Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Kill Decision

Posted on June 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

Kill Decision © 2012 Daniel Suarez 512 pages Seemingly every day people within the United States are killed,  destroyed in apparent bomb attacks.  The victims have no obvious connections, but they are not random – nor were they bomb victims.  … Continue reading →

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Limited Wish

Posted on June 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

The universe is trying to kill Nick. Again. Last time, it was only leukemia. Now there are multiple visitors from divergent futures asking him for help breaking into a nuclear power plant, he’s being stalked by a sociopathic mercenary, he’s … Continue reading →

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Dinosaurs, India, and the smartphone

Posted on May 31, 2019 by smellincoffee

We in the United States  recently enjoyed a three-day weekend, ostensibly for the purpose of honoring fallen soldiers, though I suspect for most it’s just an occasion to shop and cook out before the summer heat becomes unbearable.  I took … Continue reading →

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Change Agent

Posted on May 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

Change Agent© 2017 Daniel Suarez417 pages Deep into the 21st century,   global civilization has been transformed by bioengineering.  Consumer products  which were once manufactured are now grown, from knives to car bodies; the streets are illuminated not by bulbs, but … Continue reading →

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Better Off

Posted on May 24, 2019 by smellincoffee

Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology© 2004 Eric Bende256 pages When Eric and Mary Bendes tied the knot, they chose to kick off their marriage in the traditional fashion: struggling together to make a go of a family farm.  … Continue reading →

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Mark Twain and the Swiss Family Robinson

Posted on May 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

May’s theme for the classics was “Adventure”, as I paired Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain with The Swiss Family Robinson.     Twain’s former is  a collection more than a monograph, as he presents together his recollections of growing up … Continue reading →

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Freedom™

Posted on May 21, 2019 by smellincoffee

Freedom™©  2010 Daniel Suarez416 pages The global economy is crashing, nearing its end, but few are willing to recognize it. The sinking markets, soaring inflation and unemployment, and civil chaos are regarded by those in power as merely another hiccup, … Continue reading →

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John Grisham: Favorites and Unfavorites

Posted on May 17, 2019 by smellincoffee

John Grisham was the first novelist whose entire bibliography I ever finished, though these days I must limit that to “adult” biblography, given his kid lawyer series.     Given that there are so many, I thought it would  be fun … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Reviews | Tagged | 10 Comments

One Word Kill

Posted on May 10, 2019 by smellincoffee

©  Mark Lawrence 2019 260 pages Nick’s young life was shattered when he got the diagnosis: cancer.  Leukemia, specifically.  The odds weren’t good that he’d live five years to see the 1990s.  But whatever was happening to him, inside, something … Continue reading →

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Scarlet

Posted on May 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

Scarlet © 2007 Stephen Lawhead 443 pages Young William Scatlock has been reduced to a landless vagrant, courtesy of  malevolent Norman lords and their toadies.  It seems as good an occasion as any to trek west and join forces with … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments