiery Trials”, by David Weber. The 10th book of the “Safehold” series.

There are virtually no books I’m willing to pay hardback prices for, but this series is an exception. The story carries on from book 9 in which the long-running war against the Church of God Awakening had finally been won, and rapidly moves the plot forward in major ways, ending with a huge cliffhanger! This was, for me, probably the best book in the series since the first one and the storyline has really been re-energised now that the seemingly endless war that’s dominated the last half dozen books is finally over. I can’t wait for the next instalment! Very, very highly recommended, although most people will probably want to wait for the price reduction which will accompany the MMPC release.

23rd Mar: "The Witches of Karres" by James H.Schmitz

Bought from Baen in 2005. I've read Schmitz's "Hub Federation" short stories (again published by Baen) previously and been moderately entertained by them, but no more. This novel, though, I enjoyed enormously. His best work by far, to my mind. Very highly recommended!

10th Apr: "The Wizard of Karres", by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer.

This is a direct sequel to "The Witches of Karres" by James Schmidtz, and in fact follows immediately on from it, so definitely not a book to read unless you've read the earlier book first.

I was slightly dubious about the idea of a sequel written by other authors, but this was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed the Schmitz book and this one was, if anything, even better. Very, very highly recommended, but only if you've read Schmidtz's book first!

11 Apr: "The Judas Pair", by Jonathan Gash.

The first book in the "Lovejoy" series. I enjoyed this very much indeed, although Lovejoy is not a very nice man at all (eg in the first couple of pages of the book he punches his girlfriend to the ground because she interrupts him while he's on the 'phone). In this book, Lovejoy (an antiques dealer, in base anyone is unfamiliar with the series) is commissioned to try to locate a pair of flintlock duelling pistols whose previous owner has died in mysterious circumstances.

There was a very popular TV series based on these books made by the BBC which ran for 6 series between 1986 and 1994, which I have fond memories of. This book very much captured the same atmosphere.

I look forward very much to reading further books in the series.

17th Apr: "Blackcollar" by Timothy Zahn.

Bought from Baen in 2006. This is the first half of an omnibus edition of the same name. Amazon description:

The blackcollars-an elite, genetically enhanced fighting force-may be humanity's only hope. Decades after a successful invasion of Earth and the Terran Democratic Empire by the Ryqril-hostile, leathery-skinned aliens-resistance fighter Allen Caine is training for an undercover mission. He will assume the identity of an aide to the senate-part of the government that colludes with the invaders. But when the mission begins earlier than planned, Caine finds himself stuck on the off-planet outpost of Plinry with no idea of what awaits. He's responsible for the most important mission undertaken by the resistance in twenty years, and when the operation goes awry, Caine's only hope is to locate Plinry's so-called blackcollars-the elusive, martial arts-trained guerilla force whose wartime resistance efforts are legendary. With his life and the freedom of everyone in the TDE on the line, Caine's success will depend on whether or not he can find them. . . .

Excellent military SF. Unfortunately this is one of many books originally published by Baen that are no longer available to new purchasers, although I see that it's now available as an ebook from Open Road.

Total books completed: 33