Okay, let me see, been a while since I put my last few reads list together.
Jumper by Stephen Gould. I went back and re-read this, I read it shortly after it came out in 1992. I really enjoyed it, it was like an updated RAH novel and actually mentions Bester's The Stars My Destination, since the main character, Dave, can transport himself. But, sadly, in the final part of the book, it was pretty ruined for me now. You see, Dave goes after terrorists for tragic personal reasons and does all these things that attract the attention of the government. And he states or believes in his thoughts that there's no difference between the NSA and terrorists. Of course, he is a teenager and the NSA do go after him and detent his girlfriend and use his abusive alky father, but unlike the terrorists, they never murder innocent civilians. In a post 9/11 world, I would love to know Gould's/Dave's thoughts about that now...
The Real Deadwood by John Ames. Welp, I got addicted to the series after some friends loaned me the first HBO show DVD set and tapes of the 2nd season. While a bit light on some of the details I wanted to know, this book was pretty good on the facts of the main characters and actual events in Deadwood. And it's a quick read so it's good for traveling or being on vacation, ha ha!
Deadwood by Pete Dexter. In the reviews I read on this before I got it, it's regarded as the best novel based on events in Deadwood. It's pretty damned good, parts of it, I couldn't put it down. The characters are straight-forward, warts and all. Charly Utter, Wild Bill's best friend and partner is my favorite character and he's shown as a stand-up guy no matter what. Dexter also paints Al Swearingen as a worthless coward, not a would-be crime boss. And Seth Bullock comes off as more cautious, more interested in keeping the peace not law and order. He also details some other acts that might be fiction or speculation, like about the fire that destroyed the original Deadwood and various murders.
Welp, I enjoyed it, though of course, towards the end, the closing of The Wild West and Charly Utter's end was pretty sad...
The Final Solution by Michael Chabon. The writer of Wonderboys and The Adventures of Caliaver And Clay brings us a case of a retired detective and beekeeper and a mute Jewish boy and his parrot. The boy, freshly escaped from war-torn Europe, stirs up interest with his parrot. It repeats numbers in German over and over and soon, murders are commited in attempts to steal the bird. Holmes is brought in out of retirement to solve the mysterious deaths. Welp, it's a great read, Chabon has this fantastic gift of colorful flowing language. It's a short book also, you can polish it off in a couple of hours but that only means it ended too soon...
Welp, I know I've read a bunch more, but of course, trying to remember the titles, the knowledge has fled. Later...
Jumper by Stephen Gould. I went back and re-read this, I read it shortly after it came out in 1992. I really enjoyed it, it was like an updated RAH novel and actually mentions Bester's The Stars My Destination, since the main character, Dave, can transport himself. But, sadly, in the final part of the book, it was pretty ruined for me now. You see, Dave goes after terrorists for tragic personal reasons and does all these things that attract the attention of the government. And he states or believes in his thoughts that there's no difference between the NSA and terrorists. Of course, he is a teenager and the NSA do go after him and detent his girlfriend and use his abusive alky father, but unlike the terrorists, they never murder innocent civilians. In a post 9/11 world, I would love to know Gould's/Dave's thoughts about that now...
The Real Deadwood by John Ames. Welp, I got addicted to the series after some friends loaned me the first HBO show DVD set and tapes of the 2nd season. While a bit light on some of the details I wanted to know, this book was pretty good on the facts of the main characters and actual events in Deadwood. And it's a quick read so it's good for traveling or being on vacation, ha ha!
Deadwood by Pete Dexter. In the reviews I read on this before I got it, it's regarded as the best novel based on events in Deadwood. It's pretty damned good, parts of it, I couldn't put it down. The characters are straight-forward, warts and all. Charly Utter, Wild Bill's best friend and partner is my favorite character and he's shown as a stand-up guy no matter what. Dexter also paints Al Swearingen as a worthless coward, not a would-be crime boss. And Seth Bullock comes off as more cautious, more interested in keeping the peace not law and order. He also details some other acts that might be fiction or speculation, like about the fire that destroyed the original Deadwood and various murders.
Welp, I enjoyed it, though of course, towards the end, the closing of The Wild West and Charly Utter's end was pretty sad...
The Final Solution by Michael Chabon. The writer of Wonderboys and The Adventures of Caliaver And Clay brings us a case of a retired detective and beekeeper and a mute Jewish boy and his parrot. The boy, freshly escaped from war-torn Europe, stirs up interest with his parrot. It repeats numbers in German over and over and soon, murders are commited in attempts to steal the bird. Holmes is brought in out of retirement to solve the mysterious deaths. Welp, it's a great read, Chabon has this fantastic gift of colorful flowing language. It's a short book also, you can polish it off in a couple of hours but that only means it ended too soon...
Welp, I know I've read a bunch more, but of course, trying to remember the titles, the knowledge has fled. Later...
