New Books (August #1)

Featuring: David Annandale, Anne Blankman, Christopher Fowler, Felix Gilman, Emmi Itäranta, Philip Kerr, M.A. Lawson, Peter Liney, Caitlin Moran, Haruki Murakami, Lauren Owen, Greg Rucka, Brian Ruckley, Adelle Waldman, Will Wiles, Tad Williams

Mini-Review: “Back Story” by David Mitchell (Audible / Harper)

A marvellous memoir by one of Britain’s best new(ish) comedians

David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his look of permanent discomfort on C4 sex comedy Peep Show, his online commenter-baiting in The Observer or just for wearing a stick-on moustache in That Mitchell and Webb Look, has written a book about his life.

As well as giving a specific account of every single time he’s scored some smack, this disgusting memoir also details: the singular, pitbull-infested charm of the FRP (‘Flat Roofed Pub’); the curious French habit of injecting everyone in the arse rather than the arm; why, by the time he got to Cambridge, he really, really needed a drink; the pain of being denied a childhood birthday party at McDonalds; the satisfaction of writing jokes about suicide; how doing quite a lot of walking around London helps with his sciatica; trying to pretend he isn’t a total **** at Robert Webb’s wedding; that he has fallen in love at LOT, but rarely done anything about it; why it would be worse to bump into Michael Palin than Hitler on holiday; that he’s not David Mitchell the novelist. Despite what David Miliband might think…

The synopsis does a very good job of suggesting the tone and content of the memoir. But what it doesn’t fully convey is just how good it is. Delivered in Mitchell’s distinctive voice, with just the right amount of sarcasm and cynicism, this could very well be the best memoir I’ve listened to from Audible, or at least an equal to Stephen Fry’s The Fry Chronicles. This memoir had me laughing out loud plenty of times (something only Tina Fey and Jane Lynch have done so far).

Mini-Review: “Drama” by John Lithgow (Audible/Harper)

One of America’s great contemporary thespians on his actor’s education

Through the vivid stories in Drama, John Lithgow shares a backstage history of his struggle, crisis, and discovery, and the scenes of his early life and career that took place before he became a nationally-known star. Above all, Drama is a tribute to the most important influence in John Lithgow’s life: his father, Arthur Lithgow. An actor, director, producer, and great lover of Shakespeare, Arthur brought theatre to John’s boyhood, where performance and storytelling were a constant and cherished part of family life. Lithgow brings the theatre worlds of New York and London to life as he relives his collaborations with renowned performers and directors including Mike Nichols, Bob Fosse, Liv Ullmann, Meryl Streep, and Brian De Palma. Lithgow’s ruminations on the nature of theatre, performance, and storytelling cut to the heart of why actors are driven to perform, and why people are driven to watch them do it. At once hilarious and reflective, Drama pulls back the curtain on the making of one of our most beloved actors.

This memoir took me a little by surprise. For one thing, Lithgow doesn’t linger so much on the projects in which he has performed – rather, he focuses more on the lessons he’s learned, the experiences he’s enjoyed, and some of the people he has met along the way. It’s an interesting memoir, and a really good listen.

Quick Review: “Happy Accidents” by Jane Lynch (Audible / Harper)

A great memoir by a great comedienne and actress

In the summer of 1974, a fourteen-year-old girl in Dolton, Illinois, had a dream. A dream to become an actress, like her idols Ron Howard and Vicki Lawrence. But it was a long way from the South Side of Chicago to Hollywood, and it didn’t help that she'd recently dropped out of the school play, The Ugly Duckling. Or that the Hollywood casting directors she wrote to replied that “professional training was a requirement.”

But the funny thing is, it all came true. Through a series of Happy Accidents, Jane Lynch created an improbable and hilarious path to success. In those early years, despite her dreams, she was also consumed with anxiety, feeling out of place in both her body and her family. To deal with her worries about her sexuality, she escaped in positive ways such as joining a high school chorus not unlike the one in Glee but also found destructive outlets. She started drinking almost every night her freshman year of high school and developed a mean and judgmental streak that turned her into a real- life Sue Sylvester.

Then, at thirty-one, she started to get her life together. She was finally able to embrace her sexuality, come out to her parents, and quit drinking for good. Soon after, a Frosted Flakes commercial and a chance meeting in a coffee shop led to a role in the Christopher Guest movie Best in Show, which helped her get cast in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Similar coincidences and chance meetings led to roles in movies starring Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and even Meryl Streep in 2009's Julie & Julia. Then, of course, came the two lucky accidents that truly changed her life. Getting lost in a hotel led to an introduction to her future wife, Lara. Then, a series she'd signed up for abruptly got canceled, making it possible for her to take the role of Sue Sylvester in Glee, which made her a megastar.

