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CodeByJeff

codebyjeff@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 8 months ago

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CodeByJeff's books

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Premee Mohamed: The Butcher of the Forest (Paperback, 2024, Tor Publishing Group)

At the northern edge of a land ruled by a merciless foreign tyrant lies a …

A magical fairy tale for adults

Veris must go into the magical woods from where no one returns - for a second time - to rescue the two lost children of the Tyrant

Monsters, trickery & contests - she must face them all down and never make a mistake, or be trapped forever

Candice Millard: The River of Doubt (2006, RH Audio)

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt …

Wonderful adventure story that focuses as much on the nature as the men

"After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil's most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it."

Teddy Roosevelt is a controversial figure, but Millard - a former National Geographic writer and editor - does a wonderful job of telling us the story of an extraordinary journey while never avoiding his faults or acknowledging the contributions of everyone around him.

While the book starts out telling Roosevelt's personal story for wanting to make the trip, it spends as much time telling the story of the river as it does the men who championed it.

If you like adventure stories that focus on the natural surroundings being …

Kotaro Isaka: Hotel Lucky Seven

Bullet Train’s hapless underworld operative and his handler are back in this thrilling new novel …

Leonard Elmore meets "Kill Bill, Volume 2"

I absolutely loved Isaka's "The Mantis" from the same series, and this book was no disappointment either.

A bit lighter, a LOT more chaotic, but once again a terse page turner. I was disgusted by the bad guys, I was rooting for the hapless hero, and I loved how a bunch of seemingly unrelated people and stories all tied together in the end!

Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer (2015, Grove Press)

An excellent, very difficult book to read

The narrator is a North Vietnamese mole in the South Vietnamese army who later becomes a refugee in the United States

Sympathetic to the bravery of his adversaries that he has infiltrated; neither fully comfortable as a Vietnamese or European through his father; committed to his communist ideologies but privately preferring the relative comforts of California... he struggles to understand where he fits in, and what he believes

Nguyen is quite open about the ugly undersides of everyone involved in the "American War", as it was called in Viet Nam. There is a lot of heavy sarcasm on these pages, but don't be misled that this is a "funny" book

Peter Heller: Burn (2024, Knopf Incorporated, Alfred A.)

Every year Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to northern Maine where they …

Wondeful mix of suspense and character backstory-story telling

There's really no way to add spoilers to this one - the description blurb tells you most of what actually happens in the story.

But it doesn't explain the near-perfect build up of confusion from the two main characters as they try to make sense of what is happening around them, the outdoorsmanship they display that isn't full of author mistakes, and the timed blending of back story about how they became the best friends we see now as they navigate their crisis together

Nayantara Roy: The Magnificent Ruins (EBook, Algonquin Books)

It is the summer of 2015, and Lila De is on the verge of a …

A family saga that keeps pulling you along

There are so many things I liked about the writing, aside from the story itself.

The main character, Lila, is realistic in the decisions and issues she faces and how she handles them.

The characters are believable and well-developed.

The story is about Indians living in India - but it doesn't let the "exotic location" take over. No purple prose or irrelevant detail. The story stays sharp and focused.

All of this pulls a long-ish novel (448pp) along at a steady pace and never lets you grow bored with the story.

An amazing first novel!

Joseph Conrad: The Shadow Line (Paperback, 2007, 1st World Library - Literary Society)

A young and inexperienced sea captain finds that his first command leaves him with a …

Short & enjoyable Conrad "South Pacific" story of coming of age

The blurb above really tells most of what the story is about - a young man given his first command, and coming of age by learning to deal with disaster

Anyone who likes Conrad will enjoy this.

As a side note - this story avoids any of the "that's how they thought back then" issues that some of his other books contain.

reviewed Garden of Monsters by Crystal King

Crystal King: Garden of Monsters (2020, Europa Editions, Incorporated)

3.5 Stars. Interesting fantastical idea, but didn't fully deliver

Set in Italy, in a remote private estate. The protagonist, Julia, is a model hired by Dali and his wife for a week of posing. Classical Greek mythology and ghosts are woven through the garden & story.

There is something very definitely not right, perhaps even dangerous for Julia, as she tries to work out what it is among the eccentric Dali and mysterious Ignazio.

The story was enough that I continued to want to know what was going on, but I felt the writing and the story-telling were not quite up to the story itself. There was a lot going on that left me a bit confused about what the main line of the story was, as well as some mysterious elements added just for the sake of mystery that never were adequately explained.

The post-ending "wrap up" was a bit of a cringe, to be honest.

Don't feel …

K. J. Parker: The Folding Knife (Paperback, 2010, Orbit)

Long, but well-told "empire building" story

Based on Roman-era times & empire building, a long, "family saga" style story (except it really focuses on one main character)

Interesting in that it focused not so much on the military but rather the way money makes the world go round, and oversees the rise and fall of nations

I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the story and the twists. I thought it could have been edited down a little bit; I was starting to wonder in the middle if I should finish, but was well rewarded for doing so.

I'm not sure I found his sister's deep-hatred completely believable, and wonder if it was a part that could have been left out and not change the story too deeply, but perhaps I nitpick