Paperback 2007. 429 pages
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
The book's premise is this breed of Watchers who are out to do evil. The Mephisto Club consists of a group of people set on destroying these people. There are quite a few gruesome murders, the requisite suspense, and (alas) the not so satisfying ending. In any case, the group is compromised as it is infiltrated by a Watcher.
I am writing this a couple of weeks after I finished the book and am embarrassed to say I don't remember too many specifics. Which is the nature of these reads, I guess.
I do remember enjoying it, though.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Cross Country by James Patterson
Paperback 2008, 403 pages
Somerville, MA. May 2, 2010.
In this novel Alex Cross was involved in pursuing a vicious gang of teenagers led by someone with the nickname "Tiger" who first murdered his friend Ellie Cox and eventually kidnapped his family. Turns out Cox was a journalist who learned from a Nigerian journalist Adanne Tansi a plot by a couple of rogue CIA agents who work with various countries to destabilize Nigeria. The gang consisted of Janjaweed militia who also killed for hire. Cross traveled to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Sudan, and in so doing saw a lot of suffering by the various African people and the cruelty of some. After many misadventures starting with his first three days after landing at the Lagos airport and many near-death encounters with various bad guys, he headed back to Washington DC just as his family was being kidnapped. He eventually killed the Tiger and one of the rogue agents, and got the other arrested, and his family miraculously survived the ordeal.
The plot just stretches credibility beyond the breaking point. It's difficult to imagine why Cross didn't die as he was up against the militia, gangs, corrupt police, fake clergyman, and rogue CIA agents. These people would kill anyone in their way without hesitation but would spare Cross's life. I don't know what drove Patterson to this level of suffering and violence, one possible reason is he needed a forum to tell the world how bad things are in parts of Africa. On that point he succeeded: despite his many statements that many people are kind and helpful, I am sure many after reading this novel would hesitate to visit those parts of Africa. And the violence was very graphic, bordering on gratuitous. So perhaps good intentions, but the result may not be quite what he intended.
One thing about Cross that I didn't know, though, is that he is African-American. And we know that because people in Africa called him "A White Man". I am quite sure this was used in a movie (and probably the corresponding book) about how American Indians treated a black soldier.
This book is better than most (if not all) of the other Patterson books I have read. Probably the high marks as a fantasy overcome the low marks as a detective story.
Somerville, MA. May 2, 2010.
In this novel Alex Cross was involved in pursuing a vicious gang of teenagers led by someone with the nickname "Tiger" who first murdered his friend Ellie Cox and eventually kidnapped his family. Turns out Cox was a journalist who learned from a Nigerian journalist Adanne Tansi a plot by a couple of rogue CIA agents who work with various countries to destabilize Nigeria. The gang consisted of Janjaweed militia who also killed for hire. Cross traveled to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Sudan, and in so doing saw a lot of suffering by the various African people and the cruelty of some. After many misadventures starting with his first three days after landing at the Lagos airport and many near-death encounters with various bad guys, he headed back to Washington DC just as his family was being kidnapped. He eventually killed the Tiger and one of the rogue agents, and got the other arrested, and his family miraculously survived the ordeal.
The plot just stretches credibility beyond the breaking point. It's difficult to imagine why Cross didn't die as he was up against the militia, gangs, corrupt police, fake clergyman, and rogue CIA agents. These people would kill anyone in their way without hesitation but would spare Cross's life. I don't know what drove Patterson to this level of suffering and violence, one possible reason is he needed a forum to tell the world how bad things are in parts of Africa. On that point he succeeded: despite his many statements that many people are kind and helpful, I am sure many after reading this novel would hesitate to visit those parts of Africa. And the violence was very graphic, bordering on gratuitous. So perhaps good intentions, but the result may not be quite what he intended.
One thing about Cross that I didn't know, though, is that he is African-American. And we know that because people in Africa called him "A White Man". I am quite sure this was used in a movie (and probably the corresponding book) about how American Indians treated a black soldier.
This book is better than most (if not all) of the other Patterson books I have read. Probably the high marks as a fantasy overcome the low marks as a detective story.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Paperback 1992 (Dover Thrift Editions), 122 pages
Cape Coral, FL. April 19, 2010.
Play written between 1599 and 1601.
Cape Coral, FL. April 19, 2010.
Play written between 1599 and 1601.
Monday, March 22, 2010
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Paperback 1962, 76 pages.
Kunming, China. March 20, 2010.
With Foreword by Madeleine L’Engle, and Introduction by Doughlas H. Gresham.
Written under penname of N. W. Clerk after the death of Lewis’s wife.
Kunming, China. March 20, 2010.
With Foreword by Madeleine L’Engle, and Introduction by Doughlas H. Gresham.
Written under penname of N. W. Clerk after the death of Lewis’s wife.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Bones by Jonathan Kellerman
Paperback, 2009, 429 pages
February 22, 2010 Enroute UA870 SYD-SFO
Alex Delaware is a clinical psychologist consultant for the LAPD. In this novel he helps to track down the killer(s) involved with a series of murders discovered at a marsh in the city run by the “Save The Marsh” organization. The killers turn out to be a rich lady Simone Vander and her lover lawyer who started off murdering victims of their sexual bondage games. Eventually they turned on the lady’s father, step-mother, and step-brother (although they spared the child). Helping in the investigation was the original prime suspect Huck who worked as an aide to the family; he was the prime suspect because evidence was planted by the perpetrators to frame him (unsuccessfully).
