Mike's Book Review Thread.

[Mike Rotch]

All future book reviews will be posted here. I can't remember what past reviews I did, so they will have to wait till the subject book is re-read.

Last book read: The Fall of Fortresses
Author: Elmer Bendiner

Acquired from: First time visit to out-of-the-way hobby shop.

Edition/Type: First edition Hardcover.

Rating: 9.8/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: A deceptively profound book chronicling the start to finish of the author's service as navigator in a B-17 during WWII.

Bendiner participated in the era of bombing mission that had fighter protect only over the Channel. All forays into Germany and France were unprotected and it was during this time that the Army Air Force suffered its highest losses. The losses suffered during this time were quite horrendous. He casually noted.. Some 300 men were lost over Bremen on Friday. Another 280 at Anklam the next day. On Sunday we went to Münster and another 300 men went down to death of capture.

This book doesnt concentrate so much on the actual missions, rather his fear of uncertainty he and his fellow aviators faced, and his inability to understand how "The Brass" could plan suicidal missions that could never hope of succeeding.

He participated in both of the bloodiest undertaken by the 8th; missions to Schweinfurt in Aug and Oct '43 where 1200 men and over a 120 planes were lost. In both cases, the target was not destroyed and the losses of man and machine almost ended bombing raids for the remainder of that year.

In between those two raids he had to ditch with the rest of his crew in the Channel. Along with the plane that was lost, went his ability to react like a human for the rest of his service. He admits that he became a piece of the plane, a machine with no feeling towards death or survival.

Below is a quote of what he saw on the return home after Schweinfurt, Oct '43:


Our journey home seemed like an endless run through a terrible maze. At each corner of the maze a body burned. No one could trace the human features in the fire or the charred fragments of uniform and flesh that dropped from the image. You saw yourself in flames and passed on.

Across Germany, across Belgium, across France, amid lowering clouds ran a trail of fires - ghostly flares lighting up an infernal landscape with no horizon, no sun, no shadows. The land was no longer tilled. The cities empty and staring. One imagined a world of grotesque fungi. The only signs of animation appeared in the yellow flicker of burning B-17s

 

[keram]

Book Wild Blue
Author Stephen E. Ambrose (author of Band of Brothers)

Acuired from Book shop (WHSmith to be exact)

Edition/Type Paperback

Rating 8/10

Comment I thought this was an entertaining view of a true account of what happened during WWII in Cerignola Italy following the lives of the 8th army 455th bomber group 741st squadron. It shows the life of the men on and off the battlefield the mistakes they made the horrors of the war. It often tells of humourus tales to because the airmen had spare time they got into trouble often. The book is genuinely entertaining and yet factual at the same time well orth a read!

 

[Mike Rotch]

Last book read: Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of WWII
Author: Phillip Ardery

Acquired from: Online bookstore dealing in out-of-print books.

Edition/Type: First edition Hardcover.

Rating: 5.5/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: In short, a majestically disappointing book.

It tells the story of the author's enlisting in the US Air Corps in 1942 and his training at various bases in Texas and Utah in that year. He was then assigned to the 389th bomber group initially based near Norwich, England and falling under the umbrella of the 8th Air Force.

Immediately upon arrival in England he was told that he and the rest of his Group's B-24 Liberators were ordered to assist the 15th Air Force (Mediterranean) in important bombing missions, based out of Benghasi. His stay in Benghasi included participation in one of the most dramatic and deadliest mission undertaken by the 15th - the 14hr round trip to attempt destruction of the Rumanian oilfields in Ploesti.

After wading through a 1/3 of the book that dealt dryly with his training in biplanes, it was a mamouth disappointment to have this battle covered in less then then 4 pages.

Even worse was the coverage of the other notoriously savage battle he participated in - Wiener Neustadt in Austria. This was a later mission he flew, after spending time in England under the 8th and then being sent back to Tunis to help the 15th again.

