Mark Martinez
Richard Hoyt blends history and speculation into a fascinating tale of wartime deceit. Did MacArthur really make a deal with Emperor Hirohito for control of the Golden Lily, Asian war booty plundered by the Japanese? Hoyt makes a pretty convincing case in this entertaining novel.
Published in paperback by Forge.
Denson is still flying with Willie and their new partner, former FBI agent and double-jointed hacker Annie Dancer. Mustang stallions are dying across the west. Denson and company have been hired to learn why. With the help of some animal spirits and a few good mounts, they find their way through a twisted helix.
Published in hardcover by Tom Doherty Associates.
Hot on Mr. Leonard's literary heels is Steve Brewer with his latest novel about an Albuquerque car thief who steals the wrong low rider, but doesn't find out until he discovers a dead DEA informant in the trunk of his next job, a 1965 T-bird. You can also read Mr. Brewer's column in the Albuquerque Tribune.
Published in hardcover by speck press.
Una McCormack writes a deeply emotional novel about the aftermath of Sisko's decision to bring the Romulans into the war against the Dominion by deceit, told in sixth season episode In the pale moonlight. This a fine portrait of Sisko, Garak, their similarities and differences.
Published in mass market paperback by Pocket Books.
Greg Cox concludes, or maybe just continues, the story of Khan with this account of his years on Ceti Alpha V. Cox has written a series of fascinating books detailing late twentieth century according to Trek. This is an exceptional addition.
Published in hardcover by Pocket Books.
Detective Annette Trieri takes a leave of absence from the Durango PD to work for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on a series of murders targeting environmental activists. Meanwhile, her husband, Dean Hal Weathers deals with the usual summer headaches at Fremont State University. HP Hanson takes readers on a rollercoaster ride all over the Four Corners region.
Published in trade paperback by 1stBooks Library.
This amusing collection of short stories is edited by Keith R. A. DeCandido who also contributes a story featuring Klag. Other featured captains are Riker, Picard, Elizabeth Shelby, Kira Nerys, Chakotay, Demora Sulu, David Gold, and Jonathan Archer. Of course, none of them can live up to the legend of Porthos, badass beagle and cheese connoisseur.
Published in trade paperback by Pocket Books.
The Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. Tim McCarney and Tom Deady blogged the 2004 Red Sox season. I read the book, a compilation of their blog entries, and started reading their blog this season. Required reading for Red Sox fans. Yankees suck.
Published in trade paperback by AiT/Planet Lar.
It's too bad that Margaret Wander Bonanno hasn't written a few more Star Trek novels. Her Star Trek characters are familiar and her secondary characters are well drawn. This tale takes place near the end of Admiral Uhura's Starfleet career and also features characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The inclusion of a young Ben Sisko is very well done.
The Lost Era series illuminates events that take place prior to and between Star Trek television series. Published in paperback by Pocket Books.
Author S. D. Perry has crafted a terrific conclusion to the opening chapter of Pocket Books continuation of the DS9 saga. At least, I hope it's just the opening chapter. In this novel, we get a summary of the DS9 relaunch, and many loose ends are tied up. While there is sort of a whirlwind feel to the entire narrative, I was left wanting to know what happens next. That's good, right?
This book was published in hardcover by Pocket Books.
I read this years ago and reread it recently after channel-surfing into the 1965 film starring George Maharis and Anne Francis. The movie is entertaining, but Alistair MacClean's book is far more visceral and fast-paced. Maybe transplanting the plot from the cold, wet UK to sunny Southern California is part of the problem. In any event, read the book if you like a good thriller.
Originally published in 1962 under the pseudonym of Ian Stuart.
Elmore Leonard can always be counted on for a taut, no-nonsense thriller. U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco and escaped bank robber Jack Foley find themselves as interested in each other as they are in their respective careers. The story begins in Florida and plays out its conclusion in Detroit.
The novel was made into the 1998 film starring Jennifer Lopez as Karen Sisco and George Clooney. The success of the film spawned a television series titled Karen Sisco starring Carla Gugino, recently cancelled.
Published in paperback by Dell.
Kelly Barr agrees to help her roommate play Michigan cheerleader for her 84 year-old boyfriend, Tony Paradiso, but a couple of killers spoil the party. Detective Frank Delsa isn't sure what Kelly is up tp, but he likes her style. Another smooth tale from the master, Elmore Leonard. You can't go wrong with any of his books.