Today, Jane Lynch has finally found the contentment she thought she’d never have. Part comic memoir and part inspirational narrative, this is a book equally for the rabid Glee fan and for anyone who needs a new perspective on life, love, and success.

While listening to this audiobook, I realised I’ve seen a hell of a lot more of Jane Lynch’s TV and movie work than I originally thought I had. And, it must be said, she’s brilliant in everything. That’s quite the detailed synopsis, above, and I think I will actually not go into too much detail about the topics and projects Lynch goes into, here. I really, really enjoyed listening to this.

“A Colder War” by Charles Cumming (Harper)

Tom Kell returns…

A top-ranking Iranian military official is blown up while trying to defect to the West. An investigative journalist is arrested and imprisoned for writing an article critical of the Turkish government. An Iranian nuclear scientist is assassinated on the streets of Tehran. These three incidents, seemingly unrelated, have one crucial link. Each of the three had been recently recruited by Western intelligence, before being removed or killed.

Then Paul Wallinger, MI6’s most senior agent in Turkey, dies in a puzzling plane crash. Fearing the worst, MI6 bypasses the usual protocol and brings disgraced agent Tom Kell in from the cold to investigate. Kell soon discovers what Wallinger had already begun to suspect – that there’s a mole somewhere in the Western intelligence, a traitor who has been systematically sabotaging scores of joint intelligence operations in the Middle East.

This is the second novel to star Tom Kell, disgraced SIS agent, and apparently the services new go-to problem fixer. At least, for problems that need to be fixed quietly and delicately – more so than the secret service normally requires. A Colder War improves on A Foreign Country in almost every way (quite the feat, given how good the previous novel was), and hopefully marks the beginning of a long-running series to star Kell. This is another engrossing, expertly crafted espionage thriller.

Short Review: “A Foreign Country” by Charles Cumming (Harper)

An excellent spy thriller

On the vacation of a lifetime in Egypt, an elderly French couple are brutally murdered. Days later, a meticulously-planned kidnapping takes place on the streets of Paris.

Amelia Levene, the first female Chief of MI6, has disappeared without a trace, six weeks before she is due to take over as the most influential spy in Europe. It is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Desperate not only to find her, but to keep her disappearance a secret, Britain’s top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell.

Tossed out of the Service only months before, Kell is given one final chance to redeem himself – find Amelia Levene, at any cost. The trail leads Kell to France and Tunisia, where he uncovers a shocking secret and a conspiracy that could have unimaginable repercussions for Britain and its allies. Only Kell stands in the way of personal and political catastrophe.

Charles Cumming is one of my favourite authors – in the thriller genre or otherwise. He writes tightly-plotted, gripping espionage thrillers in the tradition of John le Carré and others of that era. [It is, perhaps somewhat cliché to now compare Cumming to le Carré, but it really is apt.] Cumming’s novels are decidedly British, in that they are devoid of melodrama or the dick-swinging swagger that can characterise American-authored espionage thrillers (see, for example, Vince Flynn and Brad Thor). They are, however, just as gripping.

Books Received (Easter Week & a Bit)

Featuring: Mark Alder, Charles Cumming, Stella Gemmell, Terry Hayes, Sarah Pinborough, Justin Richards, Marcus Sakey, Tom Rob Smith

Teaser: Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan’s THE STRAIN (TV)

The teaser trailer for upcoming TV adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain was unveiled by FX during the Super Bowl. Here it is:

I think they lose points for using the same BWAAAH! as Transformers and… well, most movies nowadays. For my thoughts on the novel, check out my review. The Strain is published by Harper, as are its sequels: The Fall and The Night Eternal.

“The Strain” by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan (Harper/William Morrow)

The start of the vampire apocalypse… It’s very well-written, but…

At New York’s JFK Airport an arriving Boeing 777 taxis along a runway and suddenly stops dead. All the blinds have been drawn, all communications channels have mysteriously gone quiet. Dr Ephraim Goodweather – head of a rapid-response team investigating biological threats – boards the darkened plane… and what he finds makes his blood run cold.

Meanwhile, in a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, aged Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian knows that the war he has been dreading his entire life is finally here.