Again, a historical battle covered in less then 5 pages. To rub salt into the wound the writing was atrocious with it often necessary to re-read a paragraph at length to understand what the author was getting at.

An overall disappointing first forray into B-24 memoirs.

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

Book Racing Cars, Masterpieces Of Engineering
Author John Tipler

Aquired from The Warehouse (NZ Shopping Store)

Edition/Type Hard Cover

Rating (in Smilies) Out of Ten

Comment This book is facinating. It goes through the years of Racing cars. Past, Present and Future. It goes through various types of race cars. From Single-seaters, to Tin-tops, to Sports and GTs.

Single-seaters
Formula 1
Formula 3000
Formula 3
Champ Cars

Tin-tops
European Super Touring (ToCA)
Australian Touring Cars (V8 Supercars)
TransAm Sedan Series
NASCAR

Sports and GTs
Sports and Racing Cars
Grand Touring

It even has the records from over the years. All the way up to 1999. There are some picture perfect illustrations of cars that have been cut away to show you various parts of the cars. These cars include the Alfa Romeo 155 TS, Honda Accord LS. Various F1 cars and theTVR Speed 12. Just to name a few. All up there is a total of 173 pages excluding the index. There is even info on Type of engine. How it works. All those types of stats. This book is a great buy. It maybe a bit out dated now but it's still worth it. My rating(as says above) is a 9 smilie rating out of 10. The major area that needs improvement is the comparison's of the cars. Comparing Old VS New. Other than that it's a great read. Very educational 👍

 

[emad]

don't have a lot of time right now but if you have questions, just ask and i'll respond tomorrow

Last book read: Bourne Identity
Author: Robert Ludlum

Acquired from: Coles


Rating: 9/10

Type: Fiction

Comment: I don't have much time right now but simply put, the novel is AMAZING. I haven't seen the movie yet so my opinion is on the book only. Ludlum does an excellent job with this one and really brings out the intensity of the action in the book. Bits and pieces were a bit confusing the first time around but I think it was to heighten chaos of come of the events that took place. Overall, I loved it and i'm currently reading Bourne Supremecy. The only thing I dislike about Ludlum in general is that he's done TONS of novels following the same style and same skeleton of a plot. None of them failed to amaze me.



Last book read: Altered Carbon
Author: Richard Morgan

Acquired from: Coles


Rating: 6.5/10

Type: Fiction - Sci Fi

Comment: This novel is Richard Morgan's first and frankly, it's one of the best science fiction novels I've read in a long time (After Buzz Aldrin's Encounter with Tiber and Frank Herbert's Dune series). The whole concept behind some of the techie stuff of the world in this one is very unique for a change. For example, people have their brains stored on computers and can be transported instantaneously or even stored in virtual worlds or put into other bodies. That in itself is what drives this novel. The the main character, Takeshi Kovacs, is an ex spec-ops military person. He's hired by a rich man whose body was murdered (put back into another body later). The police think it was murder because of the timing of the storage of his memory but he's convinced otherwise. So Takeshi goes in and tries to uncover the truth and in that, he finds that there are people that don't want him to know what happened. The rest follows like a general suspense story. Either way, it was well written and it's nice to see how Richard Morgan's writing style improves drastically as the novel progresses onwards. Room is left in the end for a sequel. Great novel - not the best, but definately great.


Last book read: Broken Angels
Author: Richard Morgan

Acquired from: Coles


Rating: 8.5/10

Type: Fiction - Sci Fi

Comment: better by far than his first and you can still see some improvements in his style as the novel progresses. The storyline here is deeper still and it attempts to dig deeper into the Takeshi's mind and personality. More of his history is spoken about yet the action is still there. Definately reccomended if you like sci-fi but I'd suggest reading the first book along with it. It can still be read separately but it's nice how it references to Altered Carbon every now and then.

 

[gt4]

Book Read: Just Six Numbers
Author: Martin Rees
Type This is one of your regular space theory type books that are always really interesting.

