Premise:  John Slocum, an essentially honorable man, but an inveterate wanderer who has an eye for the ladies, lives on the fringes of the law and finds himself caught up in adventures in the old west, usually once or twice a month.

Story:  Slocum, working temporarily for a rancher, in the process of tracking down rustlers who have stolen cattle and horses from his employer, discovers that this incursion is only the latest outgrowth of a lang running feud between his employer and a neighboring rancher.  He subsequently learns that the neighbor has resorted to hiring rustlers as payback for Slocum's employer hiring a local woman, a reputed witch, to curse his ranch.  When Slocum encourages his employer to meet with the neighbor, in the nearby town of Westlake, with the local sheriff acting as mediator, Slocum finds himself thrown into jail.  While there, he encounters Minh, the eponymous "Witch of Westlake".  Subsequently discovering that his employer was complicit in Slocum's imprisonment, and that the local sheriff is clandestinely offering a bounty for someone to kill Minh, Slocum and Minh decide to collaborate to create the appearance of fulfilling the desires of both ranchers, and of the sheriff, in order to raise enough of a stake to move on to another town.

Positives:

• As with the other Slocum novels I've read, Slocum is an appealing character:  essentially honorable, dubious of authority, defender of those who are being set upon -- but not above looking out for his personal interests at the same time.
• The action sequences have good pacing and are told in a clear enough way that you can follow what is going on.  That is, admittedly, not the kind of thing that most people are aware of, if its done right, but the kind of thing that is, all too frequently, done poorly.
• The character of Minh has a pleasing ambiguity about her:  she isn't entirely a heroine, but neither is she, entirely, a villain, either.

• Although a good story, its not exactly a page turner:  there isn't a lot of narrative momentum.
• Besides Slocum, Minh, and "Mack", one of the ranchhands, the characters are little more than stereotypes
• I had difficulty buying that Slocum would forgive Minh when she maniputated him into a particular situation, in order to set herself up in a new business in the new town to which they both relocate at the end of the story.

Assessment:  Taken as a whole, this book was a fun read.  The major characters are appealling and its entertaining to see how they address their problems and work out solutions, both individually, and together.

Conclusion:  Recommended.

Buuuuut .... I do like a nice, noirish mystery thriller.

I think I saw a preview for this on Scribd, and, on the promise that this wasn't another soppy vampire romance, I decided to download an excerpt, and give it a shot.

It says something that after reading the first two or three chapters in the excerpt, I immediately had to get a copy of it.

So, with no further ado, lets go through the usual breakdown:

Premise:  Raylene Pendle, a professional thief, also happens to be a nearly century-old vampire.  Independently wealthy from her long history of thefts, she stays in the business mostly for the challenge and gamesmanship.  She is a loner who, unlike most vampires does not belong to a "house", like most vampires.

Story:  She is surprised when she is contacted by another lone vampire, Ian, requesting her services.  it develops that Ian had been captured by a secret government project and subjected to experiments which have left him blinded.  He has been in contact with a doctor who might be able to restore some of his sight, if only he can provide the original documentation, which is held in keeping in a secure government warehouse.  Who better to obtain it, than a professional theif like Raylene?

Shortly after meeting with Ian, Raylene finds out that a warehouse she owns has been invaded.  She captures, questions, and then dispatches the invader.  She decides to investigate the organization that apparently lies behind this invasion.

Positives:

• The writing is smooth, the story-telling, taut
• Raylene becomes alive as a compelling, flawed, appealing character.
• Subsidiary characters also become quit convincing -- especially an ex-military drag queen who calls himself "Sister Rose", who has been investigating the disappearance of his sister, who was also a vampire, and proceeds to lend invaluable assistance to Raylene in her subsequent adventures
• This book is *really* hard to put down.  I found myself picking it up whenever I could in the course of the week to discover how Raylene got herself out of a given fix -- which, inevitably, led to her getting into a worse fix
• There is a good deal of humor in the story, with Raylenes wiseass commentary about herself, other people, and events, given in first-person narration.
• Finally, the author pulls a clever trick here, which is really very difficult to pull off:  "transparency".  This is when the subjective voice of the narrator belies something that is obvious to the reader that the character does not, themselves, realize.  In this case, Raylene likes to self-dramatize herself as being tough and jaded, but, from her own description, it becomes evident that she has a soft spot for those  who are outsiders or otherwise marginalized.
• The transparency would be striking on its own, but the author also manages to make Raylene a dynamic character -- she is significantly changed and affected by the events of the story.

Negatives

The one thing that kind of bothered me about the main character was the cavalier way she dispatched human life -- even in circumstances where it was not really necessitated by concerns for self defense or the safety of others

Evaluation

All in all, an engaging story, well told, with a surprising level of literary skill for a genre novel.  It says something that I am looking forward to reading the next entry in the series -- and am only holding off until my schedule is a little freer, so I don't end up shirking responsibilities to find out "what's gonna happen next!?"