Before the next sundown Eph and Setrakian must undertake the ultimate fight for survival. A terrifying contagion has come to the unsuspecting city – hungry, merciless, lethal… vampiric?

It took me so long to get around to reading this. And it’s taken me a few months to get around to writing the review. I’m not sure why, but there we go. The first in del Toro and Hogan’s trilogy, it chronicles the events that spark the outbreak of a vampiric plague in New York, threatening the country beyond, and the toppling of the status quo. It’s an interesting novel, but one that I struggled with a fair bit, given its pacing. Conceived as a trilogy, this novel is basically the set-up and that’s about it. We learn a little of the background – minor moments from the vampire’s history, and the former-concentration camp inmate who discovered that it was feeding on inmates; and then, decades later, tracking it across to the New World.

James Rollins’s BLOODLINE Giveaway

Another giveaway (having a lot of them, these days), this time for James Rollins’s latest Sigma Force novel, Bloodline. Quite simple to enter, all you have to do is go:

HERE

And then, just fill out the nice, easy form.

Here’s some info about the book:

Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu — the staff of Jesus Christ — a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.

A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she’s Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president.

Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency.

For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning...

Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries…a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking:

Could you live forever?

Would you live forever?

Sharpe’s New Jackets (Harper)

I started reading Bernard Cornwell’s novels in the Summer of 2001 – it was the end of my first year at university, and I picked up Harlequin. Being the author-obsessive that I was at the time (I would find an established author, read everything he/she wrote), I picked up Sharpe’s Tiger. And was hooked. I proceeded to read every Sharpe book that was published at the time and, after moving there for a year, even ordered them to Japan. (Oh, the postage charge!)

Harper have just re-released the entire series with some very nice, vintage-look jackets. As I’m probably not going to be re-reading them and reviewing them any time soon, I thought I would nevertheless share some of the new covers.

“Supreme Justice” by Phillip Margolin (Harper)

Intrigue & Corruption at the Supreme Court

Sarah Woodruff, on death row in Oregon for murdering her lover, John Finley, has appealed her case to the Supreme Court just when a prominent justice resigns, leaving a vacancy.

Then, for no apparent reason, another justice is mysteriously attacked. Dana Cutler – one of the heroes from Margolin’s bestselling Executive Privilege – is quietly called in to investigate. She looks for links between the Woodruff appeal and the ominous incidents in the justices' chambers, which eventually lead her to a shoot-out that took place years ago on a small freighter docked upriver in Shelby, Oregon, containing a dead crew and illegal drugs. The only survivor on board? John Finley.

With the help of Brad Miller and Keith Evans, Dana uncovers a plot by a rogue element in the American intelligence community involving the president's nominee to the Supreme Court, and soon the trio is thrown back into the grips of a deadly, executive danger.

This is the second novel in Margolin’s Washington Trilogy (the first was Executive Privilege), and it continues the series in very fine form. The novel reunites us with Brad Miller and Dana Cutler – the former is now a clerk at the Supreme Court, while Dana continues to work as a private investigator and also some-time reporter for Exposed, the supermarket tabloid our protagonists turned to in their previous novel. Supreme Justice has a couple of great twists and red herrings, as well as political and courtroom intrigue. This is a pretty solid, entertaining and gripping political/legal thriller.

Giveaway Winner! (HELEN LOWE)

And the winner of last week’s The Gathering of the Lost giveaway is…

Christopher Parvin (@Ghostlandia)

Congratulations! I’ll get in touch to sort out delivery of your book.

Check back tomorrow for another interview and giveaway!

An Interview with HELEN LOWE + Giveaway!

The second volume in Helen Lowe’s Wall of Night series, The Gathering of the Lost, has recently been released worldwide. To celebrate the book’s release, and learn a little bit more about it, I decided to get in touch with Helen, and see if she’d be interested in talking about her novels, writing process, and more. In addition, if you read right until the end, there are also details of a giveaway…

“The Run” by Stuart Woods

An unexpected, lightning-fast Presidential Campaign thriller

A respected senator from Georgia, Will Lee has loftier aspirations. But a cruel stroke of fate thrusts him onto the national stage unexpectedly, and long before he’s ready for a national campaign.

The road to the White House will be more treacherous – and deadly – than Will can imagine. A courageous and principled man thrust into the spotlight, he suddenly finds himself the target of clandestine enemies who will use all their money and influence to stop him... dead.

Now Will Lee isn’t just running for president, he’s running for his life.

