Critical Mass (V.I. Warshawski #16)

Critical Mass
(2013)
Sara Paretsky

One thing I’ve found that I appreciate about reading Sara Paretsky’s work is that you don’t necessarily have to read them in order or have read the entire series to enjoy each of her V.I. Warshawski mysteries on their own. I have read a lot of mystery/thriller series in the past and continue to read them, and I find this a very difficult thing for most authors to accomplish. V.I. is an intriguing protagonist, but Paretsky has set up her personal word in such a way that it can be introduced quickly and simply, without a lot of time wasted on why certain people are around – or aren’t around as the case may be. I find this rather refreshing. Instead of being caught up in the drama of the detective, we can focus more intently on the case at hand – although V.I.’s gifts and flaws, successes and unhealed wounds still play their roles.

In Critical Mass, it is friend and Holocaust survivor Lotty who draws V.I. into her most recent mystery. This time she is looking for the missing daughter of another survivor that escaped to London with Lotty in the kinder transport. While looking for the missing woman, V.I. discovers she is not the only person missing and that missing documents as well may link her current case to one of national security.

The story is tightly written and well-paced, with plenty of twists and turns. I wouldn’t say everything about it is entirely believable, but rarely do I find a mystery that doesn’t require some suspension of disbelief somewhere along the line. The tale does move between two different timelines – current-day Chicago and Holocaust-era Vienna – but I did not have difficulty keeping track of when and where things were taking place. There is a lot going on in this book: the race for the first nuclear bomb, dirty cops, rural meth houses, homeland security, current cutting-edge computer technology, Project Paperclip, and more. It can be a lot to take in, but Paretsky has managed it all in an even-handed manner. Just be prepared that it isn’t the lightest read.

I look forward to reading more of the V.I. Warshawski books, new or already published. My experience so far has been very enjoyable.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Everything Is Perfect When You’re A Liar

 

Everything Is Perfect When You’re A Liar
(2012)
Kelly Oxford

I recently told someone in my online book club that I don’t generally just pan a book – usually I try to find something in it that someone will like. Kelly Oxford has made me eat my words.

This is probably one of the worst books I’ve ever read. Non-fiction, particularly humorous memoir (is this a memoir?) is especially dangerous when you have a degree and are a licensed psychological examiner. Sometimes it is very hard to turn off the personality disorder radar. There is a very fine line between funny and narcissistic, but in the case of Everything is Perfect When You’re a Liar, the line is left far in the dust. This book just oozes narcissism. As in, you kind of want to wash your hands when you’re done just in case it rubbed off on you.

I could go on with a list of reasons why I didn’t like this book, but I’d rather make it quick: it isn’t funny, it’s loaded with foul language, and Mrs. Oxford is almost painfully unlikable. I picked up this book on a Nook Daily Find, so I wasn’t really aware of her or her Twitter or Tumblr fame, but based on this, I don’t really get it. Not recommended.

Melt Down

 

Melt Down
(2012)
Edward W. Robertson

While preparing to write this review, I found that somehow I neglected to review the first book in the series, Breakers. I’ll have to go back and remedy that soon, but probably not today. 

Melt Down follows the same time period as Breakers, but with a different set of characters. This time we see the plague and alien invasion through the eyes of Nestor (Ness) and Tristan. Ness is a twenty-something still living in his mother’s trailer in Moscow, Idaho, spending the majority of his time on MMPORG raids on his laptop instead of going to college. His older brother, Shawn, comes home unexpectedly after his own home is foreclosed on, and what begins as intense sibling rivalry becomes a strange camaraderie as they are soon the only ones left alive in their makeshift cabin in the woods.

Tristan is a soon-to-be college graduate with no direction, realizing her chosen career path has left her with limited real-world options. After coming home in hopes of being able to ride her parents’ coat tails a little longer – and being told there will be no more free rides – she suddenly finds herself responsible for not only herself but her younger brother’s survival as well. 

I found it a little odd to start back over at the beginning, but for the most part I liked it about as much as the first book. I did find it interesting to learn more about the aliens and how things work within their world of ships and devices a little more. The original set of characters from Breakers was a little more compelling, and I was glad to see some connections back to them, but I find Ness and Tristan pretty intriguing in their own rights and I am hooked enough to want to see what Mr. Robertson might have in store in Knifepoint, the third book in the series. Although, according to his Goodreads book pages, I should read Outcome, a novella about the outbreak, before I go any further, so perhaps I will do that first.

A minor note, and it may just be the edition I have (Kindle 3-book set): There are a LOT of minor spelling errors, some really simple ones that just a spell check run should have caught. It’s just irritating enough to disrupt the flow of my reading, but it’s been long enough since I read Breakers that I can’t remember if it was a problem then as well. I’m hoping it’s just my edition and not indicative of the author’s work in general. 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(1900)
L. Frank Baum

Yes, it’s taken me until into my 30s to get around to reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I don’t know why. I remember picking it up a few times when I was younger. In fact, I actually remember where it was shelved in the old library.

This is such a sweet story, and definitely deserves a place on every child’s bookshelf. There is so much more here (as usual) than Hollywood would lead you to expect with their adaptations. Mr. Baum shows throughout his tale how what each of the additional characters believes they are lacking – brains, heart, courage – is so evident in their actions even though they cannot seem to see it.

In addition to having a lovely moral, there are so many intriguing places and characters that Dorothy and her friends find along the way – the Queen of the Fieldmice, the really not so scary Flying Monkeys, the land made of China – I wanted The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to be longer so I could spend more time enjoying them all.

I highly recommend this classic tale, and I look forward to reading more of Mr. Baum’s works in the future.

Invasion (The Secret World Chronicles #1)

Invasion
(2011)
Mercedes Lackey, with Steve Libbey, Cody Martin, and Dennis Lee

Let me start with the mass chaos that is the inception of this series. First, to my understanding, the original concept for the Secret World Chronicles series came from a comic, then a  Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) City of Heroes, then came a podcast, THEN the book series. I may not have the order correct. Please don’t crucify me if you’re a fan of one of its previous incarnations and I am incorrect. I came into this late. Book series late. I have absolutely no experience with any of the previous forms.

That said, I really enjoyed Invasion. Giant Nazi robots! Superheroes and super villians with crazy powers and meta armor! Nikolai Tesla! This book launches a crazy alternate history of WWII and after that is a wild romp from start to finish.

I was a little concerned initially about the number of contributors and switching between characters and contributors/teams of contributors. I can’t say that it was always smooth, but the primary story arc held throughout. There are a LOT of characters to keep up with, and I think the authors did a good job of keeping everything coherent. I can’t recall any major confusion, and the important characters (and even many of the secondary ones) were developed enough for me to feel invested in them and care about what was happening in their individual story arcs.

I found the end of the first book rather abrupt, but I am definitely interested to see what happens next. Don’t be put off just because you don’t know anything about the previous iterations of The Secret World Chronicles – you don’t have to be familiar with them to enjoy the books on their own. I’m also interested to see what the authors have done individually. My To Read list may grow exponentially….