Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
Company Wars series #1 – Alliance-Union universe
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My Rating: 
3.5 out of 5 stars
First Published: February 1981
Read from: October 1, 2014 to January 26, 2015
Awards: 1982 Hugo Award for Best Novel
Sundiver by David Brin
The Uplift Saga series #1
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My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
First Published: February 1980
Read from: September 25 to October 1, 2014
Blue Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Mars Trilogy series #3
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My Rating: 
1.5 out of 5 stars
First Published: June 1996
Read from: July 28 to September 24, 2014
The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
Old Man’s War series #2
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My Rating: 
4.5 out of 5 stars
First Published: January 2006
Read from: September 9 to 14, 2014
Haven’t felt much like writing reviews recently, but I have read quite a few very good books that I would highly recommend. So here’s my ratings and some “micro” reviews / comments. Continue reading Reading Updates: 4 Book Ratings
Hmmm… Something I happened to notice recently. The name Kovacs comes up a lot in “modern” noir stories. Besides being a cool sounding Hungarian name it means “forger” or “smith”. As in someone who “forges justice” in spite of the injustice of the world that hammers away at him? Anyway, I discovered these recently in reverse chronological order but I suspect the references were NOT accidental but tips of the hat to previous stories in the genre.., Though I guess it COULD be coincidence…
1. Takeshi Lev KOVACS (“Altered Carbon”, “Broken Angels”, & “Woken Furies” sci-fi novels) – a tortured war veteran and ex-envoy (a genetically engineered super soldier & spy) in the far future who often has to conduct investigations to solve mysteries in a very film-noir and neo-noir style, with numerous tips of the hat to Blade Runner and other futuristic neo-noir films & fiction.
2. Walter Joseph KOVACS, aka Rorschach (“The Watchmen” graphic novel & movie) – a tortured superhero (or more properly anti-hero) that is a very dark noir-detective type character with serious “psychological issues” but a iron sense of honor. Lives an incredibly violent life, delivering brutal violent justice, and absolutely unable to “bend the rules” in what he perceives as right even when it means his own certain death.
3. László KOVÁCS (“Breathless” movie, French: “À bout de souffle” “out of breath”) – alias of car thief Michel Poiccard in one of the first neo-noir films, a 1960 French film that modernized a lot of the older film-noir tropes while making obvious references to the earlier genre. For example, the Kovacs character styled himself after Humphrey Bogart’s screen persona. Ironically the alias László Kovács is itself a “in joke” and a tip of the hat to the Hungarian cinematographer László Kovács who is most famous for his award-winning work on Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970). An American version of this French film was made starring Richard Gere, but unfortunately his character was not named Kovacs.
If only another one of my favorite neo-noir characters was named Kovacs too. He does have a foreign name. Though his is Turkish, he does have it out for Hungarians. And while his name is not Kovacs, the fact that the name is so unique does make it stand out. That and the fact that he is such a diabolical bad ass and not your typical noir anti-hero, but just an very mysterious and genius villain. Who is this character you ask?….
….
….
Keyser Söze from “The Usual Suspects” movie, of course, as played by Kevin Spacey.
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
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My Rating: 
5 out of 5 stars
First Published: April 1996
Read from: July 4 to 11, 2014
Book Blurb:
Fitz has survived his first hazardous mission as king’s assassin, but is left little more than a cripple. Battered and bitter, he vows to abandon his oath to King Shrewd, remaining in the distant mountains. But love and events of terrible urgency draw him back to the court at Buckkeep, and into the deadly intrigues of the royal family.
Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. In this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz’s hands—and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.
The novel Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb is the sequel to Assassin’s Apprentice and the second book in the Farseer Trilogy. This book continues the story of it’s main character Fitz Chivalry, a bastard son to a now deceased prince of the royal family of the Six Duchies. As such he has been taken in, raised and trained, and now secretly works for the King as an assassin (hence the name). Despite this character’s seemingly “evil” occupation he is quite a likable, interesting and realistically written character. The character, the world, and the story really grabbed me, pull me in and enthrall me… But it also really frustrated me. Read My Full Review →
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Trade Paperback by Marvel Comics – Chris Claremont, John Byrne & Terry Austin
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Overall “Book” Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
First Published: Trade Paperback published July 2013, collecting 7 comic book issues originally published in 1981
Read from: Jun 27 to July 12, 2014
I checked this Trade Paperback out from the library after watching the “meh” movie VERY loosely based on in it, (see my review of that movie here,) as I did not recall having read the original comic story “back in the day”. I guess I was expecting more of a graphic novel, or a longer story, so I was initially disappointed when I first started to read this collection of “classic” X-Men… Especially after reading the first story of the bunch, which is pretty darn poor. The actual “Days of Future Past” story line really only takes up 2 of the 7 comics included in this collection. While the “DOFP” story line is fair to good, a few of the other comics in the collection are actually better than this “title” story.
I have rated, reviewed & provided brief synapses of each “issue” included in this trade paperback below. With most of the stories I have provided more details for those who are curious. The spoiler-laden details are hidden in “spoiler tags” so those who want to read the TPB without ruining anything can still read on, as long as they don’t click through to the spoiler contents… Read My Full Review →
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
The Expanse series #1
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My Rating: 
4 out of 5 stars
First Published: June 2011
Read from: Jun 22 to July 3, 2014
Awards: Nominated for 2012 Hugo Awards for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction
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So I stumbled on this cook book the other day that inspired me to start a cooking and grilling “project”…
I don’t normally read a lot of cookbooks, but Weber’s Big Book of Burgers caught my eye. Or I should say, what caught my eye first was the gorgeous photography on the cover of some of my favorite, and very delicious looking food. Caught by the attractive cover, I started to flip through the book, and every SINGLE thing in there looks simply awesome, with clear and well laid out instructions. There is much, MUCH more in the cookbook than burgers and brats. There are side dishes, salads, drinks and general grilling and cooking tips too. Continue reading Weber’s Big Book of… YUMMY!