I’m not really sure what made me pick this up when I did. I’d been reading lots of fantasy and science fiction, and I think I just needed something different. I’d also just finished watching West Wing again, so was in the mood for an American political thriller. The Run is by no means a perfect novel, but it does exactly what we want a thriller to do, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Prince of Thorns” by Mark Lawrence (Voyager)

A dark beginning…

“Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me, I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother’s tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that’s true enough, but there’s something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse.”

From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father’s castle, Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

Prince of Thorns is one of the most hotly-tipped debuts of the year, and its release has been preceded by quite a lot of online uzz. After reading it, I can see why: it’s pretty incredible. Lawrence has written a dark and engrossing tale, and one that grips from very early on.

“The Geneva Deception”, by James Twining (Harper)

Tom Kirk’s fourth adventure

A missing masterpiece. A shocking truth. An alliance signed in blood…

For Lieutenant Allegra Damico, the brutal murder of a mafia enforcer offers her an unexpected opportunity to jump start her career. When the body of a senior official at a Vatican-backed bank turns up under similar conditions, it becomes clear the killings are, in fact, the opening shots of a war.

In Las Vegas, former art thief Tom Kirk has agreed to help Special Agent Jennifer Browne handle the recovery of a priceless Caravaggio. The painting, stolen over forty years before, has suddenly surfaced and Jennifer is determined to recover it, but a sniper lies in wait. Tom, accused by the FBI of being involved in the shooting escapes to Italy, crossing paths with Allegra. Realising their cases are connected, they decide to team up.

What they uncover is a vast and powerful conspiracy stretching from the scarred fields of Italy to the marbled halls of the world’s greatest museums. A conspiracy built on the graves of the dead and the blood of anyone who dates stand in its way.

In this fourth Tom Kirk novel, Twining once again showcases his skill at conjuring plots that centre on intricate, international criminal conspiracies and, of course, expensive art.

The previous three novels featuring Tom Kirk were all happily devoured by this reviewer, and it was only through accident that it’s taken me this long to finally get around to The Geneva Deception. While still very interesting, there are some flaws to go along with the author’s obvious strengths.

First, the pros: Twining’s familiarity with the art world (not only the museums, but also the European centres of art – especially those in Italy) is superb, and the detail comes across as natural and unforced. Kirk is a strong protagonist, and Allegra is an interesting addition to the series. The story is well constructed, and Twining takes the reader on quite the tour of Rome. There are a few scenes that feel like The Da Vinci Code, but it’s only because of lazy mental reference to the opening scenes of Dan Brown’s mega-seller in the museum – Twining is far ahead of Brown in turns of style and quality.

Some of the flaws of the novel come hand-in-hand, or as a result of some of its strengths. Twining, a detail-oriented author, has perhaps gone a little too far in The Geneva Deception, as he describes everything in considerable detail. It’s not to the same level as the details of Patrick Bateman’s morning ritual in the opening chapter of American Psycho, but it’s noticeably higher than could be considered wise. Everything is described: we get exact model descriptions of suits, watches, guns and the bullets available to them, vintage cars... It’s sometimes exhausting – certainly in the opening chapters, when Twining hasn’t quite got the plot going yet. Sure, it adds an extra level of authenticity for an art thief to know about the finer things in life, but it also screams a little bit like “Look how much research I’ve done!”

The story picks up around Chapter 15, when the art deal goes wrong in the Las Vegas Casino, and Kirk has to keep things together at the same time as dealing with a significant death (which he seems to cope with far too well). The pacing throughout the novel is just rather uneven and, for me, didn’t match up to the superb quality of his first two novels (The Double Eagle and The Black Sun), both of which I loved.

Overall, this is a good book, and a fun read. Unfortunately, and for reasons I can’t understand, Twining either has written this without strict editorial supervision, or his editor wasn’t paying too much attention. It takes approximately half of the novel before all the events described in the blurb on the back of the paperback have happened. While this isn’t bad per se, it was a little disappointing to know, basically, the first half of the novel before cracking open a single page.

If you like your thrillers a little less break-neck in pace, coupled with intricate plotting and an international setting, not to mention some excellent insight into art and the art black market, then The Geneva Deception should appeal. It’s not the author’s best novel, but it’s certainly still well worth reading.

“The Chosen One”, by Sam Bourne (Harper)

A Conspiracy pulling at the String of Power

Bruised by years of disappointments, political advisor Maggie Costello is finally working for a leader she can believe in. She, along with the rest of America, has put her trust in President Stephen Baker, believing he can make the world a better place.

