Author: TJ Provost

Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First of all, way better than the movie. Harrison Ford is awesome, but there is so much emotion and thought process that can’t be laid out as well when it is done on the big screen. Books are better, period. (having said that, I do see Harrison Ford in my mind’s eye every time I think of Jack Ryan)

Second – not as good as the first book in the Jack Ryan series. This one really seemed to drag in the middle. Lots of detail and then some action. I must have read this book ten years ago and remember loving it, but it didn’t hold well to the test of time I guess. Some of the dialogue seems really off putting now. If I ever talked to my boss like Jack did, or showed as little thanks for being brought into the security fold (on the satelite images) I would have been kicked out the door. I get that part of it was a test, but the dialogue comes off as very rough. I think Tom Clancy has always done the action/technology part of it very well, but dialogue doesn’t seem to be a strong suite.

Sadly, I’m now weighing my options on what to read next. Follow my obcesive compulsive need to read thorugh a series once started, or switch over to something a bit lighter and more fun?

I think the three I am giving this may force me to switch over to something a bit less serious and save the rest of the Jack Ryan books for the long winter nights.

I thought it was a fake story when I read it the first time.  A 43 year old man dresses in a Ghillie suite and wonders along a highway to get hit not once, but twice, resulting in his death.

What a crappy way to go.  I wonder if any of his friends knew what he was planning and whether they feel any remorse?

Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kelly is a Navy Seal back in the states as Vietnam rages half way across the globe. He’s done is service, and well, and is now working as an underwater demolitions expert.

Of course, that all changes when his pregnant wife is accidentally killed. Several months pass. Then on a wimhe picks up a female hitch hiker while he is on the way to his boat. (he lives on an island somewhere off the coast of MD that used to be a military site).

The hitch hiker has a horrendous past, she’s running from some very bad people, and is addicted to drugs. That is where the book really takes off.

***Spoiler Alert***
The good…
-Kelly is a very likable character. He’s tough, but the very same things that make him so resiliant also show his humanity.
-The love story between Kelly and Pam is very sweet. There is something touching about the two of them finding each other.

The bad…
-Pam dies. That sucked. I like happy endings.
-The way that Pam dies. The retelling of that tale is just to brutal. I actually debated about giving the book a lower rating because I found it disturbing. But then I argued with myself that if it was giving my nightmares, I guess it was effective.
-The cross story about the POW’s and how they were off the books was interesting, but I think it could have been done quicker. It was a lot of subplot for what I felt was little return. Kelly needed the out at the end, but I don’t think the story needed that much detail to make it happen.
-In the end, Henry got it too quick. He should have been the one in the high pressure chamber.

A very good read, and the overall happy ending with Nurse O’Toole in the end was a nice touch. I liked that Kelly was as peace by the last page. And while Jack Ryan is just barely in this book, it is considered the first in the series. Looking forward to reading the next one, although I think Kelly becomes a side character from here on in.

You know it is always going to happen when you least expect it…

OMG girl – that is a huge gun.

And a truly beautiful woman. When the dead start rising, you can cover me with that huge rifle any day of the week.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

 

First of all, I was looking for something new, and “Blood Red Road” was getting good reviews. I went into it really looking forward to enjoying it.

The good…
-The story is interesting and the characters are memorable.

The bad…(and I’m struggling here because I really don’t want this to be too negative)
-Saba is a very headstrong girl, but after she realizes she’s being too tough on her little sister and they have a sweet moment, she goes right back to being mean to her. Over and over, and over.
-Saba’s decision making skills are very limited. Her first response to everything is no. Then she gets talked into it. She seems very emotionally limited.
-Where did Saba learn to fight? She had a hard life, but overnight she becomes the “Angel of Death”?
-Why does Jack like her? She’s kinda a pain to him and everyone else. I guess it is just fate. But even fate needs some backstory.
-The fighting was too basic. I was expecting more action with my action, but the conflicts are all covered in broad strokes.
-The langauge. I get that Saba and the others are not well educated. But the phenetic spelling and slang was killing me. It got annoying after a while.

The summary…
I’m going to have to really think hard and long before buying the second book. There weren’t any absolute horrible things that ruined the book for me, but the long series of things adding up really hurt it in the end.

[REC]³ Génesis (2 Out of 5 Graves)
What do you do during a child’s 11th birthday party? Find a spanish langauge horror film with subtitles and watch it while all the kids are in the computer room playing games.

The movie starts with a very touching wedding and reception. An uncle has of course been bitten at his vetrinarian practice and shows up at the wedding with a bandage on his hand.