Assessment

Recommended!  I highly enjoyed this.  If you like action/adventure/investigation stories, you will find this an entertaining page turner.

(Buuuuuut -- if what you are in the market for is a soppy, romantic vampire story -- better to look elsewhere!)

Other Reviews of this Book

http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/08/review-bloodshot-cheshire-red-1-by-cherie-priest.html
http://myguiltyobsession.blogspot.com/2011/08/bloodshot-cheshire-red-reports-1-by.html

 So .... When last I posted, I was writing about the various series of detective stories I've read.

It strikes me that there may be some merit in comparing the Sherlock Holmes stories, which set the standard, to their closest rival, the Martin Hewitt Stories.  

It seems all the more apt to compare each character's premier short story, for reasons that should become evident.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -- A.C. Doyle 

Scandal in Bohemia

Premise:  Brilliant consulting detective takes on the cases which Scotland Yard refers to him, which they can't solve, as well as taking on private clients.

Story:  The King of Bohemia asks Sherlock Holmes to obtain an incriminating photo of him with the adventuress, Irene Adler, with which the King believes that she plans to blackmail him, on the eve of his forthcoming nuptials with a woman of his own station.

Positives

• The story has tremendous pace -- I've read it a number of times before, but I still found myself pulled into the story.
• The main characters -- Holmes, Watson, and Irene Adler are brought, effectively, to life.
• The way that Holmes solves the major problem, of determining the location of the incriminating photograph, is quite ingenious
• It was quite daring of Doyle to make the first Holmes short story be one where his sleuth is, technically, defeated -- and by a woman, no less!

Negatives

• The opening page or two are a bit discursive, by todays standards:  It takes a bit for the plot to get started.
• Other than Sherlock's inferences about Doctor Watson's recent activities, there is, actually, no real mystery in this mystery story:  we know that Irene Adler is blackmailing the King from the start.  The only real puzzle is figuring out where she is hiding the photo.

Evaluation:  With the exception of the lack of a true mystery, this is still a fun story, that stands up to multiple readings.  The characters of Watson and Holmes are fully formed and credible.  The plotting is exemplary -- literally -- when I was in college, the Professor in Lit 101 assigned this story the first week because, although she was evidently embarrassed to have us read something that was so "pop culture", it was a perfect example for discussing the traditional pattern of short stories:  exposition, conflict, development, complication, resolution and denouement.

Assessment:  Recommended.  Classic short story that stands up to multiple re-reading.

Positives:

• Martin Hewitt comes across as a believable, appealing character.
• The story has a good pace, and a smooth prose style
• The story is entertaining and clever

• Like the Holmes story, the first page or show is discursive -- describing how Hewitt came into his current career and his relationship with the narrator, before plunging into the story.
• All the characters besides Hewitt are pretty stereotypical.
• I anticipated the solution (but still enjoyed the story).
• One or two pieces of evidence were withheld from the reader until Hewitt provided the solution

Assessment:  Recommended!

Comparison:  Often  Hewitt is often dismissed as a mere "Holmes clone", the principle similarities between the two characters is that they both solve problems by use of keen observation and insight.  Otherwise, they are very different, indeed:  Whereas Holmes is lean, eccentric, patrician in manner and bohemian in habits, and, working out of his home, doesn't seem to regard his work as a  job, but more of a past-time, Hewitt is hearty in appearance, even-tempered, and works from an office, where he clearly sees his detective work as a business.

This story does show some influence from Doyle, however, with the concern about a theft and the effect on the client's public esteem being similar to Scandal in Bohemia.  There is, moreover, a very obvious borrowing from {SPOILER ... highlight at your peril} the Scarlet Band, given the manner the criminal agency {End Spoiler}.

However, I actually find Hewitt is some ways more appealing and believable than Holmes.

 Its been a while since I've posted here.

I know my posts are, at best, sporadic, but, having been fairly conscientious lately, I thought I'd explain the recent lack of posts to my steadfast readers, and give you some indication of what is, likely, forthcoming.

I recently reviewed 2 Ed McBain 57th Precinct novels, and greatly enjoyed them.

When I was told that these are best enjoyed if they are read in order, I thought I'd make a little project of that.  Having started with the 7th book in the series, Lady Killer, I went back to the first book of the series, Cop Hater.

I really enjoyed that, so I went on Amazon and bought the 2nd book, The Mugger, in paperback.

And I haven't gotten any further, for one simple reason.

Its in print, and, at 49, I'm finding that its more difficult into reading print books if I don't have ideal lighting situation.  

Instead, I've been doing a lot more reading via an ebook reader, which has the advantage that I can resize the type on the fly to a size that is comfortable, given the ambient lighting conditions wherever I am.  I was fortunate to be able to obtain the other two book in e-book editions, but I haven't found the 2nd book available, as yet, in that format.