But suddenly an enemy surfaces: a man called Vic Forbes reveals first one scandal about the new president, and then another. He threatens a third revelation – one that will destroy Baker entirely.

When Forbes is found dead, Maggie is thrown into turmoil. Could the leader she idolizes have been behind Forbes’s murder? Has she been duped by his message of change and hope? Who is the real Stephen Baker?

On the trail of the truth, Maggie is led into the roots of a massive conspiracy that reaches back into history - and goes right to the heart of the US establishment…

I was really looking forward to The Chosen One, and its frequent delays only increased my interest. Bourne’s previous novel, The Final Reckoning, was a great thriller, one that was both gripping, intelligent and though-provoking all at once. I had high hopes for this latest, especially given the subject matter – the US president and politics – which is a subject I am already obsessed with.

The novel contains an amazing amount of detail and commentary on the current state of US politics, drawing also on the new faces and mediums of political life and commentary: blogs, Fox News, Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh, and even Twitter. The main protagonist, Maggie Costello, is a strong female character, just fired from the White House staff for calling the Secretary of Defence and ‘asshole’ (which might make you think she’s got moxie, but this was sadly not borne out through the rest of the novel – more on this later). Maggie is clearly a staunch liberal: idealistic and with quite high standards.

“Maggie Costello? Working for a politician? The idea was ridiculous. She had ideals, for God’s sake, and ideals had no place in the snakepit of modern politics.”

The first few chapters were reminiscent of The West Wing, in some ways, which meant I became comfortable with the setting pretty quickly. Bourne also draws considerably on issues and buzz-words/-phrases of the past couple of years, making the novel feel extremely current and fresh (“Arugula-munching liberals”, for example).

I’m going to deal with a couple of issues I had with the novel, before giving my generally positive over-view. First, the revelations that Forbes publicises. It’s amazing to me how the first continues to be an issue for the US electorate – in fact, it’s becoming quite the cliché in presidential fiction, TV and movies: depression as a career-sinker. West Wing had it, too. The reaction from staffers and Maggie at the outset are excessive and overblown: the president was treated for depression, in the past, but now there’s nothing to worry about. Why is this a scandal? It seems clear that he’s better. The second revelation is one that is equally common (to do with campaign finance) and easily proved as a non-issue, and so unprecedented. The big story, too, is somewhat predictable – mainly, because of the clear influences of real political drama, it was almost guaranteed. I guess this was somewhat disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things it didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the story.

The novel ticks all the boxes of what political thrillers “need”, yet still manages to be interesting and mostly original: Sabotaged car? Check. Shadowy lobbyists? Check. Possible CIA connection? Check. Difficult personal situation for protagonist? Check. Conflicting loyalties? Check. And on and on.

The ‘bad-guys’ in the novel feel real and believable (naturally, they’re the Republicans), and thankfully Bourne manages to avoid turning them into cartoons – at least, only as cartoony as some real political figures in the US are these days. Maggie, on the other hand, is a little slow on the uptake – there’s no way she didn’t know “the Company” is CIA, given her job in the White House. Convenient happenstance is also an integral part of the story. In Emma’s review of Angelology, she said too often something was the way clearly just because it was necessary for the plot – that it didn’t make sense otherwise – this is also true for The Chosen One, with too many plot devices that were so obviously just that: included purely for the sake of the story, and in a pretty obvious way.

One thing about the novel makes me wonder if the author was, at one point, either rejected by or received a negative review from The New Republic: he refers to their journalists in pretty derogatory terms (“juvenile egghead" is just one of the ways a TNR journalist is described).

The final conspiracy is actually a pretty interesting idea, even if it is plugged into one of the US’s deepest political fears: the influence of moneymen and puppet-masters behind the scenes of power. The conspiracy can best be described using the words of one of the conspirators (don’t worry, this isn’t really a spoiler, and just adds to the synopsis, above):

“Have you never thought about how the great political leaders made it to the top?... Have you never noticed how smooth their path was? How the luck always seemed to go their way?… There are no accidents... There is no luck. There was a pattern to all those events. There always has been and there always will be.”

The nature of the conspiracy he’s chosen to use also raises the possibility that Bourne has read John Judis’s The Paradox of American Democracy (ironic, given that Judis is a frequent TNR contributor) and perhaps also Janine Wedel’s The Shadow Elite. If he hasn’t, he should – they are very much non-fiction books on a similar topic: that there’s an invisible hand at work in US politics, but it’s not Adam Smith’s. [Incidentally, both of these books are pretty good.]

