Looking back, the last of the true summer reading have clearly been (mostly) a search for escapism. Not that I have a lot to escape from, mind you, but I have always been able to waste time on good junk -- so, here are three places for you to waste your time.
Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child - When you really need to blow a couple of hours with no mental exertion and the latest Robert B. Parker (Spenser) or Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch) is not available, reach for one of the 11 Jack Reacher novels written by Lee Child. As I have noted before, many times the plot device is not believable and Reacher is definitely a strange bird. Jack Reacher is a 13 year MP veteran who, having been cut loose due to the peace dividend, is now a drifter with no fixed address and a paranoiac fear of any hint of permanence, i.e., he owns nothing but the clothes on his back and a toothbrush. He does, however manage to save the world from really bad guys, has a mean streak that won't quit, and enjoys his revenge as a dish served hot or cold but demands to be served. Bad Luck and Trouble is no less (or more) believable than any of the others, and that is not a bad thing.
Saturn's Children by Charles Stross is a very clever sci-fi adventure with some very neat twists and turns. The initial premise is pretty cool and quite definitely intriguing -- sometime very far into the future the universe has been populated for some time by androids who have done and continue to do the heavy lifting. Oh, yeah, one complication -- all the humans have all died off, leaving a very robust and active android society complete with unfulfilled pleasure models (programmed to love humans)and a caste hierarchy that at its bottom rung holds the majority of the population as slave-chipped serfs. Replete with plenty of sex and violence, this may not be (or on the other hand....) everyone's cup of tea. Like most good sci-fi, Stross has created that alternative universe....but also successfully mirrors the human condition and frailties. Identity politics and philosophy do not merge all that seamlessly with cruelty, sex, and violence, but the kernel of the idea is strong and pretty much carries the book. With the main character Freya reminding us of characters past written by Heinlein, Varley, Asimov and others, it was an enjoyable read. Probably not for everyone.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman presented this reviewer with two problems. First, I had previous read Gaiman's American Gods which, by the end of it, I thoroughly detested. Second, this is fantasy and typically I have a huge allergic reaction to trolls, witches, warlocks and their compatriots. However, Gaiman is a prodigious author, acclaimed by many (a Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker award winner as well as a Newbery Award winner) and multi-genre - children's books, sci-fi, comics (now known as graphic novels) as well as fantasy and film screenplays. I thought it only appropriate that I give Gaiman another try.
Neverwhere was Gaiman's first solo novel and it was entertaining. The plot (the protaganist, Richard Mayhew, a resident of London, learns that being the good Samaritan often carries a heavy price. In this case Mayhew is drawn into the world of "London Below", a shadowing city of mysterious, dark, and oft-disappearing people and places. Magic abounds as he helps Door find the who and why of the assassins that murdered her family. Other colorful characters abound and the pace does not tarry. If you can tolerate fantasy (and not just a little whiff of Dungeons and Dragons), this could be some fun. It also motivated me to try some more Gaiman -- but I haven't done so yet.
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