The Eagle (Camulod Chronicles #9) by Jack Whyte

Sigh…and so this wonderful series, very likely my favorite series of all time, comes to its conclusion. 

The 9th and final novel in “The Camulod Chronicles” is centered around and told from the point of view of Clothar, the Gaul from the previous book in the series, and who we know today as Lancelot.  While books 8 and 9 form a duology within the larger series, this one really zeroes in on Clothar’s loyalty and love for Arthur and Camulod (Camelot) with much of the book detailing events of Arthur’s reign as King.  Arthur’s primary goal of uniting the myriad kingdoms, tribes, and factions of Britain into a benevolent and peaceful whole is the background for the novel although we are also treated to Clothar’s activities in Gaul as he acts as Arthur’s representative in building up alliances there as well. It was fascinating to watch how the concepts of knighthood and the games of competition (later to become jousts) developed.

Truth be told, I had long been fretting over this approaching final volume.  The previous books all number among my favorites (with the slight deviation that was book 8) and I was dreading the end.  Not only would it bring to a conclusion, one of my all time (if not THE all-time) favorite series, it would also have to deal with the epic, sad conclusion that we all know from the legend of King Arthur.  Indeed, Mordred is introduced in this volume and the Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere triangle is dealt with but I will not spoil just how this all plays out.  Suffice it to say that the ending is quite emotional but in an amazingly satisfying way.  The author of this series, Jack Whyte, proves yet again how to take an established mythology, extract the best parts of what makes it a story, make it incredibly realistic (this really might have happened!) and leave a little on the table to grow into its very own mythology.

After closing the final page on this long series of long novels, I simply leaned back in my chair, sighed… and smiled.  I will cherish these books always and never hesitate to recommend them to one and all.

A Friendly Place to Die by Michael P. Faur, Jr.

Cord is an American, captured during the fighting in Korea and later escaping from a POW camp, only to be captured again in China during a failed cross-country escape attempt. After escaping yet again, he is this time saved by a group of monks and taken to a temple where he spends nearly twelve years, learning almost a dozen languages as well as all sorts of other subjects, including martial arts and philosophy. This is all back story that takes place prior to the opening scene.

The novel opens with Cord in Mexico, about to cross over in to the US, making his way back home. He is approached by a Bond babe nice young lady with the marvelous name of “Weary Nowe”. Cord feels sure she is a secret agent of some kind but nevertheless they use each other to enter the US. Cord makes his way to Washington DC where he meets “Control”, the leader of some sort of super-secret government agency. Seems Fidel Castro will be entering the US and plans to make a speech before the United Nations. Control wants to hire Cord to prevent his assassination, which he believes would lead to escalating conflict around the world. Since the suspected killer is none other than Mao Ling, a Korean officer who had murdered every man in Cord’s unit during the war, Cord is happy to take on the assignment.

This novel, published in 1966 by Signet, appears to have been planned as the first book in a spy series, which were, of course, hugely popular during the 1960s. However, there were never any more published. The author, Michael P. Faur, Jr., similarly, appears never to have published another book either. That’s too bad. While this is not a fantastic novel, it is at least equal in quality to most other spy yarns I’ve read from that era. Cord (no first name given) has an enormous array of skills and knowledge from his background, many of which are used over the course of this story. But there is so much more that could have been unveiled over a series. Cord’s exacting verbal wit is constantly on display although his prominent use of Chinese proverbs, while fun to read, is probably a bit overused. The novel, much like Cord himself is intricately assembled with lots of twists and turns. Misdirection is a tool on full display. The ending is a bit odd in that it details exactly what actually happened, proving what Cord (and the reader) thought was happening was all wrong. An interesting technique.

Too bad there weren’t more of these published. I, for one, would have certainly carved out time to read them.

Doc Savage - Death's Dark Domain by Will Murray

Another fine Doc Savage adventure written by the inestimable Will Murray. This one features Long Tom more than most Doc adventures and it’s nice to see him get a major role for a change. This book is best read after reading The Fortress of Solitude from the original series run. The fate of John Sunlight from that novel looms over this one, mostly in regards to his having stolen a number of diabolical weapons and devices from Doc’s arctic workshop. Now it seems possible that one or more of them have found their way into the hands of two opposing countries in the Balkans, each of whom are intent on claiming a strip of land between the two and are not hesitant to use these unusual weapons.

Neither Renny nor Johnny make appearances in this one, both being off on projects of their own. Doc’s cousin, Pat Savage, only barely makes an appearance, just long enough to be exposed to anthrax and be thrust into quarantine and miss all the fun. So, it’s just Doc, Monk, Ham, and Long Tom who find themselves facing a variety of weird menaces including a bunch of invisible hairy cyclopes, vampires, unexplained patches of extreme blindness-rendering darkness, and hordes of aggressive giant leathery-winged bats. A nice assortment of other characters round out the cast and we are kept guessing as to who is really who they say they are and which are trying to get away with something. All the gadgets and seat-of-your-pants escapes that you hope for in a Doc novel are here. Perilous adventure abounds.