It’s fun to sink in to conspiracy from time to time, and I enjoyed reading The Chosen One. The pacing was a little uneven – at times really quick, at other times not so much. I preferred The Final Reckoning, which surprises me considering Bourne’s latest is much closer to my non-fiction interests. On the whole, though, this is was an enjoyable read, and any fan of thrillers should think so, too.

A good summer read.

Weekly Acquisitions

Another post to let you know about books received and upcoming reviews. Another good week, with a broad range of books, here’s a quick run-down of what’s to come:

A mixture of fiction and non-fiction, first I’ll deal with the fiction.

Nathan Long, “Bloodborn” (Black Library)

The first Ulrika novel

Ulrika, recently turned as a vampire, attempts to adjust to her new way of life.

But when a fellow vampire is killed in Nuln, Ulrika and her mentor, Gabriella, are sent to investigate. Soon they find themselves facing danger from all sides as they attempt to solve a mystery that threatens the very existence of the Lahmian bloodline.

How can they hope to destroy something with the power to kill a vampire?

I’m actually already half-way through this novel, so the review should be up by the end of the week. So far, I think it’s great – on the strength of this and Shamanslayer, I can definitely say that Long is growing as an author and really making these characters his own. Highly recommended.

Sam Bourne, “The Chosen One” (Harper)

A Presidential Campaign and a Shocking Scandal?

Bruised by years of disappointments, political advisor Maggie Costello is finally working for a leader she can believe in. She, along with the rest of America, has put her trust in President Stephen Baker, believing he can make the world a better place.

But suddenly an enemy surfaces: a man called Vic Forbes reveals first one scandal about the new president, and then another. He threatens a third revelation – one that will destroy Baker entirely. When Forbes is found dead, Maggie is thrown into turmoil.

Could the leader she idolizes have been behind Forbes's murder? Has she been duped by his message of change and hope? Who is the real Stephen Baker?

On the trail of the truth, Maggie is led into the roots of a massive conspiracy that reaches back into history - and goes right to the heart of the US establishment.

Ever since I read Sam Bourne’s previous release, The Final Reckoning, I’ve been eager to read more (especially after I discovered that it involved presidential politics and conspiracy). Frequently compared to Dan Brown, Bourne is so much better. If you like your thrillers exciting, involved and engaging, then you should really check Bourne’s novel out.

Robert Charles Wilson, “Julian Comstock” (Tor)

A Story of 22nd Century America

In the reign of President Deklan Comstock, a reborn United States is struggling back to prosperity. Over a century after the Efflorescence of Oil, after the Fall of the Cities, after the False Tribulation, after the days of the Pious Presidents, the sixty stars and thirteen stripes wave from the plains of Athabaska to the national capital in New York. In Colorado Springs, the Dominion sees to the nation's spiritual needs. In Labrador, the Army wages war on the Dutch. America, unified, is rising once again.

Then out of Labrador come tales of the war hero “Captain Commongold.” The masses follow his adventures in the popular press. The Army adores him. The President is... troubled. Especially when the dashing Captain turns out to be his nephew Julian, son of the President’s late brother Bryce – a popular general who challenged the President’s power, and paid the ultimate price.

As Julian ascends to the pinnacle of power, his admiration for the works of the Secular Ancients sets him at fatal odds with the Dominion. Treachery and intrigue will dog him as he closes in on the accomplishment of his lifelong ambition: to make a film about the life of Charles Darwin.

I’ve never read anything by Wilson, but the above synopsis was just too intriguing to pass up, so I pre-ordered the book through Amazon. Not sure when I’ll have time to get ’round to it, but expect a review soon.

Christie Golden, “Star Wars: Allies” (Century)

Book 5 in the ongoing Fate of the Jedi series

What began as a quest for truth has become a struggle for survival for Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben. They have used the secrets of the Mindwalkers to transcend their own bodies and speak with the spirits of the fallen, risking their very lives in the process. They have faced a team of Sith assassins and beaten the odds to destroy them. And now the death squad’s sole survivor, Sith apprentice Vestara Khai, has summoned an entire fleet of Sith frigates to engage the embattled father and son. But the dark warriors come bearing a surprising proposition that will bring Jedi and Sith together in an unprecedented alliance against an evil more ancient and alien than they can imagine.

While the Skywalkers and their Sith allies set off on their joint mission into the treacherous web of black holes that is the Maw, Han and Leia Solo risk arrest and worse to aid the Jedi imprisoned back on Coruscant. Tyrannical Chief of State Natasi Daala has issued orders that will open a permanent schism between her government and the Jedi Order—a schism that could turn all Jedi into renegades and wanted criminals.

