Book Review: When You're The Only Cop In Town

A fascinating book. This literally runs a close second to having an actual ride-along with a small-town police chief. It has the same feel of "here's how it is". Jack Berry had extensive experience as a cop in a larger city, then he took on the job of small-town chief. For a time, he really was the only cop in town. His experiences are a wonderful resource for any writer such as myself who is writing anything that involves small town police work.

The Shamanic Powers of Rolling Thunder: Review

 I had forgotten about Rolling Thunder. I had read an interview with him back in 1981 in Mother Earth News magazine. I was intrigued since I was interested in shamanism of different kinds at the time. Things happened, though, and I lost track of him. I was delighted to come across this new book with numerous interviews of people sharing their experiences around him. If you have any interest in contemporary shamans, this is a good place to start.

Night School - New Jack Reacher!

A new Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child is reason enough to celebrate. Night School is a bit of a flashback into Reacher's army days when he is rewarded for finishing a sensitive hush-hush case for the government by being detailed to what seems like possibly a punishment detail, attending what appears to be a truly boring class in inter-department cooperation. Of course, nothing is what it seems and we are carried along on another Reacher rumble! Five stars, because, well, nothing else will do! Read it!

Review: Camber of Culdi

This is actually a re-read of an old favorite. The Culdi series by Katherine Kurtz is a wonderfully rich historical fantasy. I love every installment I’ve read. i consider it a must-read. Set during the time of the Inquisition, Camber is the patriarch of one of several families of alien origin who have integrated among humans. This story involves how he and his family survive in an atmosphere of growing discrimination and paranoia from The Church and Establishment.

Review: Hail Storme

For the first time in a very long time I have come across a book I can truly say was hard to put down. I actually read it in two spurts. Ripley is a writer who seems to truly know his stuff and I am looking forward to more from him. Wyatt Storme is as interesting and compelling a character as Robert B. Parker's Spenser. More please!

Tarot Interactions

I've been taking tarot classes and using tarot for almost ten years. Tarot Interactioins by Deborah Lipp gave me some great insights into the art of reading. tarot. I learned a lot from the exercises and sample readings. Chapters on interactions between tarot and other disciplines were concise but very well thought out. I'd suggest it to everyone I know who is interested in tarot. Five stars.

For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a bit chagrined when I found that my local library only had two Robert A. Heinlein books on the adult shelves. I was happy, though, that one was this one. This is Heinlein's first novel, never before released. It was rejected a couple of times and he moved on to other projects. The book is a bit rough, and overly preachy. He did, in fact, write it to present his ideas on politics, finance, and society in general.
I enjoyed it, however. It was fun to see the seeds of his later "future history" novels. It was stated that perhaps this was why he didn't pursue publishing it further, since he had pretty much developed everything in it in further works.
It makes sense. It was still and enjoyable read for me.
Of course, now it's a bit of a let down to know that I don't have any more Heinlein novels to look forward to, alas.

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Book Review - Hoxton Kirby

Hoxton Kirby - Vampire Investigators by Belle Marsh
My rating: 1 of 5 stars


The premise sounded interesting, however, I couldn't make it through the first chapter. Basically unreadable due to basic grammar, punctuation, run on sentences, etc.
Do over!


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