JackM Crime 2013

[dex]

Having read the post about the december reading circle, I've cheated and bought the book I! Want to read at the price of £3.18. Where do I pay the Fine?

Edited October 3, 2013 by dex

[dex]

I've just bought Bleeding Hearts and Blood Hunt by Ian Rankin as Jack Harvey for 1.00 ea.ch in birmingham

[dex]

N3, Roobarb and Custard , One of my favourite childhood cartoons, Thr other two were before my time, I probably would have enjoyed the banana splits.

[dex]

Ann Cleeves - Silent Voices - 372 pages
I think with this one she's closest to the tv series. If anyone wants to swap the 4 books for something, I'm open to offers. Miss Purple hasn't even read the first one she lent me. So I'll either take them to work or Charity Shop Time. Again.

 

I was disappointed with this set of books, It was only by this 4th book that Vera had a background team in place. So that you felt she had a someone backing her up, apart from Joe obviously. I think the people who wrote the tv episodes knew that you need some regular characters, even if they don't do much in the investigations because Vera is a Lone Wolf type.

Edited October 14, 2013 by dex

[dex]

I've just seen that The Black Box Michael Connelly is now out.

[dex]

Hakan Nesser - The Inspector And Silence 433 pages

 

When a woman reports the disappearance of a girl from the summer camp of The Pure Life, a mysterious sect, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is called to investigate. But is the woman telling the truth? Who is she? And what lies behind the sect leader's fanaticism?

When the girl is later found raped and murdered, the public pressure to solve the case increases. But when Van Veeteren's questions to the members of the sect are met with silence, it seems that only his intuition will lead him to answers...

 

I enjoyed this book, The series does have it's ups and downs. I don't know what the next one will be like as I think V V has retired in it.

Edited October 19, 2013 by dex

[dex]

Hour of the Wolf - Hakan Nesser - 441 Pages

 

He woke up shortly before dawn - in the hour of the wolf...

In the dead of the night, In the pouring rain, a drunk driver smashes his car into a young man. He abandons the body at the side of the road but the incident will set in motion a chain of events which will change his life forever.

Soon Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, now retired from the Maardam police force, will face his greatest trial as someone close to him is inexplicably murdered.

Van Veeteren's former colleagues, desperate for answers, struggle to decipher the clues to this appalling crime. But when another body is discovered, it gradually becomes clear that this killer is acting on their own terrifying logic...



Just like Hakan Nesser's Inspector and Silence. They were both good books and well written ,but there's nothing really original about them. I really enjoyed reading Hour of The Wolf, it had a pace about the writing, but the end was disappointing.
How far would you go to cover up an accident, well after being blackmailed, This guys going all the way.

Edited October 26, 2013 by dex

[ian]

I've just bought 5 more zen mysteries for £10 from the market in birmingham.

 

 

I'm a bit behind the times in reading this thread - but which market in Birmingham are you getting these? That's a good buy!

[dex]

The Bullring Market,  You walk past the two top entrances of the bullring by the statue of the bull, and you carry on and go down all the steps and it's straight in front of you.

There's also a book shop just round the corner if you head towards the bull ring tavern and use the crossings, and it's by where those bus stops are.

Edited October 20, 2013 by dex

[ian]

Cheers, Dex - I haven't been in the rag market for years. As luck would have it, I'm going into Brum this Saturday, so hopefully I'll be able to persuade the rest of the clan to take a detour!

[dex]

The market stall is quite small and most of the books are in shoe boxes labelled with the authors name. Although there are a couple of shelves of Sci-fi/Fantasy and a couple of Thrillers.

I can't remember the name of the Shop, but it has a green frontage and Fantasy/Sci-fi at the front alongside comics, then a thriller section, then a hodgepodge, and in a room at the back some crime.

I bought 80% of my ian rankin from this shop.

[dex]

Looks like I've got to sound intelligent and have some points to make for the december group read. I better do some planning now.