Rating: 10/10

This one discusses what the author considers to be the 6 most important numbers in the universe. He talks about how because of these 6 numbers it is possible for life as we know it to exist. If you like to read theory/scientific/cool books i would suggest reading this. It is a fairly short read only 180 pages. It's not super easy but i only had to re-read a few parts so i think anyone with an interest in science will probably have enough of a general knowledge to understand it. Well as i said earlier i would suggest reading this. It makes your outlook on being alive a little different.

 

[Pupik]

Book Read: Foundation
Author: Isaac Asimov
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: in serial, 1942; compiled into a single collection in 1951.
Acquired from: My buddy, John; who though I'd enjoy it.

Review: About 10,000 years from now, there's millions of worlds, held together by an archaic empire's that's collapsing. Who's gonna save the day? Duh...the smart people. The ones who kept the light on in darkness of the galaxy, while everyone else is getting fat, lazy, petty, and ignorant. They are the Encyclopedists, who are going to record history so we don't repeat the mistakes made beforehand.

One man, who's developed a unique brand of science called "psychohistory" can use mathematical formulas to predict the course of human history. Unfortunately, he's predicted bad things. Really bad things. But if you act now, he'll promise that by following the way of the Encyclopediaists, we'll slash the 30,000 years of human misery and failure into a single millenia!

Of course, most everyone thinks he's loco en la cabeza. But see what happens when the Encyclopediaists are sent to the edge of the Galaxy to change the future and fend for themselves from their new-found enemies.

What I liked about it: This isn't a book about aliens or extra-terrestrials or robots. This is a book about politics and the human beings, despite all their bahaviors, create dynasties and destroy them in a fell swoop. This is how history is made, and how it repeats itself when the ignoramouses get behind the wheel of a veritable TVR Speed 12 without any assistance or advice. It's written into the language of a 16-year-old, but it doesn't dwell on using foul lagunage, whether English-derived, or giving you unpronouncable names of planets that don't exist. Yes, it's an easy read, but one you can't put down once you put away your pre-concieved notions. Lucky for you, it's part of a tremendous series, but for those of you with just a month to spare, the Foundation "Trillogy" should be enough.

Rating: 10/10...an absolute favorite of mine.

 

[Jimmy Pop]

I once read a book for school. I didn't like it too much.

 

[Sage]

Originally posted by Jimmy Pop
I once read a book for school. I didn't like it too much.

My gawd, did you read what I wrote in that last thread that I closed? Please start making good, constructive posts, not these silly one-liners that don't mean anything.

Anyway, my review...

Last book read: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Author: James Joyce
Genre: Fiction/Semi-Autobiography

Rating: 2/10

Short Summary:

This book, while fictional, closely parallels the life of James Joyce's life when growing up. Stephen Dedalus, the main character, grows up a rather poor student in Dublin, but is asking questions about religion, authority, and how situations in his life have impacted who he is.

Comments:

Terrible book. My main gripe with it is that it's purposely complicated just for the sake of being complicated. A book, like any other art form, should effectively tell people its purpose in a clear way to have maximum impact... Portrait fails at that, because the combination of stream-of-conscious writing, the constant jumping around in the timeline of the plot, and the convoluted language that Dedalus uses makes this book frustrating to read. It could stand to lose the bajillion page lecture from the priest about hell too.

The plot isn't very creative or original either... a boy grows up, questions justice, questions religion, questions family, wants to have sex, then "finds" himself. It's utterly predictable and overdone, and one doesn't learn very much from his experiences.

This book gets a couple points for at least trying a new writing style, and for being insightful for those people who have absolutely no clue how their own lives are going. For the rest of us though, it's a badly rendered story on a tired theme.

 

[Taowulf]

Oh, BOOKS. I love to read. We are packing to move right now and we have more boxes of books than anything else.

