Category: Books

Dirty Money – Clean Fun

Posted on by
The Pitch: The Getaway meets Parker.

The Overview: Dirty Money is part of a trilogy that started with Nobody Runs Forever and Ask The Parrot. Written by Richard Stark [aka Donald Westlake] and featuring his creation, the hard case thief known simply as Parker who is trying to recover over 2 million in stolen loot that he had to abandon when the cops began to close in. The area is still buzzing with cops… there’s a bounty hunter getting closer and closer… oh, and did I mention that one of his partners has turned on him?

The Good: Stark‘s Parker is such a cool, iconic character. The novel never feels like I’m reading fiction.

The Bad: Waking up to find a former partner holding a gun on you.

The Ugly: What happens when you try to cross Parker.

The Summary: If you’re a fan of Richard Stark’s Parker series, you’ve probably already read Dirty Money. If you’re new to the character, you can jump right in with any of the books. Although the last three have been written as a trilogy, they also work as stand alone novels.

“The Road” – Hopefully Another “No Country for Old Men” Level Film!

Posted on by
ComingSoon.net scored six photos from The Road, the big screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s best selling, award-winning novel of the same name. Viggo Mortensen [is this guy on a roll, or what?], headlines a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce.My hope is that it will be as good as the last adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel [No Country for Old Men]. Is that too much to ask?

Robert B. Parker’s Appaloosa: Feelings Get You Killed [2008]

Posted on by


I’m really looking forward to the movie adaptation of Robert B. Parker’s novel Appaloosa. The screenplay is co-written and directed by Ed Harris, who also takes a starring role as gunfighter, Virgil Cole. Viggo Mortenson plays his partner, Everett Hitch. If that’s not enough star power, to get your motor running, then consider that Rene Zelwegger, Jeremy Irons, Lance Henrikson and Rex Linn also will show up for the festivities.

Here’s a link to the official website. If you check it out you won’t findmuch other than a link to the movie’s poster and first trailer. It’s worth a click to see both.My hope is that Appaloosa will do well enough at the box office for Ed Harris to film the entire trilogy [Appaloosa, Resolution and the yet to be published Brimstone].

Robert B. Parker’s Resolution

Posted on by
The Pitch: Themes from Robert B. Parker’s Spenser written as a western.

The Good: Robert B. Parker‘s writing. It‘s sparse and conversational, but I really like it. The verbal interplay between Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole. How Hitch becomes the town “protector.” What happens when the person you sided with turns out to be the “bad guy.” Cole‘s reputation as a gunfighter. “Sometimes you got to kill one person early, to save killing four or five later.” When Cato and Rose ride in. Major Lujack and his twenty versus Everett, Virgil, Cato and Rose.

The Bad: Virgil Cole‘s love for Allie.

The Ugly: What happens to someone blasted with an eight-gauge shotgun.

The Summary: Resolution is a direct sequel to Appaloosa. It’s Parker’s third western. His first was Gunman’s Rhapsody which took a look at the events involving Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, the Clantons and an incident at the OK Corral. You may have heard something of it. At any rate, all three books get my recommendation. [And you really should read Appaloosa before Resolution!]

Get the Digital Plague

Posted on by

The Pitch: “D.O.A” meets Avery Cates with the world in the balance.

The Overview: In Jeff Somers‘ sequel to The Electric Church, Avery Cates is kidnapped and injected with nanobots that infect and slowly kill anyone near him. First it’s his friends who begin to get sick and die. Then people who have come into contact with his friends. Cates must find someone with a cure and then figure out why he was chosen to be the source of the outbreak. If he can do those two things, there’s a good chance he can save himself and the world. If he can’t, he’ll die trying… and either way, he plans to kill a lot of people.

The Good: Jeff Somers‘ writing. Avery Cates. The opening line: “I was going to have to kill a whole lot of people.” The story moves. Happling and Hense. The twists. How zombies are worked into the story and the explanation for them. The reason behind Cates being selected for the source of the plague. Jae Lee is back with a cover illustration.

The Bad: What happens to those infected with the nanobots. What Avery Cates is put through.