But it is in the depths of the Maw that the future of the galaxy will be decided. For there the Skywalkers and their Sith allies will engage a true monster in battle, and Luke will come face-to-face with a staggering truth.

Golden’s novels, while enjoyable, have thus far not been as good as those by the other authors currently writing for the Star Wars franchise. As this series progresses, and as events surrounding the Skywalkers and their allies hurtle towards what will hopefully be an explosive ending to the series, I am hoping Golden will be able to live up the expectations of the many readers and fans following the series. I’m confident, and after the quality of Aaron Allston’s Backlash, I’m pretty keen to get to this.

Thomas J. Sugrue, “Not Even Past” (Princeton)

Barack Obama and the Burden of Race

Barack Obama, in his acclaimed campaign speech discussing the troubling complexities of race in America today, quoted William Faulkner's famous remark "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." In Not Even Past, award-winning historian Thomas Sugrue examines the paradox of race in Obama's America and how President Obama intends to deal with it.

Obama's journey to the White House undoubtedly marks a watershed in the history of race in America. Yet even in what is being hailed as the post-civil rights era, racial divisions--particularly between blacks and whites--remain deeply entrenched in American life. Sugrue traces Obama's evolving understanding of race and racial inequality throughout his career, from his early days as a community organizer in Chicago, to his time as an attorney and scholar, to his spectacular rise to power as a charismatic and savvy politician, to his dramatic presidential campaign. Sugrue looks at Obama's place in the contested history of the civil rights struggle; his views about the root causes of black poverty in America; and the incredible challenges confronting his historic presidency.

Does Obama's presidency signal the end of race in American life? In Not Even Past, a leading historian of civil rights, race, and urban America offers a revealing and unflinchingly honest assessment of the culture and politics of race in the age of Obama, and of our prospects for a postracial America.

A short book about Obama and race. Don’t know too much about it, but I’ll give it a go, see if there’s anything interesting and innovative within.

Jonathan Alter, “The Promise” (Simon & Schuster)

President Obama, Year One

Alter, a native of Chicago who has known Obama and his circle for nearly a decade, provides a fast-paced inside account of the breakneck speed with which President-elect Obama, and then President Obama, began making critical decisions and assuming the burdens of office amid the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

With dozens of exclusive details about everything from the selection of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state to the president’s secrets for running a good meeting, Alter paints a fresh and often surprising portrait of a highly disciplined and self-aware president and his colourful team.

We see a young president of extraordinary temperament grappling with the task of stimulating the economy, bailing out large banks, taking over the American auto industry, making the crucial decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan, deciding whether to negotiate with Iran about its nuclear program, and fighting for a major reform of the country's health care system. Alter explains what Obama is like in private, how he operates, and why he is so insistent on leading the country and the world into a new era of wrenching change.

Yup, yet another book about President Obama. Unlike many of the books released in the past couple of years, Alter’s actually promises to be both interesting and engaging. As a senior editor for Newsweek, I am sure this will be an accessible and enjoyable read. This will be the next non-fiction book I read and review, so keep an eye on the other site.

David Farber, “The Rise & Fall of Modern American Conservatism” (Princeton)

A Short History from Robert Taft to George W. Bush

Farber tells the story of perhaps the most significant political force of our time through the lives and careers of six leading figures at the heart of the movement. Farber traces the history of modern conservatism from its revolt against New Deal liberalism, to its breathtaking resurgence under Ronald Reagan, to its spectacular defeat with the election of Barack Obama.

Farber paints vivid portraits of Robert Taft, William F. Buckley Jr., Barry Goldwater, Phyllis Schlafly, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. He shows how these outspoken, charismatic, and frequently controversial conservative leaders were united by a shared insistence on the primacy of social order, national security, and economic liberty. Farber demonstrates how they built a versatile movement capable of gaining and holding power, from Taft’s opposition to the New Deal to Buckley's founding of the National Review as the intellectual standard-bearer of modern conservatism; from Goldwater’s crusade against leftist politics and his failed 1964 bid for the presidency to Schlafly’s rejection of feminism in favour of traditional gender roles and family values; and from Reagan’s city upon a hill to conservatism’s downfall with Bush’s ambitious presidency.

The book provides rare insight into how conservatives captured the American political imagination by claiming moral superiority, downplaying economic inequality, relishing bellicosity, and embracing nationalism. This concise and accessible history reveals how these conservative leaders discovered a winning formula that enabled them to forge a powerful and formidable political majority.