Sage - I read Portrait when i was in High School. The book was agony to read. I give it -5 out of 10. The Flow of conciousness style is interesting acedemically, but the subject matter of this book is boring to tears.

Pupik - Foundation is a classic. I highly recommend reading the read of the series if you haven't already. 3 very well regarded authors, David Brin, Gregory Benford and another who's name escapes me right now (possibly Greg Bear) have writing some prequels. Check them out a well.

emad - If you enjoyed The Bourne Identify, check out the sequel, The Bourne Progression. One of my favorite lines comes from that book when Jason Bourne tells his impersonator "You're not SYMMETRICAL" I guess you have to read it to get the humor.

Here is my review.

Quicksilver
By Neal Stephenson
Genre: Science Fiction

Several years after his breakthrough novel, Cryptonomicon, Neal Stepehenson has returned to the world of cutting-edge science and technology, this time moving his tale back to the 17th century. In this prequel to Cryptonomicon, Stephenson brings us into the tale of the Waterhouse family, introducing us to Daniel Waterhouse, son of a Puritan firebrand who has become caught up in the new world of natural philosophy, or as we know it today, the birth of modern science. Waterhouse's adventures bring him into contact with the movers and shakers of mid 16th century Europe, luminaries such as Sir Robert Hooke and the genius of Sir Iaasc Newton. Told in a non-linear format, the book is a challenge to read. Stephenson plunges us headfirst into the intrigues of the English court, and we see the humanity and foilbles of aristocracy in England, France and the pre-Keiser Germany. The book may seem incomplete, but that is perhaps due to this being part of what Stephenson calls "The Baroque Cycle", a planned trilogy of novels set in this exciting time of scientific exploration and shifting political concepts. In taking liberties with inserting his fictional characters, Stephenson gives us a view of the pre-revolutionary world, when the divine right of kings was only beginning to be challenged. From the glorious court of the Sun King Louis of France, to the damp and dingy halls of Buskingham palace, Stephenson weaves a fascinating tale of intigue and power mongering that provides a cautionary tale to us today.


Almost all of the major characters in this novel are the pregenitors of characters from Cryptonomicon and that leads to my one complaint. They are alomst too involved in the affairs of the time. It almost leads one to ask where the real people are that helped shape the events of that time were.

All in all, I give Quicksilver a 8.5 out of 10. The characters are well developed and interesting, but sometimes his non-linear style seems without point. It is not pulled off nearly as well as Cryptonomicon. In that novel, the shifts in time from the modern sectiosn to the WWII era sections advanced the plot very well. However, the story is interesting and the second read of the book is even more beneficial.

 

[emad]

Originally posted by Taowulf
emad - If you enjoyed The Bourne Identify, check out the sequel, The Bourne Progression. One of my favorite lines comes from that book when Jason Bourne tells his impersonator "You're not SYMMETRICAL" I guess you have to read it to get the humor.

I thought Bourne Supremecy was the sequel...followed by Bourne Ultimatum . Ah well, i'm in the middle of supremecy now. EXCELLENT novel so far, much better than the first which I thought was unbeatable. So far, I'll give it 👍👍👍👍

 

[Mike Rotch]

Last book read: Royal Navy at War; 1939-1945
Author: Capt. S. Roskill

Acquired from: War Museum bookshop
Edition/Type: First edition Hardcover.

Rating: 5.1/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: I picked up this book because it looked like a good reference book to have regarding the Royal Navy's action in WWII.

I got a bit more then I bargained for. It is definitely a book that afficionados of Naval action will appreciate, but that is also the books biggest weakness.

The book gives a very detailed account (maps included most of the time) of important naval engagements in the Mediteranean, Atlantic and Far East. Battles in Italy, Malaya, Phillipines and details of the Russian Convoys are very interesting, and go a way in providing a comprehensive battle history of the main ships in the Royal Navy's fleet. Strangely, not a lot of the book is focused on the eradication of the U-Boat threat in the Atlantic.

