Monthly Archive for September, 2009

The Falls by Ian Rankin (52 Books, 26 Down, 26 To Go)

Published
by
Chris
on September 27, 2009
in 52 Books 52 Weeks
. 0 Comments

The Falls is yet another very solid outing from Rankin. As usual, Rankin has several story lines going at the same time. In this book, DC Siobhan Clarke starts to become more of a significant character as Rankin needs a detective who can handle the technological stuff as Rebus is still fumbling with text messaging. In this novel the tech stuff takes a bit of center stage as a young woman’s disappearance may tie in to an internet game she was playing.
Rankin continues to work at the height of his powers in his twelfth Rebus novel, but I am continuing to feel a growing sense of dread as I know the series is rapidly coming to it’s conclusion.

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon (52 Books, 25 Down, 27 To Go)

Published
by
Chris
on September 27, 2009
in 52 Books 52 Weeks
. 0 Comments

Who would have figured that Pynchon would deliver a book a mere couple of years after his last doorstop. Inherent Vice isn’t exactly a doorstop itself. It is, rather, a relatively easy read (for Pynchon) though I’m not quite sure it’s the “beach read” it’s publishers claim. Set in the surf rock sixties Los Angeles, private investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello is on the hunt for a missing real estate developer. But as with any Pynchon novel, there is so much more going on. In the small selection of books that Pynchon has published, this is a fairly minor, although still entertaining novel. It’s probably not a great place to start, if you haven’t read any Pynchon. I hate it when Pynchon newbies ask me where to start with the condition that they don’t want to start with Gravity’s Rainbow. If you start with something like this, it’s just going to give you the wrong idea about Pynchon as a whole. If you’ve read Pynchon before, it’s definitely recommended.

A Truly Colorful Inherent Vice Review

Published
by
Chris
on September 8, 2009
in Books
. 0 Comments

The B&N Review has a unique review of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice by Ward Sutton (via JeFF Vandermeer’s Ecstatic Days).

James Patterson attempts to destroy the world’s forests

Published
by
Chris
on September 8, 2009
in Books
. 0 Comments

James Patterson signs a three year, seventeen book deal. Think of the trees. There should be a carbon tax on his books. The funny thing is, working in a bookstore and seeing new titles of his pop up every six to eight weeks, I think the guy might be slowing down.

Set In Darkness by Ian Rankin (52 books, 24 Down, 28 To Go)

Published
by
Chris
on September 5, 2009
in 52 Books 52 Weeks
. 0 Comments

Set in Darkness is the 11th Inspector Rebus novel (out of 17…I’m on the back half now…). As far as I am concerned, Rankin has been solid throughout the whole Rebus series thus far, peaking with Black and Blue (the 8th Rebus novel). The last few books, while good, haven’t quite risen to the promise of that book. That all changes with Set In Darkness. As I am writing this, I am actually a few Rebus novels beyond this one and I can say with certainty that this is where Rankin comes into his own. The novels gets more complex, more nuanced, better researched. This is where Rankin truly proves himself as a master of the crime procedural.
Huzzah!