[dex]

Ender's Game, It's been some years since I read it. I enjoyed it at the time for the escapism of space and alien attacks.

It does contain quite a large morality tale on the question of sending kids to war though

The sequels were more about attitudes to aliens / foreigners and how people from different perspectives treated each other.

Edited October 29, 2013 by dex

[Kidsmum]

Hi Dex your posts are always so cryptic i always feel like your operating on a different plain to me 

[dex]

Good , Only Joking (or am I). don't quote it.

 

 

 

 

I'm shy really and this works against me nowadays, because everybody is selling something. You can't leave you're home without somebody bothering you. Or calling you on your mobile.
I can be too direct with people, especially in person when they don't take subtle hints like a shake of the head or no thanks.
On the forum it seems to be being quoted that doesn't appeal to me. I'd probably prefer that you said 'look what dex said on post 7536736 ' or if it's a reply underneath then a ^ suffices. don't quote it
I went to the cinema the other day and there was an ad for A Tablet, A Boy is about to give a presentation and he doesn't want to. That's Me. I don't want to give a presentation, because I'm no good a them. I Know I'm no good at them.

Cryptic Writings (Yes I Know, It,s an album title) possibly a song. I've had to check now, it's an album.
I like music, I like reading books. I really like doing my own thing. I don't like conversation and I don't like meeting new people.

So I joined an online book forum, That's a great Idea.
Joining a forum allows you to express opinions, mainly on your own thread about life and things in general and even books, And they're mine, right or wrong.
I'm pretty bad at writing reviews and they tend to focus more on the negative, than on the positive. I do use the song titles thread to have a laugh and joke about me and my life.
I was always told when I was a kid that I couldn't do quite a lot of things and I got fed up of that.
I was always somebody's son or somebody's brother or cousin. I got fed up of that too.
I'm pretty sure that I don't have a sense of humour, although that could just be sarcasm.
Do you think this is what they call a Rant, because I tend not to do subtle either.

And that took me about 20 mins to write.
Unbeliever - Therapy?

Edited October 25, 2013 by dex

[pontalba]

^ good show ^

[poppy]

Good  , Only Joking (or am I).  don't quote it.

 

I'm shy really and this works against me nowadays, because everybody is selling something. You can't leave you're home without somebody bothering you. Or calling you on your mobile.

I can be too direct with people, especially in person when they don't take subtle hints like a shake of the head or no thanks.

On the forum it seems to be being quoted that doesn't appeal to me. I'd probably prefer that you said 'look what dex said on post 7536736 ' or if it's a reply underneath then a ^ suffices. don't quote it

I went to the cinema the other day and there was an ad for A Tablet, A Boy is about to give a presentation and he doesn't want to. That's Me. I don't want to give a presentation, because I'm no good a them. I Know I'm no good at them.

 

Cryptic Writings (Yes I Know, It,s an album title) possibly a song. I've had to check now, it's an album. 

I like music, I like reading books. I really like doing my own thing. I don't like conversation and I don't like meeting new people.

 

So I joined an online book forum, That's a great Idea.

Joining a forum allows you to express opinions, mainly on your own thread about life and things in general and even books, And they're mine, right or wrong.

I'm pretty bad at writing reviews and they tend to focus more on the negative, than on the positive. I do use the song titles thread to have a laugh and joke about me and my life.

I was always told when I was a kid that I couldn't do quite a lot of things and I got fed up of that. 

I was always somebody's son or somebody's brother or cousin. I got fed up of that too. 

I'm pretty sure that I don't have a sense of humour, although that could just be sarcasm.

Do you think this is what they call a Rant, because I tend not to do subtle either.

 

 

And that took me about 20 mins to write.

 

So this is what I should not do??  

 

(just checking)

 

Dex, you are your own person, and that's just fine  (promise not to quote you again, just couldn't resist one last time)

[dex]

Funny ;-)

[Athena]

I agree with poppy, you are your own person and that's fine . I always like reading your thread, even if we usually don't read the same books.