One of my least favorite parts of the original Doc Savage books are the endless squabbles between Monk and Ham. It just gets so repetitive and annoying. I think Will Murray feels the same. Of course, he must leave in the banter between the two and indeed, channeling Lester Dent seems to come second nature to him. But he really ratchets up the imagination when it comes to their insults and actually makes them fun to read. 

Looking forward to more of these Wild Adventures.

Seldom Disappointed by Tony Hillerman

I enjoyed reading this memoir although I confess to not having read very many Tony Hillerman books. (A quick database check reveals I've read three Leaphorn & Chee novels, one nonfiction anthology, and one fiction anthology that he edited). It's a true memoir, meaning it's based on his complete life, up until the age of 75 when he wrote it. That means there is a lot of material that does not directly relate to his books or writing process. Lots on his WW2 experiences where he earned recognition as well as some nasty wounds in battle. There is also quite a bit from his post-war journalism career followed by his his time in academia. 

I was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM and so I have many memories of Tony Hillerman's celebrity status for New Mexicans. While it's interesting to read of his life, I wish more of this memoir was devoted to his writing. He does make the point quite well, that all of his lifetime experiences did, in fact, feed his writing. Characters, even Joe Leaphorn, were based on people he'd encountered along the way. Probably more importantly were the plots and situations that his characters encounter which almost always grew from experiences in his own life. His insights on modern-day Indians (and yes, I deliberately use that term -- not "Native Americans" or "Indigenous Peoples" which many Indians consider derogatory) are especially interesting. Throughout the book, he is humble and isn't afraid to be self-deprecating. The book comes across as honest, even when he looks bad in hindsight from time to time. 

It's always fun for me to read autobiographies by authors and this one is a good one. And of course it served its purpose in that I now really feel the need to read more of his fiction.

The Big Bundle (Nate Heller #18) by Max Allan Collins

In 1953, six-year-old Bobby Greenlease, the son of a multi-millionaire auto dealer was kidnapped from a Catholic pre-school located in Kansas City, Missouri. The ransom demand was the largest in American history at the time, $600,000 (the titular “big bundle”). Enter private investigator Nathan Heller, who’s worked with movie stars, mob bosses, and presidents and been on the periphery of some of the biggest national secrets and scandals of U.S. history. Heller quickly works the case on behalf of young Billy’s parents, following the money to solve it and find some sort of justice for Billy’s family.

But not complete justice as it turns out. Five years have passed and less than half of the ransom money has been recovered. It’s now 1958 and Nathan Heller once again finds himself working the case, this time to try and discover what happened to the missing dough. Can it be tied up in Jimmy Hoffa’s exploits even as Robert Kennedy seeks to find some way to charge Hoffa with a crime? Or perhaps a cab driver who took one of the original kidnappers to the Coral Court Motel had tipped off local mobster Joseph G. Costello. Or maybe a couple of dirty cops are behind it all.

This is the eighteenth book in Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller series. The very first novel, True Detective, was written back in 1983 and won the Shamus award for best PI novel that year. While there might be some benefit in reading them in order, they were not written/published in chronological order so each novel can easily stand alone. These books are hard-boiled, true-crime detective novels with a fascinating protagonist. Indeed, Heller himself, doesn’t always take the high road but tends towards shades of gray. Regardless, he’s a man seeking justice, even though, just like in history, he doesn’t always find it. These novels are extremely well-researched and to read one is to absorb real history of the middle of the American 20th century in a very readable and enjoyable way.

Despite this being the eighteenth novel in the series it is the first to be published by Hard Case Crime which seems like the perfect match. I had a wonderful time reading it and am now kicking myself for not having read each and every one of the others in the series. But, I will be sure to remedy that.

King of the Mountain (Wilderness #1) by David Thompson (David Robbins)

In the year 1828, 19-year-old Nathaniel King is slaving away at an accountant’s job in New York City, struggling to earn enough to keep his fiancée happy and living the kind of luxurious life to which she has grown accustomed. Afraid he will never earn enough to please her, he jumps at a chance to gain a vast treasure. Seems his Uncle Ezekiel (Zeke), a man who moved to the great unexplored West some ten years previously had found this treasure and now wants Nate to have it. Nate travels to St. Louis, meets his uncle and together they make the adventurous trek to the cabin in the Rocky Mountains where the treasure awaits.

I’ve long wanted to begin this series of western/frontier novels. The prolific David Robbins, writing under the name David Thompson did not disappoint. He packs this novel with one adventure after another, from a thief ambush in a dark alley, to a ferocious grizzly bear attack, to several hair-raising (pun-intended) encounters with various Indian tribes. Along their journey, Nate and his uncle share experiences and Nate learns as much as he can, learning of the beauty of his surroundings as well as the violent kill-or-be-killed nature of life in the wild.