So, I *am* planning to get back to the 87th Precinct -- with summer approaching, I might find a few lazy, well-lit afternoons to return to the squadroom of the 87th Precinct.

In the meantime, I have found a number of good Victorian/Edwardian detective stories, which I have been consuming with gusto:

Arthur Morrison came up from the lower classes, and wrote a number of works describing the lot of the poor. He became a regular writer for the Strand Magazine, so when Arthur Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes, Morrison seized the opportunity to create his own detective, Martin Hewitt. Hewitt is, in some ways, the opposite of Sherlock Holmes: he's well fed instead of scrawny, he cooperates amiably with the police, instead of holding them in contempt. I also appreciate that the stories are a little more *gritty* than the Sherlock Holmes stories -- Hewitt is as likely to help middle-class people as gentry, (without the condescension that Holmes evidenced for the petite bourgeois), and clearly does his investigations as much for the money as the satisfaction -- in a couple stories, he holds off beginning an investigation until he's sure his fees will be met.

Here are a couple links to the first two volumes of short stories:

http://www.manybooks.net/titles/morrisona1125211252-8.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=9JI7AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=chronicles+of+martin+hewitt&source=bl&ots=SuiLTIi3L-&sig=06Y6bOWLvDwQP8gRtemoaUNj-QM&hl=en&ei=nnCwTcDOOZP6sAPh6fX3Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

I've also read a couple volumes of Edgar Wallace's "J.G. Reeder". Reeder is an investigator for the Prosecutors office, who often gets to malefactors before the police because, as he states, he has the misfortune to "think like a criminal". So far, I've only read the first book -- I think there might be two or three more:

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200891.txt

Finally, I just started reading the "Old Man in the Corner" by Baroness Orczy. He is a proto-typical "armchair detective", who mostly gathers his information about criminal cases from the newspapers, and shares his insights as to who *really* committed crimes which have puzzled the police with a young woman journalist who frequents his favorite cafe'. Rather an ambiguous figure, since he admits that he's unwilling to share his insights with the police if he is impressed with how *cleverly* the crime has been committed:

http://www.manybooks.net/titles/orczybar1055610556-8.html

All of these are fun, intellectually stimulating, reads.

In the weeks to come, until I can get back to the 87th Precinct, I think I'll start reviewing, and maybe comparing, stories from these varying series.

In the meantime, check out those links, and good reading!
 

Story:  The Doctor and Amy arrive in New York city just as something unusual is occuring:  an exhibit of a preserved mammoth has come alive, in the museum of natural history.

The Doctor and Amy proceed to investigate and discover {spoiler -- highlight at your peril} that the mammoth is, effectively, a Trojan horse, concealing an invasion force of small aliens.

This invasion force is *very* speedy -- faster than the human eye can track -- very disciplined, and very effective.  They soon have Manhattan sealed off.  The Doctor and Amy have to figure out their invasion plan, and stop it, in a brief amount of time.

Positives:

• The story moves at a quick pace.
• The dialogue and characterization are consistent with the characters as portrayed in the TV show.

Negatives:

• I suspect that the writer has previously written primarily for visual media:  he often will suddenly reveal something crucial in the environment that a character suddenly is interacting with -- which wasn't even *hinted* at before.  Its rather the inverse of Checkov's principle:  he suddenly have the proverbial gun going off, without ever having mentioned it before.  In a collaborative, visual media, this wouldn't be a problem -- the scenic designer or artist would insert those kind of details.  But in a narrative work, every time that occurs, it throws me out of the story, as I wonder "where did *that* suddenly come from?
• The antagonists are a little too comical and absurd to take seriously as a threat.

Evaluation:  To the good, the action of the story was constant enough that it kept me reading along.  However, the errors in story telling and the crude humor frequently challenged my suspension of disbelief.

Assessment:  For only the second time here, I can't recommend this novel.  The writing is very, very poor.  

However, I've read some other Doctor Who novels, and most of them are quite entertaining.

I'll be recommending some good ones, shortly!

• Wed, 22:08: Amusing video of a cat and dolphins playing together http://huff.to/hhJVOG via @huffingtonpost

• Mon, 02:49: Rain. Wind. Cold. Nice night to be home with my wife, some good single malt whisky and quality TV from the BBC.
• Mon, 02:57: Law @ Order: UK ...*best* version of the franchise.

• Sat, 21:36: Recently acquired the next book in the series, "The Mugger". Planning to get into it, this weekend. I suspect that the … http://j.mp/eePOhI
• Sun, 00:04: Doctor Who: The Forgotten Army http://j.mp/dVv7Rf
• Sun, 00:08: Doctor Who: The Forgotten Army http://j.mp/gBKvbx

• Sun, 23:57: A good beer, a good book, and an affectionate cat cuddling in your lap. It is such small, but undeniable pleasures which make life wort ...
• Mon, 00:02: ...Which make life worth the living