Published in mass-market paperback by HarperCollins.
Peter David wrote this novelization of the film based on the screenplay by Mark Frost, Simon Kinberg, and Michael France, which is, in turn, based on the Marvel comic book. Reed Richards is a weenie. Ben Grimm clobbers stuff. Johnny Storm needs a smack upside the head. Sue Storm is played by Jessica Alba in the movie, which is more than enough reason to watch it. The book is ok. The comics are better.
Published in mass-market paperback by Pocket Books.
After picking up the first issue of Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 from IDW Publishing, I decided to take a trip back in time and read what is probably the first Trek/Who crossover by Jean Airey. There are a dozen different printed editions of this book. I read the original text which is available online and was published in 1981.
The verdict? Ms. Airey tells an interesting tale, but it's mostly a character study of Kirk, Spock and the Doctor. The plot meanders quite a bit. The Enterprise finds itself in the Doctor's universe, needing his help to get back home. Kirk is suspicious of the Doctor's motives but is won over. I liked the story, but it doesn't really go anywhere, so this is probably only for hardcore Trekkies and Whovians with some curiosity.
I hope that admitting I bought this book just to read Jim Butcher's latest Harry Dresden short story doesn't make me a bad person. Besides, it's a Bigfoot story. I'll check out the other authors too.
Chris Roberson did an outstanding job melding Star Trek and Legion lore. The artwork by the Moy brothers was equal to the story. I reviewed the individual issues over at TrekMovie.com:
http://trekmovie.com/2011/11/08/trekink-review-of-star-treklegion-of-super-heroes-1-and-2/
http://trekmovie.com/2011/12/14/trekink-review-of-star-treklegion-of-super-heroes-3/
http://trekmovie.com/2012/01/04/trekink-review-of-star-treklegion-of-super-heroes-4/
http://trekmovie.com/2012/02/14/trekink-review-of-star-treklegion-of-super-heroes-5/
http://trekmovie.com/2012/03/20/trekink-review-of-star-treklegion-of-super-heroes-6/
It's great to finally have these comic strips in book format. The stories are classic Trek. The artwork by Thomas Warkentin is outstanding. The quality begins to fall off a bit after he leaves the strip, however the other writers and artists still do a decent job.
Another fine volume from Sequart with an in-depth look at a popular comics franchise. Everyone involved has done an apetastic job!
In the wake of the Red Sox loss to the White Sox, I decided to revisit the past and read Bill Lee‘s autobiography, written with Dick Lally. Lee pitched for the Red Sox during the years that I became a baseball fan. This twenty-year old book is a breezy, amusing recollection of baseball in the seventies. Lee and Lally just wrote another book that will also go on my list of books to read.
Published in hardback by Viking Press.
An exciting tale, but I'm a little concerned about Section 31 as the new boogeyman in the alternate Trek verse. Will someone from 31 pop up every time something bad happens?
The story is a prequel, telling the tale of Helm's recruitment and training. Then some of the missions he handled during World War II are detailed. There are references to individuals and events taken from Hamilton's novels, so the author has done a lot of research. I was surprised that Wease successfully captured [a:Donald Hamilton 114241 Donald Hamilton http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1291775970p2/114241.jpg]'s first person narrative style in this pastiche of the Matt Helm novels. The writing isn't as smooth or as concise as Hamilton's, especially in the early novels like [b:Death of a Citizen 2078937 Death of a Citizen (Matt Helm, #1) Donald Hamilton http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328691567s/2078937.jpg 2084209], but I think any Matt Helm fan will enjoy reading this book.
Trek at its weirdest! These Gold Key Star Trek comics are awesome and very nicely remastered.
Film historian Bruce Scivally focuses on the films and the people who worked in them, but he also discusses Donald Hamilton and the Matt Helm novels. Most of the quotes from Hamilton should be familiar to anyone who has read interviews with the author. Scivally catalogs the characters and plot details taken from the novels and how they were used or abused in the movies. He discusses the effect that the Matt Helm films appeared to have on the James Bond franchise. In his narrative, he outlines a relationship between the movies, the publication of new Matt Helm novels, Dean Martin's popularity, and Hamilton's career. I found the book surprisingly interesting, but I was disappointed that there are no references at all. I thought that would be standard practice for this type of book.
Set after the events of Star Trek Into Darkness, the first five-year mission gets underway with an iterating mix of old and new, in particular, a ore mature Kirk. I like the trends I see in this ongoing series.