This actually looks pretty interesting, and like Kim Phillips-Fein’s The Invisible Hands, takes a look at American Conservatism from other perspectives, as well as the presidents who embodied it. The book’s not too long, so I’m sure I’ll manage to get through it pretty quickly and hopefully pretty soon.

Bill Clinton, “My Life”

The 42nd President’s Autobiography

I’m sure I don’t really need to provide a synopsis for this, but I thought I’d include it for one simple reason: the hardback edition, in near-perfect condition, cost me only 99p! The benefits of browsing Oxfam’s bargain bins.

I’ve read a number of biographies on Clinton, but for some reason I never managed to get around to reading this. Now that I’ll be finishing the first full-draft of my PhD (on US foreign policy and the importance of the President, incidentally), I should be able to give this a go (it’s a bit of a beast).

So, another good week for books, keep an eye on the site for reviews. I should be able to keep up the review-rate, but there are quite a few mammoth-books in the works, so I expect the number of reviews and posts might dwindle over the next couple of months.

“Shadow of Power”, by Steve Martini (Harper)

An Intelligent Thriller, let down by unfortunate Pacing Issues

A writer is savagely slain while on a publicity tour – a literary provocateur who craved headlines, but whose last book may have gone too far. His revelations about secret language buried in the U.S. Constitution – and hints about an explosive missing letter of Thomas Jefferson’s – may be enough to cause an irreparable tear in the fabric of the nation… and perhaps drove a volatile youth to homicide.

But Paul Madriani thinks a troubled young man with dark connections has been chosen as a scapegoat to cover up something far deadlier that festers in America’s political heart. And in the wake of the strange disappearance of a Supreme Court Judge, Madriani must survive long enough to find the devastating answers hidden in the shadow of power.

I must first admit to taking a long time to figure out what all the fuss is about, here. The ‘firebrand’ author has written a book about the fact that the language of slavery (the 3/5ths rule, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and so forth) is still in the US Constitution, even though Amendments have made it ‘dead letter law’. Because of this book, riots and new calls for revolution are reverberating around the media and agitated and concerned citizens. Ok, fine. But why is it such a big deal? As lead protagonist Madriani says, “Since none of this is new – that language has been there for what, going on two and a half centuries? – why now?” Thankfully, Martini does do a good job of explaining it, even though I do consider it a weaker premise than could have been formulated.

One thing that I noticed very early on is that Martini is a very gifted writer: his prose, while not as fast-paced as Grisham’s or Sandford’s, are crafted to draw you along with the story; offering just enough to keep you reading; revealing just enough to keep you guessing. The historical detail is superb, and because of my own existing interest in all things American, added another element and further layers to the novel that engaged me. Equally, Martini offers lots of commentary and explanation of legal practices, tactics and specifics, which certainly helped expand my knowledge of US criminal law.

For this reason, the afterword is also excellent, shining a light on the history of the ‘Jefferson Letter’ and the Founding Fathers’ deliberations and struggles with the slavery issue. I must say, I always like it when authors provide such afterwords (James Rollins and David Baldacci's are always of particular interest).

That being said, there was one major weakness with the novel, and that’s the issue of pacing. Specifically, that it is uneven: at times, things move along briskly and I found myself sinking into the story, but at other times it dragged as the author gets bogged down in passages of detail, legalities, and history - all interesting, but at times the delivery was overly clunky. The scenes in the courtroom, too, sometimes drag on, as Madriani seems to play ‘gotcha’ with almost all the witnesses for the prosecution. The most interesting bits were in between court scenes, as Madriani and his partners search for Justice Ginnis and the ‘J Letter’, when the novel was more ‘political intrigue’ and less ‘legal thriller’.

If the pacing had been streamlined, then Shadow of Power would have been an excellent novel: believable characters, and interesting and intelligent plot, and excellent prose-writing.

This was my first novel by Martini, and I’d be willing to accept that I was perhaps hoping for something more akin to John Grisham and John Sandford, something more thrilling. I will, however, be reading at least one more novel by the author: I already own the eBook for the next in the series, Guardian of Lies, which appears to be another thriller with historical roots (that the CIA is involved in the conspiracy only makes it more enticing).

For Fans of: John Sandford, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Kyle Mills, James Twining, David Baldacci, William Bernhardt, Stuart Woods, Richard North Patterson, David Silva, Christopher Reich