[dex]

The Blade Itself, First Law Bk 1 - Joe Abercrombie

Logen Ninefingers, Infamous Barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught up in one feud too many he's about to become a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but bad songs and dead friends.

Jezal Dan Luther, paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than winning glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on battlefields of the frozen north they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like little better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then He hates everyone. Cutting treason out of the heart of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendships - and his latest trail of corpses could lead straight to the rotten heart of government... if he can just stay alive long enough to follow it...

Well I've started this now and It's setting up the three characters named above so far, I'm finding it has got a slow start, but I'm sure I'll get into it.

There's a good description of the book, In the book;
'

The Fall of the Master Maker, in three volumes. Full of wise magi, stern knights with mighty swords and ladies with mightier bosoms. Magic, violence and romance in equal measure. Utter shhhhhhh.' ....

'

I'm on Page 230 now
There are some quite funny bits in it like the bumbling group of soldiers, but he still seems to be setting a lot of the story up.

Other than the soldiers mentioned above this seems to be a straightforward fantasy so far. I've got to the bit where the old man is asked to prove who he is. Page 424.

 

Overall

A good read, I hope the bumbling guards make  another appearance and have a bigger part to play, I was a bit disappointed when peoples own talents were boosted by helpers. Other than that it was a good start to a set. He laid the groundwork for a good story.                                                                                                                                     

Edited November 6, 2013 by dex

[dex]

Before They Are Hanged, First Law Bk 2 - Joe Abercrombie

 

How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, andd your predecessor vanished without trace? It's enough to make a torturer want to run - if he could even walk without a stick - and Inquisitor Glokta needs to find answers before the Gurkish army comes knocking at the gates.

Northmen have spilled over the Angland border and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back

Edited November 9, 2013 by dex

[Timstar]

Loved this trilogy, hope you enjoy the rest of it. Have you read any of his other books?

[dex]

No I haven't, These are my first Joe Abercrombie books and I stalled in the middle of Before They Are Hanged.

Edited November 16, 2013 by dex

[dex]

I've Won, I've been selected as A First Read on Goodreads for The Tunnel By S.D. Tooley. I'm really pleased and excited that I get to Firstreads a book on behalf of all the Goodreads fans out there, who are yet to discover the many Goodreads there at goodreads to be discovered on bookclubform.com. Is that subtle enough?
Many other Bookclubforums are available, Bookclubforums gives you the opportunity to discuss amicably and, violently, your opinions on romantic, lovey dovey, bleurgh fiction.
It also allows mature discussion on Fantasy, Science and Crime fiction, So checkout Bookclubforum for all your future goodreads.

Edited November 16, 2013 by dex

[dex]

Old Man's War - John Scalzi

 

John Perry did two things on his seventy-fifth birthday . First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news for humanity is that we have finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that there are few planets out there fit to live on - and plenty of alien races willing to compete for them. Therefore wemust fight: to defend earthitself, and to stake our claim to planetary living space. Far from Earth this conflict has been going on for decades, brutal, bloody and unyielding.

Earth is now a backwater, with the bulk of humanity's resources in the hands of Colonial Defense Forces. But you cannot join the CDF until you reach retirement age because they don't want young people; only those with the knowledge and skills amassed during decades of living. Once you join CDF, you'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. First come two years at the front and, if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own on one of those hard-won colony planets.

When John Perry agrees to this deal, he has only the vaguest idea of what to expect. Because, light years from home, the actual fight he faces is far harder than he could imagine... and what he himself will become is far stranger still.

 

This author does have sense of humour and I'm really enjoying the book. Does the rest of the set follow along the same lines.

(They've just been shipped out to their platoons and have ageed to stay in contact via The Voices, Voices in their heads even if The Sky Falls down.

Edited November 20, 2013 by dex