Book Review #36: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is the only full length novel that Edgar Allan Poe ever wrote. This novel is about the adventures at sea by Arthur Gordon Pym and includes a lot of elements you see in a lot of classic sea adventures which are mutiny, piracy, strong storms, wrecked vessels, sharks, cannibalism and barbarous savages. The events of these adventures keep it interesting.

I am indifferent on this book. I found out about it when I read Thrillers: 100 Must Reads and it sparked my interest. What I wasn’t ready for were long and wordy sentences and paragraphs, some of which you wonder if they’ll ever end. The author also starts talking about latitudes and longitudes which start losing my interest when he lists quite a few. I remember covering talking about those over forty years ago in school, but forgot most of what I learned about them.

Download Links:

You can download this book in various ebook formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2149

ManyBooks: http://manybooks.net/titles/poeedgarother07Narrative_of_A_Gordon_Pym.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Arthur-Gordon-Pym-Nantucket-ebook/dp/B0088P4QPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492472830&sr=8-1&keywords=the+narrative+of+arthur+gordon+pym+of+nantucket

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-narrative-of-arthur-gordon-pym-pseud-of-nantucket-north-america-edgar-allan-poe/1117034813?ean=2940020115354

Tim’s Rating: ***

(Three out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #35: The Hunt for Red October

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

The Hunt for Red October was the first book by Tom Clancy and also the first book written in the Jack Ryan series. This book takes during the Cold War. In this book, the Red October is the newest nuclear missile submarine in the Soviet Unions fleet and is captained by Marko Ramius. On the maiden voyage of the Red October which is to be an exercise to test the abilities of the new submarine which include technological advancements such as a new drive system which is very quiet and around impossible to detect by sonar. The problem is the submarine does not show up in the area where the exercise is to take place. Ramius and his senior officers, all hand picked by Marko, had planned months before the exercise to instead to head to America and seek asylum in the United States. As soon as the Soviet Navy finds out about him not being in the exercise area, the send around there entire Atlantic fleet to stop and destroy the Red October. Jack Ryan, an analyst for the CIA, is the first American to figure out what’s going on. He is sent out on Presidential orders to try to find the Red October and find out whether that is their intent.

This is the book that when I first read it back in the eighties that got me addicted to techno-thrillers and thrillers in general. Before that I read mainly science fiction and fantasy, and occasionally a mystery. After that I kept buying and reading books by Clancy, as well as Larry Bond, Dale Brown and other writers that wrote in that genre. If you are interested in reading a book in that genre or by Tom Clancy, I suggest this as a good book to start.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-October-Jack-Ryan-Novel-ebook/dp/B001PSEPLG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492303550&sr=8-2&keywords=the+hunt+for+red+october

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunt-for-red-october-tom-clancy/1100310985?ean=9780425269367

Tim’s Rating: *****

(Five out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #34: Snake Eyes

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Snake Eyes is a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation novel written by Max Allan Collins. It is the eight book of the CSI book and is based on the original CSI television series. In this story, the CSI team is called to go to a town which is a forty five minute drive from Las Vegas to investigate a shootout between two rival biker gangs in a casino in which the leader of one of the gangs and a dealer, a young single mother, are killed. Tensions are high in the town. The crime lab is short on personnel at the time due to some being on vacation and others being involved with hearings. All but two people from the swing and night shifts are sent to cover the shootout while the other two are left to handle whatever comes up during the swing and night shifts.

This is the first CSI book I’ve read and I like it. It is about like all of the CSI shows where there are usually two different investigations going on at the same time. Some go easier than others. It also kept me guessing at what will happen next and who done it.

Purchase Links:

This book can be purchased in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Snake-Eyes-CSI-Book-8-ebook/dp/B000JMKRJS/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491960305&sr=1-11&keywords=snake+eyes

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/csi-max-allan-collins/1111458888?ean=9780743496650

Tim’s Rating: ****

(Four out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.