That said, I found this book fantastically dry to read, with the temptation to skim over page after page looking for something interesting, ever present. A handy historically orientated book to have, but that about all one can say about it.

 

[Pupik]

Originally posted by Taowulf
Foundation is a classic. I highly recommend reading the read of the series if you haven't already. 3 very well regarded authors, David Brin, Gregory Benford and another who's name escapes me right now (possibly Greg Bear) have writing some prequels. Check them out a well.

I've read them all the series: From the Robots series, the Galactic Empire series, and the Foundation series. I read the Benford one (Foundation and Choas?) but thought it dwelled a little too long and little too complex. However, it's interesting how a few of the gaps in the stories were covered. I'm still trying to complete the personal collection in paperback; some of them are not in print anymore, so it's tough.

Good to see another Foundationer on the boards.

 

[Taowulf]

Originally posted by emad
I thought Bourne Supremecy was the sequel...followed by Bourne Ultimatum . Ah well, i'm in the middle of supremecy now. EXCELLENT novel so far, much better than the first which I thought was unbeatable. So far, I'll give it 👍👍👍👍

You are probably correct. It has been years since i read them all.

Ludlum's books now pretty much suck though. I read his first book after his stroke and it was awful. The old stuff is great. The Road to Gondolfo had me in stitches.

originally posted by pupikI've read them all the series: From the Robots series, the Galactic Empire series, and the Foundation series. I read the Benford one (Foundation and Choas?) but thought it dwelled a little too long and little too complex. However, it's interesting how a few of the gaps in the stories were covered. I'm still trying to complete the personal collection in paperback; some of them are not in print anymore, so it's tough.

Good to see another Foundationer on the boards.

I found the Foundation books Ididnt have at various used bookstores. They are all from a Del Rey printing in the early 80's. The copies I have are in pretty good condition, so you should still be able to find them.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Last book read: The Wrong Stuff: Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Airforce Aviator
Author: Truman Smith

Acquired from: Online bookshop
Edition/Type: First Printed in 1996, this 2nd impression is 2002.

Rating: 8.0/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: A diary style recollection of the authors 35 missions as a B-17 copilot with the 385th Bomb Group during the months of Apr 1944 - July 1944.

This book does not carry the same depth of thought as many other personal narratives. The thoughts of the author about the odds of not completing his quota of missions, and the mourning of lost squadron mates does not come through strongly; instead he is constantly battling to understand how things have come to pass that he has to drop bombs on other humans.

Another thread throughout the book is his coming to terms with fate. His favourite example is that of a billet mate, who, whilst flying formation to Osnabruck made an sudden and inexplicable bank to the right before returning to formation. By doing so he avoided certain expiration from a flak burst in his original position in formation. Smith was intrigued by this apparent illustration of luck and fate. Even more so when the same billet mate and his crew were the only ones to be shot down 2 months later on a mission to Munich.

The authors desperation at trying to court luck even extended to "p!ssing on a tent peg and kissing a prop blade" before each and every mission.

This book has a very juvenile writing style that takes some getting used to. Other then that, it makes for a good introduction to WWII personal narratives.

 

[Jimmy Pop]

**** this, don't tell me what to do, who made you God.

 

[Sage]

Originally posted by Jimmy Pop
**** this, don't tell me what to do. Who made you God?

I dunno, but I hear he doesn't like four-letter words or poor attitude. I'm going to avoid dragging this thread down by sending you a PM.

Continue book reviews as normal, please!

 

[Jimmy Pop]

Who the hell are you, the grammar gestapo?

 

[Sage]

Did you read my PM? You'll note a few apologies on my part, but you have to read it first.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Last book read: Combat Legends: The B-17
Author: Martin Bowman

Acquired from: Hobby Shop
Edition/Type: First edition softcover, published 2002.

Rating: 6.0/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: This book is merely a concise history of B-17 history in WWII, and I suspect I was a victim of judging the contents of this book by it lavish cover.

