Lifeboat by James White

Review by Thomas F. (hardtack)

It was not just another drill. The spaceship’s nuclear reactor started to overheat. The passengers had just minutes to abandon ship. Now the passengers are scattered all over space, their small rescue pods out of sight from one another. Due to the rush, families often did not escape in the same pods. Some of the pods are overcrowded, while some have just one person in them. All the pods are transparent, and space is a big, empty, dark and scary place.

The first couple of days the excitement of the situation keeps everyone occupied. Then the boredom and the problems creep in. Personality conflicts, the perceived lack of air and ‘taste’ of recycled water, the heat generated by human bodies, food that does not satisfy, all begin to put the passengers on edge. Sexual attractions, some unwanted, arise in pods that cannot handle the heat generated. People starting bickering with each other, then the bickering turns to hate. Some passengers start fighting each other.

The few officers, all of whom are in their own pods, are absorbed with the technical problems of rescue and a nuclear pile that might explode before the destroyed ship is out of range of the rescue pods. Mercer, the ship’s medical officer on his very first cruise, is also in his own pod; and now his job is to control the passengers in sixteen other pods he cannot even see. But, despite the instruction manuals, in all the short history of space travel no one has ever done this before. Sounds like fun? It gets better. The captain is injured and sedated, and the first officer, who apparently hates Mercer’s guts, is in charge. And a 10-year-old boy, alone in his own pod, who tries to be a spaceman, but sometimes cries for his mother, looks to Mercer for help.

Meanwhile, company executives are trying to decide if it is worth the money to send a rescue ship for people who are probably going to die anyway. And in the pods, the air is starting to run out.

This absorbing sci-fi thriller from a completely different perspective will not bore you.

James White is the respected author of a number of other ‘medicine in space’ sci-fi novels in his Sector General series.

Scorpio Rising by Monique Domovitch

Review by Kelsey O.

Domovitch starts her novel with the life of Alex Ivanov in Manhattan, New York. Nothing comes easy for him. He has had to fight for everything since the day he was born. He finally gets the chance of a lifetime time to pursue his dream of being an architect, in Paris. Brigitte Dartois’ life is very similar. Raised by a jealous mother and abused by her step-father, Brigitte is kicked out of her house to the streets of Paris where she struggles to make a living with her art. Though they both face many ups and downs, they take what is thrown at them with determination and strive to better themselves. Then their lives eventually intersect leaving the reader anticipating the next installment.

Scorpio Rising was recommended to me by one of my book club members. She said that the novel will surprise me. It did. I found the plot moved quickly and the passion of the characters leaped right off the pages. I like how Domovitch sets the characters up so that their past defines how the react to each other. Alex who was used by a woman and thrown away tends to stake claims on all his future relationships quickly and walks away before becoming hurt. Brigitte has been abused by men and is weary about entering a relationship with someone. Somehow they are able to get through each other’s barriers but not without some drama.

I highly recommend this book for anyone just wanting a bit of a change of pace. I was skeptically at first but was instantly drawn into this 1940’s world. I would consider Scorpio Rising a hidden gem and look forward to reading The Sting of The Scorpio (which I have already purchased).

5 BUTTERFLIES

Getting Old Is A Disaster by Rita Lakin

Review by Cheryl R. (Spuddie)

Series: Gladdy Gold mystery series

Series order: #5

Well now, here’s something those of you who know my reading tastes well will be surprised at: a review of a cozy mystery! I am not really much of a cozy reader—I find most to be sort of cookie-cutter quality, much alike with interchangeable lead characters that have quirky names, own quirky businesses, with predictable plots and outcomes—and often, way too much romancey stuff for my taste. There are, however, a few series I tried and surprisingly liked and stuck with, and this is one of them.

Perhaps part of the reason for that is that the main character is old. Like, 75. So even older than me. J Gladdy Gold, a Jewish widow originally from New York, lives in a condo in Ft. Lauderdale and has three dear friends and a sister who live in the same complex. The girls have a detective agency, run by Gladdy but they all help out, and often are quite successful because nobody notices old people so they can observe without arousing suspicion. They have their routines, and though they’re as different as can be from one another, they obviously care for each other. These characters have become like friends over the course of the series, and many other secondary characters are familiar as a well-worn shoe as well. Even though they’re elderly, they aren’t senile—well, mostly. The stories are funny, yet respectfully done such that people who are old (or care for the elderly) will smile in recognition at problems and quandaries that younger folks just don’t think about.