The novel works very well as an origin story of Nate King, an unlikely Mountain man but a true hero of frontier fiction. The end of this novel sets up the next and it's easy to see this lends itself to a lengthy series. Robbins does add some social commentary at regular intervals, especially in pointing out the characteristics and foibles of civilized life in the Eastern US appearing less attractive and less honest than what is experienced by the hard-working frontiersman. The novel is easy reading and harkens back to the pulp style of ending each chapter in a cliffhanger.

A fun read to be sure. I now have yet another long series to pursue but that is the sort of problem I like to have.

Murder Knocks Twice (Speakeasy Mysteries #1) by Susanna Calkins

In 1929 Chicago, Gina Ricci is the newly hired cigarette girl at the Speakeasy known as The Third Door. It’s not her ideal job but she is struggling to earn money for her ailing father and so she casts her concerns aside and plunges into the job. But when she learns the girl she replaced was actually murdered, her concerns mount. And then a photographer, hired by the speakeasy to take pictures of customers having good times with celebrities, is murdered right in front of her. His dying words to Gina are to safeguard his camera at all costs.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical mystery. The setting of a 1920s Chicago speakeasy was enough to draw me in and that setting along with the colorful characters and the page-turning mystery plot kept me reading right past my bedtime. Gina makes for a nice amateur sleuth, more the type that finds herself in a tough situation than the poking-her-nose-in-where-it-doesn't-belong type. The atmosphere was great, with the spot-on language of the depression, the ongoing prohibition enforcement efforts, all on the edge of the mobster scene. Various celebrities like Clarence Darrow, Amelia Earhart, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig, and several references to Al Capone pepper the scenery. This is not a hard-boiled crime novel by any means but it's not exactly a cozy either. Everything was just as I hoped for when I first picked up this book and considered it to read.

This is the first mystery I’ve read by this author but I already have book #2 on my TBR list and may well pursue her Lucy Campion series as well.

The Mask of Fu Manchu (Fu Manchu #5) by Sax Rohmer

After discovering the tomb of El Mokanna aka “The Veiled Prophet” in Egypt, and retrieving the historical relics buried therein, the famous archaeologist Sir Lionel Barton blows up the tomb. This has repercussions as the heretic sect faithful to Mokanna choose to interpret the resulting fireball as the second coming of their prophet. A violent uprising begins. The insidious Dr. Fu Manchu senses an opportunity to use the powerful relics for his own evil goals which include fostering an Islamic uprising that he hopes will sweep across the globe.

The fifth novel in the Fu Manchu series, written by Arthur Henry Ward under his Sax Rohmer pseudonym, is once again told from the first-person perspective of Shan Greville. (For the uninitiated, the first three books were from Dr. Petrie's perspective) This one is a direct continuation of the previous novel, The Daughter of Fu Manchu so I would urge that book be read first. Of course, Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie are major characters as is Greville’s fiancé Rima, the niece of Sir Lionel. The action stretches from Persia to Cairo, then back to London.

When our heroes first encounter Dr. Fu Manchu this time around they are startled by his youthful and vigorous appearance. It seems his genius has discovered a way to harness the essence of an essential oil of a rare Burmese orchid and he now has a new lease on life. His daughter makes a couple of appearances, mostly to administer mind-control drugs to poor Greville resulting in his full cooperation and adoration of Fu Manchu and his evil deeds. Fortunately, that doesn’t last for more than a few hours, but it is enough to cause significant damage to any attempts to forestall Fu Manchu’s plans as well as the successful kidnapping of Rima. The ransom scene deep inside the Great Pyramid to get Rima back is extraordinary and a real highlight of the entire novel.

This is another fun read in the Fu Manchu saga although not all is explained. For example, after the ransom scene in the pyramid, Fu Manchu is effectively trapped by Nayland Smith and company. There is no way out. However, there is never any explanation provided for how he escapes, simply that he has done so. Such are the mysterious ways of Fu Manchu.

The Lance Thrower (The Camulod Chronicles #8) by Jack Whyte

The final two novels in the Camulod Chronicles (this one and book #9, The Eagle) form a duology within the larger series and are told from the point of view of the young Frank, Clothar. We know him as Lancelot but in keeping with the realistic and historically appropriate method in which this entire series is written, the name Clothar is much more appropriate.

This novel is mostly a coming-of-age novel for Clothar, written in his first person perspective, telling the tale from the viewpoint of his later years as a way to make sure his children understand their own familial history. About a third of it takes place when he is just 10 years old and a student under the tutelage of Germanus (a great character we’ve encountered before) while the rest is from when he is 16-18 years old. It is not until the end that Clothar finally meets up with Merlyn and Arthur, himself.