It speeds through the history of development in the very early 40's, describes briefly how the RAF tested out a few models in combat without success before the 8th AF began use, and omits any history of airfields used in Britain during the war.

The mission history was rushed through with appaling speed - a years missions skimped over in a paragraph - and the list of improvements to aircraft ove the years also sprinted through.

The only redeeming feature of this book are the extremely detailed illustrations of most models used, and of famous aircraft in the modelk line. There are also a few previously unseen (by me) flight pictures that were interesting.

All in all, a basic history of B-17's in combat and a book not worth the excessive price paid for it.

 

[Duke]

Book read: Red Rabbit
Author:Tom Clancy
Acquired from: Public library.
Edition/Type: Hardcover.

Rating: 4/10

Type: Fiction

Comment: Let me preface this by stating that I have been a Clancy fan. He started out great with the famous Red October, and kept up the pace (with some few ups and downs) until the last few books, which have largely trended downward.

Red Rabbit was mediocre at absolute best. While other of his books have taken great length to tell large-scale, sprawling tales, this book effectively has a cast of about 8 characters, and Clancy still takes for-freaking-ever to wind up the story.

The first 200 pages are spent as the Russians decide to kill the Pope after he threatens to resign, without Clancy ever managing to convey why it would be important to Russia beyond avoiding a minor political black eye.

The second 200 pages are spent as the Rabbit, a Soviet functionary, decides to defect over his crisis of conscience when he discovers that his evil Soviet bosses want to kill this innocent, wonderful Man of God. This was actually decided on about page 5 of that section; the rest of the time is spent apparently so that Clancy can emphasize what a brave, humble man the Pope is yet again.

The third 200 pages are spent while the Allies fly to Budapest to pick the Rabbit up at the airport.

The fourth 200 pages are spent as Ryan flies to Rome to personally save the Pope, which was clearly going to happen from about page 20 of the book.

I am a Clancy fan and normally a voracious reader, but this snoozer took me more than a month to wade through. It's a much smaller and simpler story, told at greater length and in insultingly less detail than, say, Red Storm Rising. Every single thought is repeated at least twice, as if the reader is a somewhat dim schoolboy with whom Clancy must be very patient. And while I realize it his right to do so, Clancy's increasingly heavy-handed use of his books as an organ for trumpeting his highly Catholic, right-wing politics is becoming more tedious each time.

I also found Ryan's crass, stereotyped Americanisms to be out of character with his prior incarnations, even accounting for the timeline differences (Clancy, currently stuck in his major storyline, has begun trying to slot new novels into the small spaces between previous books). In constant contrast with the unfailing stiff-upper-lip reserve of the British (all of whom were either modelled after the stereotyped Colonial officer or his working class batman, depending), Ryan's dialogue was downright insulting to me as an American.

Having brought Ryan from being a smart but unknown cog in the government wheel all the way to the Presidency, Clancy's only available step up was sainthood for him, which drove this entire book. Anything further for Ryan would be blasphemous to imply, so it will be mildly interesting to see how Clancy writes his way out of this strategic corner into which he's painted himself.

 

[emad]

Last book read: Bourne Supremecy
Author: Robert Ludlum

Acquired from: Coles


Rating: 10/10

Type: Fiction

Comment: I didn't think that Ludlum could make anything better than Bourne Identity but damn, I was sooo wrong. In the first novel, Jason Bourne was first coming out of his amnesia. He had no idea who he was or what he was capable of. His only motivation to continue onwards was to survive and find out who he was. From the beginning, it was determined that JB would never get 100% of his old memory back and that's where Bourne Supremecy takes off. Because what the rest of what I'm going to say is possibly going to contain spoilers, I'll just say that this book is ****ing AMAZING. The emotions conveyed are much deeper this time around because JB has a reason for doing what he starts doing.