And surprise, surprise, he later turns into a zombie!!! I know, what a shock.

Pretty normal fair from there.  A few awesome lines from “Sponge John”, but other than that it wasn’t anything special.

I won’t ruin the end, but it was fairly telegraphed for the genre.

The Captains by W.E.B. Griffin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m about 85% percent of the way through, but I dont’ think my overall rating will change.

***Spoiler Alert***

The good…
WEB can spin an awesome yarn. The combat scenes and personal interplay are top notch. You feel personally invested in Craig, Sandy, Mac, and Ilse. They are living, breathing people.

The bad…
The same attention to detail that brings the characters to life isn’t spared elsewhere. There is so much minutia around even the smallest part of the story that it sometimes feels like your getting washed out to sea. I know its a careful balance, and I guess some people love the knowledge WEB obviously has in regards to military affairs. But for me it took away from the enjoyment of the characters and their overall journeys.

The ugly…
The love story between Lowell and Ilse was honestly one of my favorite things about the first book. Having her killed by a drunk driver seemed to serve no purpose and Lowell’s subsequent actions didn’t make any sense to me. I know he “ran” back to the army to escape the pain. But that also meant running from his son Peter Paul, or PP. Look at Lowells life. Mother is crazy, feels like his family abandoned him. He loves Ilse and PP, the first family he has ever had. Is he really going to leave the kid after his mother dies? I just found that to be a huge flaw in book two.

Summary:
Worth reading if you like military books and well written characters, but book two had several flaws that take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Episode  11 – Battlefield

Summary:

At the end of episode 10 Scott’s Mom see’s what he is for the first time, slowly backing away from him.  And Scott’s “betrayal” of the other wolves was overheard by Derek.  So Scott is in some hot water.

Episode 11 starts with Stiles (Doh, not Styles – Thanks Kelsey :-)) in the guidance counselors office, talking about Matt’s drowning. And Gerard drops a bomb by using the Kanema to take Scott’s mom hostage in the first five minutes of the episode.  I guess they are building up to the season finale.  They better not leave too much hanging until season 3.

At the end of the episode Gerard tells Scott that if he doesn’t produce Derek Jackson is going to kill someone.  Jackson appears to kill himself and Stiles is abducted.

Now we have to wait until next week for the season capper.

Things I loved about this episode…

• “Mom, we are going to have to talk about this.” – Scott to his mother about his being a werewolf.
• Stiles being heartfelt and honest. He’s such a good actor.
• Isaac can apparently heal animals and so can Scott. Could they heal a human? (like Gerard maybe?)
• Peter’s review of Derek’s werewolf recruiting skills.
• Scott’s Mom is a hotty.
• The coach quoting the speach from Independance Day. I was laughing my ass off.
• Does Stiles want to get turned? I wasn’t sure if that was what he was asking when he was telling Scott he felt helpless when his dad was getting attacked.
• The old man telling Scott during the game that if he hasn’t given up Derek by the end of the match, Gerard telling him that he is going to have Jackson kill an innocent person.
• Stiles getting pounded on the field.
• Isaac showing up to help Scott. I’m hoping that Scott is beginning to form his pack.
• Scott saving Isaac in the bathroom.  Seeing him in the mirror was epic.

Things that I didn’t like about this episode…

• Scott’s mom is way too understanding of a world she just became aware of.
• Derek lost control of his pack so easily.
• Allison hunting werewolves. Her mom’s death has turned her cold.
• Gerard is going to kill Isaac.

Best Quote of Episode 11:

Stiles dad screaming “My son is on the field.”  When Styles actually get’s to play.

 

 

The Lieutenants by W.E.B. Griffin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I read this the first time when I was twelve or thirteen. I remembered bits and pieces and was glad to find it again.

It starts during World War II and spans the end of the war.

There are actually multiple stories in the book, each moving off in different direction and occasionally bumping back into each other.

My favorite is the story of Isle and Craig Lowell. I guess I am a romantic at heart.

***Spoilers***
When he thinks he has lost her after being sent to Greece and then ends up back in the military hospital and she ends up calling his name. He thinks he’s lost her – and she thinks he left her after having a good time. She doesn’t know that he desperately loves her and that none of his letters have reached or, and he doesn’t know that she has stayed true to him. She wasn’t just looking for a US soldier to get her into the PX.
***End Spoilers***

All the other stories were entertaining, and to some degree weave into the subplot about Craig and Isle, but while I liked them, I didn’t find them to have the same power.

Well worth the read in any event. It brought back memories of walking through Munich and Nuerenberg, looking at the pock marks on the stone buildings and wondering who was shooting at who.