This overall series has become one of my all-time favorites (of all genres) and so it is with some reluctance that I divulge that this is my least favorite of the series. There is nothing particularly “wrong” with it but to my mind much of it seemed somewhat unnecessary to the overall series. In essence it is very much a stand-alone novel within the larger set, and can be read as such…but the most satisfying parts are where it does intersect with the rest of the series and familiar beloved characters. Alas, these parts are few and I confess I was hoping for more of that, and sooner. However, it does a great job of setting up the important character of Clothar and letting us see how he developed his approach to life, and provide some insightful teasers, all of which will ultimately pay off in the concluding volume, I’m sure.

So now I look forward to The Eagle, albeit with mixed emotions. That’s always the way it is with a truly great series, knowing there is only one left to experience, but I will force myself, somehow, to undertake the task. After all the build-up I’ll finally get to experience the heart of Arthur’s story, in the amazing way that only Jack Whyte can tell it.

The Dagger Affair (The Man From U.N.C.L.E. #4) by David McDaniel

The fourth in the series of Man From U.N.C.L.E. novels is also the first to be written by David McDaniel who would go on to write five more plus an unpublished finale called “The Final Affair”.

Having read a number of these now, I must say this one is easily among my favorites. Sure, it’s another story about preventing an evil genius with a new invention from destroying the world, but it’s the method of telling that story that is unique. The U.N.C.L.E. agents are forced into an alliance with arch-enemy THRUSH in order to prevent the evil plot.  After all, THRUSH doesn’t want to see the world destroyed; they want to take it over and wield power over it. It’s in everybody’s best interests to call a temporary truce and work together.

The characterization of both Solo and Kuryakin this time around is much closer to what was shown in the television series than the first three books in the series. They are very effective as a team, and in tough situations they are each able to read the actions of the other like a well-oiled machine. They also display a playful banter with each other which is both endearing as well as serves to hi-light their different natures. Even Mr. Waverly gets to have some time in the field. The author includes a fair bit of humor, including one scene in an airplane where the movie to be shown is the newest James Bond picture. While Solo is quickly absorbed in the opening sequence, Kuryakin just shakes his head, not understanding how people could enjoy such rubbish.

But the best part of this novel is that we finally get to understand the nature of THRUSH, not only learning what that acronym stands for but also to learn of its history and what its primary goals are. That sure beats the vague “bad guy organization” we’ve known about up until this point (if you're reading them sequentially in publication order). The higher-up THRUSH characters of Ward and Irene Baldwin are not only nicely drawn characters but also work well as a way to put a face to the THRUSH organization and even almost become anti-heroes. It’s always nice to have educated, honorable (at least on the surface), and gentlemanly foes to work with. Working alongside THRUSH agents in life-or-death scenarios might be distasteful at first but we readers tend to get lulled into complacency right along with Solo, Kuryakin, and Weatherly, all the while knowing this won’t last and soon they would once again be enemies.

I’m glad to know there are more U.N.C.L.E. books still to come written by David McDaniel. Looking forward to them all.

The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

This non-fiction book won all sorts of awards when it came out in 2016, including the prestigious Edgar and Agatha awards.  It’s easy to see why.  I’ve dabbled in reading a few golden age detective novels, mostly Agatha Christies but a few others here and there. But I’ve never felt like I had a good handle on that era and how and why this sub-genre came to be so popular.  I was also interested in learning more about the authors involved.

The Golden Age of murder mysteries or detective novels is usually considered to be those years between the two world wars.  Big name authors were Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K Chesterton (Father Brown mysteries), John Dickson Carr, John Road, Anthony Berkley, and many others. In the year 1930 a small group of these authors formed “The Detection Club”:

    an elite social network of writers whose work earned a reputation for literary excellence, and earned     a profound long-term influence on storytelling in fiction, film, and television.

This was a group of young writers from Britain (almost all living in London), whose impact continues to be felt even today.  This book focuses on their early years, from 1930 through 1949, which only involved a total of 39 members.   

The book does an excellent job of not only delving into their biographies and work, but also provides a solid understanding of how they influenced each other, criticized each other, and came to each other’s defense. I really felt like I got to know them, warts and all. Many of them got ideas from real-life murders, details to which we are also treated. But the real treasure here is in understanding how their work came to be so important and influential for later authors, whether in the mystery genre or beyond.  The author is, himself a crime writer as well as a noted authority on detective fiction which is very evident throughout the book.

Best of all, I feel like I absorbed all of the information that a textbook could offer and yet this doesn’t read like a textbook at all. In some ways, it is like reading a mystery story, especially considering all of the secrets these authors kept to themselves. Very entertaining to read.

The bad news is that I now have a whole list of authors I want/need to try and a much longer list of their books to get my hands on.

Highly recommended.