*possible spoilers*

Simply put, there's a potentially horrible situation going on in China and Hong Kong (takes place before England leaves HK). If this conspiracy goes through, the world economy would plummet and there would be the potential for a world war. Worse still, the people plotting this have hired an assassin who is posing as Jason Bourne. The US Government finds out about this and they try to talk the real JB into going to china and bringing this Asassin down. Unfortunately, after the events in the first novel, Jason no longer trusts his government and refuses. To convince Jason to go to china, they dig deep into his past to find and recreate the events that would once again turn him into one of the world's greatest Asassins. Betrayed by everyone, he has noplace to go but his two most trusted friends from deep in his past.
*end spoilers*

The rest...well, the rest of the novel is completely unpredictable. The whole of it is just very very well written. Nothing like your traditional suspense or action novel. There's a very real sense of depth in every character and add in the mental instability being shown by both Jason and his wife...

I'll give this a good 10/10 - an excellent read. Far more than good enough to convince me to read the final part to the trilogy - Bourne Ultimatum.

I'll be back once I get that one finished 👍

 

[Duke]

I liked the Bourne novels in the same rank in which they came out - #1 best, #2 second, and #3 least.

If you're a Ludlum fan, don't miss The Rhinemann Exchange. Classic stuff.

 

[Goomba]

Book: The Da Vinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
Aquired From: Barnes and Noble
Edition/Type: Hardback
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 10 of 10

Comments: The book was an amazing read. I learned so much, and reinspired me to be a bit more spiritual in life.

The book starts off in Paris, where you're introduced to Robert Langdon, a symbologist and author. He is informed that the Louvre Museum's (it hold DaVinci's Mona Lisa, among other famous pictures) curator Jaques Saunier has been murdered in a mysterious way and Langdon is the main suspect (he was not told). The curator has been stripped naked and spread eagle, and managed to write in a black-ink pen, a mysterious riddle. He and the DCPJ's (Direction Centrale Police Judiciarie, France's equivilant of the American FBI) cryptologist Sophie Nueve, who believes Langdon is innocent.

Through out the book, the two try to stay one step ahead of the DCPJ all while debunking the codes that Saunier had left them. Langdon drops little hints along the way of Da Vinci's "code" hidden in his painting, quotes, and what the Holy Grail "really" is. That's all I'll say, I don't want to ruin any of it for you.

The only bad parts of the book were the sporadic usage of French, which I know nothing of. Also, there were many times where they would mention the roots of a word (eg; Clostrophobic stems from cloister, etc.) to the point where it got so repetitive and annoying. Besides that, the book was perfect, except for the fact that you could loose hours while reading it.

The book is 454 pages, and they go very quickly, I read it in seven days.

It's rather hard to find the line between fact and fiction. A lot of it you have to think about it, and if it makes sense to you, then use the new or simply revived knowledge to use. I picked up Cracking Da Vinci's Code and Secrets of the Code. The first of the two sucks, horribly. I got thirty pages into and realized it was not the book I was looking for. It's heavily biased towards Christian beliefs, and not telling the straight up facts/fiction. The other however, seems very promising and I'm sure it'll keep me reading for a good while.

Recommend it? Yes. I think everyone should read the book. If your not looking for anything to change your mind or think about your beliefs, thats fine, its a wonderful fictional book. But for those who's beliefs are still up in the air or are open minded to change them, this too is a great read. Pardon my French, but as I've told many others:

It's nothing short of ****ing mindblowing.

 

[Taowulf]

Originally posted by neon_duke
I liked the Bourne novels in the same rank in which they came out - #1 best, #2 second, and #3 least.

If you're a Ludlum fan, don't miss The Rhinemann Exchange. Classic stuff.

I preferred The Aquaintaine Progression. (that is why I was saying "Bourne Progression"!).

Did I mention earlier to avoid the newer books?

 

[Mike Rotch]

Originally posted by neon_duke
Book read: Red Rabbit
Author:Tom Clancy
Acquired from: Public library.
Edition/Type: Hardcover.