Gladdy and her “boyfriend” Jack have been trying to get together to consummate their relationship for two or three books now. Something—usually something to do with one of Gladdy’s friends—always seems to get in the way. This book, it’s Jack’s bridge club, and then some bad storms and a hurricane bearing down on the city that stirs up trouble—including knocking down part of one of the buildings that exposes a decades-old skeleton buried under the foundation.

Meanwhile, an elderly bank robber sends the girls a challenge letter, basically telling them to ‘catch me if you can’ and signs it “Grandpa Bandit.” He’s already robbed six banks, changes his looks every time such that there’s not a good description, but he’s giving the GG detective agency some clues about his next planned hit, so Gladdy feels compelled to report it to Jack’s son Morrie, who’s a detective for the Ft. Lauderdale police. Grandpa gets the better of them though, and then is forgotten for a few days as the brunt of the storm hits.

This is a sweet, light, enjoyable mystery series and this book was no exception. It’s not all cozy goodness, though—it deals with some very dark things (in this book for example, the storms trigger a PTSD-like reaction in one of the residents whose family was all taken from their home and executed during a storm during the Holocaust) and present some realistic hurdles that the elderly have to overcome. If you’re looking for something a little lighter and aren’t a big fan of most cozies, I recommend trying this series out.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Review by Mirah W. (mwelday)

I enjoy books based on a moral or ethical dilemma and Landay definitely provides that with ‘Defending Jacob’.  This novel is a hard-hitting and complicated with layer upon layer of mind-bending decisions and revelations.  Even the format of the book wouldn’t let me take a break.  Through remembering past events and courtroom transcripts I was ‘forced’ to keep reading.  With each chapter there was one more piece of information and things changed just enough to compel me to keep going.  I actually felt a little winded when I read the end.  I was in bed reading and I literally let out a huge breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.  That’s a powerful read!

In the novel, a teenage boy is found dead in a park and the assistant district attorney, Andy Barber, is in charge of the investigation.  Andy’s son Jacob emerges as a suspect and is charged with the murder. Then family secrets emerge to potentially threaten to fracture the Barber family all together.  Is Jacob guilty?  How will Jacob’s parents, Andy and Laurie, get through the trial?  Is Jacob being honest about his relationship with the victim?  Are Andy and Laurie being honest about their feelings and pasts?

This book had me guessing throughout.  I actually like delving into books full of gray areas.  I never know whom to believe.   One chapter I think Jacob is innocent and in the next chapter I think he is guilty.  Books that get me thinking draw me in and keep me engaged.  And, on a deeper level, this book had me thinking how far I would potentially go to protect myself or someone I loved.

At the basis of most books with moral or ethical dilemmas is the attempt to understand human nature.  Are some people born bad or does nurture outweigh nature?  Do we intentionally overlook things because we think it might portray us or those we love in a bad light?  Landay forces the reader to explore the question of ‘What if?’  He carefully crafts a story that spins a web of confusion and, at the same time, clarity for various characters.  It is as if he placed a microscope to human nature and exposes it for all of us to examine.

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Review by Kelsey O.

Everything changes for 16 year old Dru Anderson when her father leaves on a hunt and doesn’t return. At least not as a human. Even though Dru and her father have been hunting other beings since her mother died, Dru has never been on her own, she has only used her special “touch” power to aid her father. Now she has no choice. Someone has changed her father into a zombie and that someone is coming after her next. Without knowing who she truly is and what her destiny is, Dru is left floundering until an unexpected helper in the form of a goth boy named Graves becomes her side-kick. The next savior to enter the picture is fanged and his name is Christophe. It isn’t quite clear if Christophe is good or bad but Dru needs to know more about the supernatural world and he is the only one to give her that insight. There is something slithering in the night and it is getting closer so Dru will need all the help she can get.

I really enjoyed this first installment. I found myself cheering out loud for Dru. She is a very real character. Her vulnerabilities make her believable. It is a mix of Supernatural and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and contains many great action scenes with the added mystery of why Dru is on the supernatural beings menu all of a sudden. This is great for the older YA paranormal lovers with caution to some that there are some descriptive gruesome scenes.

4 BUTTERFLIES

Random Harvest by James Hilton

Review by Thomas F. (hardtack)

A war story….. a love story….. a mystery…..  Something for everyone.

It wasn’t until just recently that I came across a hard copy of Random Harvest. Until then, my sole experience with the story was the 1942 movie with Ronald Coleman and Greer Garson in the lead roles. I first saw the movie decades ago and it has always been one of my favorites.