The plot of the book is simply too complicated compared to how good the book is. Since I read it during a trip, I picked it up and put it down multiple times and at first got quite confused as to where the story was going. Some elements of the story are beyond reasonable belief: like serial killers suddenly find they can use that crime to frame another person and hope to inherit a huge fortune from it. The title “Bones” refers to the right hands that are chopped off and stored in a box. One might expect this to have great significance, but actually it was an elaborate but credibility-straining scheme to stage events so the LAPD will take the investigation in a particular direction.
Kellerman, a psychologist himself, supposed writes great psychological detective stories; this book must be an exception to the rule. Delaware could pass himself off as a regular detective; and I do not get any more insight into what turns people into serial killers from the book. Toward the end Delaware also got into a bit of heroic act by trying to help Huck when he was being stabbed by Vander. No doubt the author sees a bit of himself in Delaware.
The book if written better would be average. As it is, it doesn’t make the grade.
February 22, 2010 Enroute UA870 SYD-SFO
Alex Delaware is a clinical psychologist consultant for the LAPD. In this novel he helps to track down the killer(s) involved with a series of murders discovered at a marsh in the city run by the “Save The Marsh” organization. The killers turn out to be a rich lady Simone Vander and her lover lawyer who started off murdering victims of their sexual bondage games. Eventually they turned on the lady’s father, step-mother, and step-brother (although they spared the child). Helping in the investigation was the original prime suspect Huck who worked as an aide to the family; he was the prime suspect because evidence was planted by the perpetrators to frame him (unsuccessfully).
The plot of the book is simply too complicated compared to how good the book is. Since I read it during a trip, I picked it up and put it down multiple times and at first got quite confused as to where the story was going. Some elements of the story are beyond reasonable belief: like serial killers suddenly find they can use that crime to frame another person and hope to inherit a huge fortune from it. The title “Bones” refers to the right hands that are chopped off and stored in a box. One might expect this to have great significance, but actually it was an elaborate but credibility-straining scheme to stage events so the LAPD will take the investigation in a particular direction.
Kellerman, a psychologist himself, supposed writes great psychological detective stories; this book must be an exception to the rule. Delaware could pass himself off as a regular detective; and I do not get any more insight into what turns people into serial killers from the book. Toward the end Delaware also got into a bit of heroic act by trying to help Huck when he was being stabbed by Vander. No doubt the author sees a bit of himself in Delaware.
The book if written better would be average. As it is, it doesn’t make the grade.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Impressionism: 50 Paintings You Should Know by Ines Janet Engelmann.
January 9, 2010; South Amboy, NJ
Softcover, 2007; 135 pp.
We picked this book up when we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't find out anything about the author, so she may be a well-known art historian, or just an amateur (hopefully a knowledgeable one). Also, the 50 were picked by her, or via a survey, or is common knowledge among people who "know"? The book doesn't tell us. Neither do we know if they were chosen because they were significant artistically or historically.
I thought I had a pretty broad exposure to Impressionist paintings since I, like millions others, like work from the period a lot. I learned quite a few things from reading the book:
Many artists struggled financially, although some could afford to paint because they came from a rich family.
There were quite a few painters that were not French: van Gogh, of course, was Dutch, although he lived in France for a long time; there were several Germans also.
Many paintings took a long time to complete. I knew about van Gogh's sketches when I went to the Met for a van Gogh exhibition, but I didn't know the extent to which the artists spent time creating their work.
Gaugin's work eventually evolved to be 2-dimensional.
The artists often worked together, and painted each others' portraits. Sometimes they would paint the same objects. Examples are Renoir and Monet painting La Grenouillere, van Gogh and Monet painting sunflowers.
In any case, still a good book to read since I'm sure Ms. Engelmann knows a lot about the subject than I do. If I were to pick (even from the painters I know reasonably well) I would have made a few different choices, though.
Softcover, 2007; 135 pp.
We picked this book up when we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't find out anything about the author, so she may be a well-known art historian, or just an amateur (hopefully a knowledgeable one). Also, the 50 were picked by her, or via a survey, or is common knowledge among people who "know"? The book doesn't tell us. Neither do we know if they were chosen because they were significant artistically or historically.
I thought I had a pretty broad exposure to Impressionist paintings since I, like millions others, like work from the period a lot. I learned quite a few things from reading the book:
Many artists struggled financially, although some could afford to paint because they came from a rich family.
There were quite a few painters that were not French: van Gogh, of course, was Dutch, although he lived in France for a long time; there were several Germans also.
Many paintings took a long time to complete. I knew about van Gogh's sketches when I went to the Met for a van Gogh exhibition, but I didn't know the extent to which the artists spent time creating their work.
Gaugin's work eventually evolved to be 2-dimensional.
The artists often worked together, and painted each others' portraits. Sometimes they would paint the same objects. Examples are Renoir and Monet painting La Grenouillere, van Gogh and Monet painting sunflowers.
In any case, still a good book to read since I'm sure Ms. Engelmann knows a lot about the subject than I do. If I were to pick (even from the painters I know reasonably well) I would have made a few different choices, though.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Poor Will Be Glad by Peter Greer & Phil Smith
December 11, 2009; Somerville, MA
Hardcover, 2009; 279 pp.
Subtitle: Joining the Revolution to Lift the World Out of Poverty.
Photography by Jeremy Cowart.
Hardcover, 2009; 279 pp.
Subtitle: Joining the Revolution to Lift the World Out of Poverty.
Photography by Jeremy Cowart.
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