Rating: 4/10

Type: Fiction

Comment: <snip>

The first 200 pages <snip>

The second 200 pages <snip>

The third 200 pages <snip>

The fourth 200 pages <snip>

&

At least it was a hardcover. I hate those mega thick softcovers that are virtually impossible to read with one hand on account of their thickness.

I have to say, I have "gone off" fiction. My brother has a pile of "evolution and gene development" type books that are the next target when my bomber stash runs out ( ).

I find there is enough fiction on TV, and many non-fiction books are escapist enough for my needs. I still find these varied book reviews very interesting though 👍

 

[emad]

I've been reading Ludlum almost exclusively lately. I gotta drop that habit and find some more writers. I'll probably find a few more books by Jack White - The Dream Of Eagles series was simply outstanding

 

[Taowulf]

Originally posted by emad
Last book read: Bourne Supremecy
Author: Robert Ludlum

Acquired from: Coles


Rating: 10/10

Type: Fiction

It looks like they have made Supramacy into a movie. Unfortunately, it looks like they diverged a lot with the story line. From the looks of the trailer, they never leave Europe and my favorite part with Jason marching his impostor through China is no doubt gone.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/the_bourne_supremacy/large.html

 

[Mike Rotch]

Last book read: Through the Bombsight
Author: Andrew Maitland

Acquired from: War Museum bookshop
Edition/Type: First edition hardcover, published 1986, DJ absent

Rating: 3.0/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: Reading this book was about as exciting as drinking a water glass of water. It was tepid and unfulfilling.

The story is the recollection of the author's service in the RAF as a bombadier aboard Halifax's and later as a visual marker on a Pathfinding Force Lancaster. His service began in 1943 and ended with the conclusion of the war. One must remember that the vast majority of RAF bombing sorties were conducted at night-time, unlike the USAAF which operated during the daytime.

Despite the author participating in many historical battle over Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, the writing is as droll as the story told. A typical mission description would be something similar to: Out mission for today was Big-B or Berlin. We took off at xx:xx and arrived over the target at xx:xx. Ack-Ack was exploding below us and I did my best to weave us through the worst of it. Then it was bombs away and "dont spare the revs Captain". we kept a lookout for night-fighers and got back in time for a nice cup of tea, laced with a tot of run. One aircraft didnt make it back and I prayed for the boys safety. Rather be a POW then be cut down by the 'Reaper'. I caught up on some sleep and went for a walk by the river....

More text was written on his training then his first 35 missions. Timelines are jumbled and no follow-up is offered on original crew he served with on Halifax's.

A terribly dry and monotonous book, best left on the shelve (of a bookshop).

 

[Mike Rotch]

Last book read: Osprey Combat Series: B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Eighth Air Force (part 1)
Author: Martin Bowman

Acquired from: Hobby Shop
Edition/Type: First edition softcoverr, published 2002

Rating: 8.5/10

Type: Non-Fiction

Comment: This book is by the same author who wrote the rather average Combat Legends: The B-17" that I read a few weeks ago. One wouldn't know it as the two books are strides apart in quality and detail.

This book skips out the development of the B-17 and kicks off straight away with how the first units arrived in England and flew to Rouen to complete the first mission ever by the 8thAF.

The book then describes in great detail how, little by little, more and more Units arrived, and how as a result of this more dangerous missions were attempted. Personal accounts are also included at various parts to emphasise the human aspect of the battle.

What sets this book apart is the incredible detail given in each mission's description. In many instances, the names of the B-17's shot down are listed, along with the German pilots who carried out the deed. And what really adds the cherry on top are the more then 40 fantastically accurate oil-drawings of famous planes and their noseart. The histories of each of the illustrated planes are also supplied.

Add to this more then 50 other photographs of aircraft landing, in combat or on airfields around England (again with a history of their lives in the war), and this is a superb book for anyone wanting an accurate history of one of the bloodiest chapters of the war.