The Ugly: What happens to city populations as the plague runs rampant.

The Summary: I predicted that The Electric Church would make my list of Best Books of 2008. I liked the The Digital Plague even better!

I can’t wait to see what Jeff Somers has in store for Avery Cates in his next adventure, The Eternal Prison. In the mean time, I have Jeff Somers ‘ blog to tide me over.

How I Spent My 4th

Posted on by
I love used book stores. My buddy, Rob, has been telling me about Chamblin’s Book Mine in Jacksonville, Florida for some time now. Today, I knew I would be in the area and so I made it a point to go there. My wife and I were excited about hitting Chamblin’s. If it was half as good as Rob described it, we’d get some great books at great prices.Funny thing is… I didn’t consider that they’d be closed on the 4th of July. They were. Arrrgh! We’ll try again the next time we’re in the area.In the meantime, have a Happy 4th of July! We’re off to see the fire works and then back home to catch some episodes of Twilight Zone Marathon on the SciFi Channel!

Only One Cooke Needed

Posted on by
Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite comic book creators. I was lucky enough to get a Stallone sketch from Darwyn at MegaCon 2007. It was the last sketch that he did on the last day of the show. Whew!

If you read this interview with Darwyn posted today at Newsarama you’ll begin to understand why he’s a fan favorite.

If you read Darwyn’s The New Frontier; Batman: Ego and Other Tales; or his take on Will Eisner’s The Spirit Volume I and 2 you’ll know why.

Heck, anyone whose favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz [my all-time second favorite movie] has got to be alright in my book!

The New Classic Books

Posted on by

Entertainment Weekly created their list of The 100 Best Books from 1983 to 2008. Using just their choices, here’s my top six:

  1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
  2. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
  3. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
  4. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
  5. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
  6. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
Wow. That’s pretty bad, I guess. I’ve only read six out of EW’s top 100. So I have to ask, where is Charlie Huston’s Hank Thompson Trilogy? How about Dirty White Boys by Stephen Hunter? LA Rex by Will Beal? Cain by James Byron Huggins? Critical Space by Greg Rucka? The Blonde by Duane Swiercznski? And don’t get me started on graphic novels: The Dark Knight Returns by Miller and Janson — Batman: Year One by Miller and Mazzucchelli — The Punisher graphic novels by Grant, Zeck and Beatty…

We Have a Winner!

Posted on by
I visit a lot of blogs daily. Rod Lott’s Bookgasm is one of them. I enjoy his reviews – he’s turned me on to some very good books. He also runs contests and I enter the ones that have prizes that I think I’d enjoy. Guess who was just named the winner of a copy of Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide? Yep. Big ole me.

You’ll have a chance at the next contest if you start reading his site… not that I want the competition.

The Electric Church

Posted on by
The Pitch: “Blade Runner” meets “The Dirty Dozen”

The Overview: In the near future the two most powerful organizations on the planet are the United Federation of Nations and The Electric Church. The United Federation of Nations controls the population through the use of their brutal and corrupt System Security Force [think elite military police]. The Electric Church is a new religion growing at an exponential rate due to its promise of salvation through eternal life [as a cyborg]. Avery Cates is a “gunner” – hired muscle available for a price – trying to stay under the radar of both groups. When he mistakenly kills one of the SS cops he finds himself given one option for survival: break in to the stronghold of the Electric Church and assassinate it’s leader.

The Good: Jeff Somers‘ writing. Avery Cates and his band of outlaws. The story moves. The cover illustration by Jae Lee.

The Bad: What happens to converts to The Electric Church.

The Ugly: The way most of the population lives.

The Summary: My guess is the The Electric Church will make my list of Best Books of 2008. I can’t wait to read its sequel, “The Digital Plague.”

Matt Hughes: Legacy?

Posted on by
We may have seen the last of Matt Hughes as far as MMA fighting goes. Still there are other options that would keep him active in the sport. Hughes would make an excellent commentator. He has already written one well-received book.

But if Matt Hughes decides to retire totally from the limelight, how will he be remembered? I think Dave Doyle sums it up perfectly HERE.