Coleman also acted in the 1937 filming of Lost Horizon, and I do not think any actor since then has done a better job. Oh, to have a voice like Ronald Coleman. I would be fighting the ladies off with a stick!

For you mystery fans, in the book the solution to the mystery is not revealed until the very last paragraph, so please do not peek. Meanwhile, the movie reveals the solution to you earlier, due to the nature of the mystery. However, I believe this may be one of those random cases where the movie is better than the book. The screen writers did an fantastic job making the slow revealing of the solution to the movie’s mystery as dramatic as the solution itself. In fact, in the last ten minutes the movie grabs you and doesn’t let go. Although the movie is not widely known today, I often advise male friends to watch this movie with their girlfriends or wives. It is one of the great ‘chick flicks’ of all time.

While the movie starts the action in 11 November 1918, and continues it chronologically, the book begins its story in November 1937 and jumps back and forth. Hilton wrote a number of his books with flashbacks to previous years. This is very effective in the book version of Random Harvest, although, in some places, you have to take note of where you are in the hero’s life.

Our hero, Charles Rainier, is a very successful man. His career in business and politics has made him a revered household name in Britain. Yet he is very uneasy in his success, as he feels he is missing something essential, something valuable, something he perhaps loved. You see, Charles is actually missing two years of his life. As he reveals to his male secretary over a period of time in the book, Charles remembers all of his earlier life until he was shell-shocked in France during World War I. Then two years later he ‘awakens’ in a store in Liverpool, England. How did he get there? The mystery deepens in that British military records have him missing in action, never returning to England. Charles’ yearning to know what he did during those two years often affects him deeply. Occasionally, things happen or someone says something that makes a small, cloudy window open in his mind, showing him something or someone that he can’t really make out. These incidents make him feel detached from the present and affects his relationship with others, especially with his wife, a former secretary whom he married for business and political purposes.

Charles Rainier is a man split between living the life he now leads and searching for the life he once had for a short time. Charles Rainier is about to rediscover his past. Charles Rainier is going to be shocked.

James Hilton is best remembered for his novels Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which were made into movies numerous times. However he wrote over a dozen others, many of which also deserve to be remembered.

For you war fans, Coleman accurately portrays a wounded soldier earlier in the film because he served in the London Scottish Regiment during World War I. He was seriously wounded at the battle of Messines in October 1914, and was invalided out of service.

Fer-De-Lance by Rex Stout

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

About 25 years ago, when I was young and immature, I decided I didn’t like Rex Stout’s mysteries starring Nero Wolfe. After reading a fistful of them – perhaps one after another six times was a mistake – I decided that I had had enough. Wolfe and his pompous vocabulary. Wolfe and his dreary  orchids. Wolfe and his indolent immovability. Archie and his milky milk.

But recently an archeologist lent me the first one of dozens of books, Fer-de-Lance, first published in 1934. In the spirit of open-mindedness, I read a story in which Wolfe and his wiseacre sidekick Archie Goodwin are hired by the sister of a missing metalworker. Then, a university president is killed on the links by the kind of diabolical yet complicated device only found in whodunnits from The Golden Age of Mysteries.

I must confess I found it more enjoyable than I expected. Although this was first of many books, I got the feeling that Stout had been living with the characters a long time. Archie often refers to cases Wolfe and he solved in the past and this imparts a warm, familiar feeling to the reader. Recall that in the Holmes stories, Conan Doyle uses this device to tantalize the reader, making her think, “That would’ve been a cool story.” And like Holmes’ London, we are completely persuaded by Wolfe and Archie’s New York City in the Thirties.

The other strong point was the humorous conversation between two characters that have a core admiration and liking for each other. The squabbles between Wolfe and Archie are at once acerbic and genial. “I am merely a genius,” Wolfe chides Archive, “not a god.”

Stout takes a big chance by revealing the identity of the perp about 50 pages from the end. Usually the reveal ends the interest I have in a mystery, especially one like this that approaches 300 pages. But the action as to how they will deliver justice to the perp is spun out so engagingly that I happily finished the book. Stout weakly describes appearances of people and places, the plotting isn’t terribly strong, but the characterization and dialogue make this well worth reading.

So, inevitably older and hopefully wiser, I have seen the light. Maybe what a blog commenter said is true, “Rex’s Nero is an acquired taste although people of a certain age easily acquire it. Younger people seem to find him tedious and pretentious.” While I’m not going to read the entire canon of 70-some novels and 40 or so novellas, I would like to read the more outstanding novels and novellas. Leave a comment or PM me with your recommendations, please.