Thank you, Mediocre Show. I heard about this on their show, that it was being given away as a free promo on the kindle & snagged it before that offer expired. And just started reading it. It's a story on Griffin Con in Atlanta and a drunk Reporter sent to cover it as punishment by his editor.
I found it a funny read in a Gonzo-journalist way.
Ok, this a really good series. However, I don't see him ending this in the next book or even the one after. What's a real downer is he's running about 5-6yrs between books! The first book, in this series was published in 1996. At this rate I just hope he doesn't pull a Robert Jordan and pass before he can complete it.
I've read most everything W. E. B. Griffin has written over the years. None of them I would say are great literature. I always view them more as brain candy, something to read and pass the time over the holidays. This one wasn't bad. Like many of his books, it follows a certain formula with bureaucratic backroom fighting mixed in with some bit of arcane history set in the shady world of Black Programs, but enjoyable never the less. I didn't care for the love interest in this book. I found her to be very unbelievable, in general I see her character as a Macguffin, an irrelevant plot mover that took up to much space in this book. I could of dealt without her. This is probably the last of the Presidential Agent Books in that he has drawn to conclusion many of the plot themes of this series of books. If your thinking of reading this, maybe wait for the paperback to come out
I have always liked most everything that Guy Gavriel Kay has written. And this book is in the vain of the stories that I like from him. His use of historical references in his works always helps in drawing me into his narrative. Over all I enjoyed this book. While I would of like so more explorations of the protagonist's family, that is just knit-picking on my part.
I enjoyed found this to be quite different than I expected. Having made a point to not look to closely at reviews others had written, and read it solely on the merit of the recommendations of friends, and was not disappointed.
I was very taken with the themes of Government and those supposedly helping others. The theme of questioning information around you I found pertinent in this election year.
I'll be interested to see how the film, set to be released later this year, will deal with it.
These are great books. However, O'Brian is famous for his use very arcane language(party because he is one of the last writers to have gone to sea as a boy in the early part of 20th century). If your unfamiliar with sailing nautical terms you should pick up the lexicon for the series called “A Sea of Words”.
In some ways I think this is the weakest of the Captain Alatraiste books so far. While I enjoyed the atmosphere created in this book, this one does not move the over all arch of the characters as much as the first two books without their nemesis working in the background against them. I'll be interested to see if Perez-Reverte goes back to the court intrigue of 17th centry Spain. Or if he stays in the side story of Flanders in the coming books.