Last Book That You Read- Fiction

It wasn't the *last* book I read, but one of the few 2014 releases I read was James Ellroy's Perfidia, the start of his second L.A. Quartet. It's Ellroy's most structurally ambitious novel and makes for a pretty good read (Ellroy remains one of the greatest living English-language novelists), although its sprawling story makes me long just a bit for the efficient thrillers he used to write.

Itching to read Perfidia. Saw Ellroy on the BBC's Hardtalk (still on iplayer for those in the know) and an incredible man, personally. Just couldn't give a shit about what people think and a lot cleverer than I think some people think of him. There was this documentary about him where he talked of LA Confidential, it's worth the viewing for that bit alone.

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Alas, I read Flashman and the Mountain of Light last. Starting to wonder what a Bond novel by GMF might've turned out like considering his involvement with Octopussy. Better than some of what we've had of late I'd wager.

Just finished Michael Connelly's "The Burning Room". I have found the Harry Bosch series to be hit-and-miss at times, but this is easily one of his best.

I'm about to start Greg Iles' "Natchez Burning". I'm hoping to finish that in the next few days, and then I'm going to make a start on "Richard III".

I'm too lazy to read the actual novels, which are huge from what I saw of my friend's copy, so I got the graphic novel versions of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire. Artwork is quite nice. Lisbeth is awesome.

bitchcraft wrote:

I'm too lazy to read the actual novels, which are huge from what I saw of my friend's copy, so I got the graphic novel versions of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire. Artwork is quite nice. Lisbeth is awesome.

'Dragon Tattoo' is an excellent crime detective thriller. The sequel books were good, but 'Dragon Tattoo' is the kind of book that is worth a 2nd read, even though you know how it ends.

Just finished reading Stephen Hunter's DEAD ZERO:



It was good, but probably not his best. POINT OF IMPACT (which became the 2008 Mark Wahlberg film, SHOOTER) is the gold standard, and I also liked THE THIRD BULLET (interesting theory about how Oswald could have been lured into shooting JFK).

Just finished today Perfidia, James Ellroy. Ellroy's writing draws me in. Punches away. Look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Ellroy is a magician,adore him. Small wonder, even the outlines to his books run to a hundred pages. Never one word too much in his work, a perfect storyteller.

the documentary "James Ellroy: Feast of Death" was excellent, the opening about him talking about LA Confidential was worth it alone.

Hilly KCMG wrote:

Just finished today Perfidia, James Ellroy. Ellroy's writing draws me in. Punches away. Look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Quartet, actually. And I, too, can't wait. The structural ambition of Perfidia has me itching to see what Ellroy tries next.

I haven't read it, yet, but Neal Stephenson (one of the brightest and most imaginative novelists working today) has a new novel on the way: Seveneves. The premise sounds wildly ambitious:

Quote :

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic – a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years. A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain... Five thousand years later, their progeny – seven distinct races now three billion strong – embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

Reading LUCIFER'S HAMMER now and may move on to MOONFALL (a similar type of book in the same genre, and one that I've read before). Different and unique, but similiar books all at the same time.

The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter

the sequel to The Time Machine. Quite good I found and ultimately depressing. The vision of the future and the Traveller ultimately staying in 802,471 forever. And yet all throughout quite solidly pictured Rod Taylor. And in spite of descriptions, Baxter's talking Morlock was pictured as in the film. Grim all the same.

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Erica Ambler wrote:

One Shot by Lee Child

One of the things that no one talks about in publishing is that the last thing you want to do in your free time is read or write. I needed something to get me back into the habit and the Jack Reacher books are so far removed from 'self-improving literature' that I thought they might fit the bill. One Shot turns out to be a penny dreadful. Not as bad as the 'works' of Dan Brown, but getting there. To my surprise, the recent Tom Cruise film adaptation is a slight improvement in that it takes three shit female characters from the book and distills them into one. She's still shit, but then what d'you expect from Rosamund Pike?

I once read the very first Jack Reacher novel, "Killing Floor".

I found it incredibly dull.

The problem (imho) is that his protagonist is so "skilled" that he becomes near invincible, thus rendering any potential suspense a non-starter.

The one female character of note (a local police officer who falls for him) was instantly forgettable, as I recall.

Reachers are hardly read for their memorable characters, they are Superman comics for types who don't want to be seen with a comic; the ones who consider themselves 'manly' - after a fashion.

,l

Solo by William Boyd - as middling an effort as Deaver's Carte Blanche, really. There are occasional flashes of the Bond we know and love, but it's not enough.

THE SNOW MAN by Jo Nesbo

I'm halfway through it now. Why this book? Well, there's a movie coming out:



I like Fassbender. I like Rebecca Fergsuson (she's actually an actress I would go pay to see; liked her in The White Queen, Life, and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation). It's filmed almost entirely in Norway, so it has comitted the setting of the book and Norway is one of my favorite countries.

And if you liked any of the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" books/films, then this might be of interest.

Thanks for sharing Grav. I've been keen to see the trailer - looks great. How's the book?

FieldsMan wrote:

Thanks for sharing Grav. I've been keen to see the trailer - looks great. How's the book?

It's okay. It hasn't grabbed me from the the first page like GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO did, but it's not boring. Will see where it leads.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Thanks for sharing Grav. I've been keen to see the trailer - looks great. How's the book?

It's okay. It hasn't grabbed me from the the first page like GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO did, but it's not boring. Will see where it leads.

Finished the book. I'd give it 2 stars. It never really makes an impact like GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. The plot is way too convoluted. Maybe I'm just missing something, but I don't see what the big deal is.

In fact, just based on the trailer, it appears the filmmakers are making changes to the storyline that aren't found in the novel; so maybe they've decided as well that at least the last third of the story needs to be rewritten. Val Kilmer is in the movie, but IMDB is not listing his role, so I'm curious as to who, or what, he's playing in the movie. Changing the identity of the killer might also be beneficial, as I don't think this book's killer has the motivation properly laid out.

Hopefully the film has improved on the novel then Grav. 

 I'm almost done with a book called The Wedding Officer, by Anthony Capella. It's interesting enough but there doesn't seem to be a lot happening beyond what's written, despite being a book for about 400 pages. Compared to Hemingway's remarkable and remarkably short novel Across The River and Into The Trees, it's full of fantastic prose which stays with you after reading it, wondering about what's not being said, but suggested. Also, The Wedding Officer, which was first published about 10 years ago, retains strong leftist overtones politics which becomes all too visible in the final chapters on the lead female's journey. The sensationalisation of communism is infuriating, which I only hope is fixed by the book's end (and the only way I can see that happening is by the man character slapping* some sense into his girlfriend).

*Not literally, Clementine.

l

"Station Eleven" and "The Singer's Gun" by Emily St. John Mandel

I have to say that whilst I wouldn't call either book bad, I was a tiny bit underwhelmed, especially in the latter.

Which isn't to say that St. John Mandel isn't talented, but she might need some more time before her talent truly blossoms into a great novel.

"Station Eleven" is getting a movie adaptation. It's a movie-friendly story, albeit in a recently overused genre (post-apocalyptic fiction).

Well, I suppose mine was pedestrian but The Tower by Richard Martin Stern. One of the two books the Towering Inferno was based on. Was largely struck by the links to September 11, chiefly the fire itself but also the use of the North (WTC) Tower for the rescue. Book has a definite down end compared to the film.

Moved onto a 'Tom Clancy' book, one of those written by other authors but touted as Tom Clancy's so and so. Jack Ryan's finest days are far behind him.