Tyson Adams – Page 46

Book Review: Lullaby Town by Robert Crais

Lullaby Town by Robert Crais
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

People who read my reviews will know that I’m not a fan of literary fiction. Elmore Leonard has a list of rules on writing, one of those rules is to leave out the parts that people skip. Literary fiction is loaded with those parts you want to skip. Robert Crais must be a fan of Leonard as well.

The last book I started to read was a literary fiction author trying to write a crime thriller. Lullaby Town is Robert’s example of why literary fiction authors can’t make the switch to genre fiction.

Elvis and Pike are back, this time sorting out what should have been a simple family reunion, but ends up with the New York mafia wanting them dead. My only regret with finishing this novel is that my pile of Crais books have now been read and I have to buy the rest before reading more.

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Humor, Writing

Setting my priorities

Humor

Book to movie revisited

I’ve written before on the lovely job that Hollywood does in translating books to the big screen. This cartoon pretty much sums up the process nicely.

Book review, Reading

Book Review: Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais

Stalking The Angel by Robert Crais

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A good book shouldn’t take any effort to read. The second Elvis Cole adventure is definitely an effortless read. The wit and plot flow seamlessly and make it easy to forget lunch.

The only thing I really have to say about this book is that I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment in the series.

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Book review, Reading

Book Review: Blood Moon by Gary Disher

Blood Moon by Garry Disher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m known for being on the cutting edge, for having my finger on the pulse; for example, I just bought a smart phone. It isn’t really surprising to learn that I’ve only recently discovered Gary Disher’s work, despite him having been an award winning author since before I entered highschool.

The first novel I read of Gary’s was Wyatt, after hearing him speak at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. I enjoyed that novel and now have plenty of good novels to catch up on.

This is my first Challis and Destry novel set in a small seaside town in Victoria Australia. It follows the assaults, rapes, murder and sex lives that keep the local police busy. The intertwining characters and investigations are deftly handled by Gary to give an engaging crime novel.

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Humor, Writing

Writing right

Originally seen at Bonnie Sparks’ blog post Writing Humour II.

Humor

Typos

Book review, Reading

Book review: Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais

The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am the reason that author’s of series have to write novels so that they can stand alone. That’s right, I don’t read series in order all that often. I started with Lee Child’s 61 Hours, Michael Connelly’s City of Bones, JK Rowling’s’ Goblet of Fire, Jo Nesbo’s Nemesis and Matthew Reilly’s Scarecrow. Long time fans don’t appreciate readers like me.

The first Elvis Cole novel I read was Sunset Express, which I enjoyed immensely. I decided to read the series the right way, so I went out and bought the first three Elvis Cole novels. Robert Crais kicked off this series with Monkey’s Raincoat, which was a shorter crime thriller.

Wit, humour, action, a weeping widow and drug dealers: mix and stir. Crais is definitely an author I’m trying to emulate and enjoy his writing and characters. I’m looking forward to the next two instalments.

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Humor, Reading

Readers are smart

They don’t want anything to do with Sarah Palin, even when her book has been put in the right category. I was just surprised that there were any Sarah Palin supporters who could read.

Science

Science Wins!

1st Photo from Mars — I shall call this land… This Land.

Like a few other people today, I watched the live feed of the Curiosity Rover landing on Mars. NASA were suitably pleased, I was suitably impressed and we had another win for science. Humans are capable of just about anything, it is really nice when they try to be capable. The first photo (above) was followed shortly by the second photo (below). I’ll be interested to see what it all means over the coming weeks.

Humor

Fiction Writer

Yeah, it has done the rounds, but this picture really does sum up a few of the conversations I’ve had lately.

Fun Articles

Important bookcase features

Let’s face it, there are certain things that all houses should have: bedroom, kitchen, lounge, secret room concealed behind a bookcase. Now obviously not everyone has enough space for a hidden room in their house, others are lucky that their house has a roof. Clearly the secret room hidden behind a bookcase is the domain of the rich. But it has recently come to my attention that some rich people have failed in their duties as rich people.

If you are wealthy and you don’t have a bookcase that conceals a hidden passage or room, then you are going about being wealthy the wrong way. In the interests of society, please donate your wealth to someone who will spend it more wisely.

How to guide here.

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Deadly allergies

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In the beginning

Life is pretty awesome, there is so much neat stuff going on, yet people want to fill it with meaningless stuff and have us do paperwork. Enjoy today, learn something, read something for fun, wonder, laugh, and don’t forget to poke fun at anyone trying to be boring.

Humor, Reading

Genre vs Literature

During a discussion the other day my favourite authors and books came up as a topic of conversation. Needless to say I listed off writers like Lee Child, Matthew Reilly, Robert Crais, Matt Hilton, etc. Now these people weren’t exactly literary snobs, but they did respond as if I was supposed to list the authors of classic literature and contemporary literature.

Seriously?

Can we all stop pretending that there is something superior about literary fiction. I’ve seen discussions of social problems in crime fiction, fantastic use of literary techniques in horror, exploration of character and humanity in science fiction; all performed with more skill and insight than I have seen in the literary genre.

How about we go back to judging a book by its cover.

Humor, Writing

Thou Hokey Pokey

Humor, Reading

TV and Hollywood suck

Book review, Reading

Book Review: The Running Man by Stephen King

The Running Man by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have so much admiration for Stephen King. There are few authors who have managed to be as enduring and successful as he has. The Running Man is a great example of his ability to write an enthralling novel outside of his normal genre.

I’m a very late addition to the Stephen King appreciation society. I blame the movie IT. Scared the crap out of me as a kid and made me fear reading King novels. I’m a big boy now so I’ve started to buy up a few of his books (ebooks and DTB)and will be diligently reading them.

Which one should I read next?

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What did you mean?

Uncategorized

Punisher fan film: Dirty Laundry

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of The Punisher. I hadn’t actually read many of the comics until last year and the reason I started was I wanted to make sure I wasn’t treading the same old vigilante ground as a genre defining anti-hero like The Punisher with my own work. Not only was I highly entertained by the Garth Ennis runs of The Punisher and the Punisher Max series, but I can now avoid treading on The Punisher’s territory; something no-one should do!

The problem with The Punisher has been the three terrible movies that have been made. The first starred Dolph Lundgren, enough said. The second starred Thomas Jane and just didn’t work; I blame Travolta and studio cheesiness. The third film starred Ray Stevenson and had all the right elements but managed to mess it up. Now we have a fan film starring Thomas Jane that bleeds awesome!

I for one would love to see a Punisher film that hits the mark. Either Jane or Stevenson would be suitable and clearly Jane is interested in reprising the role. So Hollywood: can you not mess it up this time?