I’ve never been a big fan of audio books. I find that I can mentally read faster than some of the narrators for audio books, which isn’t meant to be bI’ve never been a big fan of audio books. I find that I can mentally read faster than some of the narrators for audio books, which isn’t meant to be braggy, just factual. I’ve listened to some fine books on tape back in the day, usually on long car trips by myself, but I much prefer sitting in my armchair with an actual book.
Nowadays, though, I have heard that audiobooks are whole productions, with different actors playing parts, sound effects, and music. Basically, they are old radio shows, which I remember loving as a kid. Stuff like “The Shadow” or “Lights Out”.
Sarah Kuhn’s “Doctor Aphra” is a script for the audiobook, and it works well as a script, so I can only imagine that it is excellent as a radio-play.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this, but it turned out I didn’t have to worry. It’s basically a novel in play form. Most of the play is one long monologue by Aphra, with intermittent scenes involving other characters.
Kuhn is a fine writer who captures delightfully the fun and sassiness of one of the newest and best characters in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I have enjoyed the Marvel comic book series immensely.
If you aren’t familiar with Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, this might be a good place to start, as it is roughly a compilation of her adventures throughout the comic book series. Kuhn naturally fills in some of the gaps.
Aphra is a rogue archaeologist, who loves a challenge. She also hates when people tell her she can’t do something. Indeed, she has an almost-pathological need to prove everyone wrong, usually to her detriment. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, other than a homicidal protocol droid and an astromech droid loaded with an enough explosives to blow up another Death Star. She also works for Darth Vader, sometimes.
Kuhn’s “Doctor Aphra” is, for the most part, funny and light, but it’s not mere fluff. Aphra ends up doing a lot of something that she hates: self-reflection. She hates dwelling on the past (ironic, considering her line of work), but her past, more often than not, tends to catch up with her.
Aphra is one of the first Asian characters in the Star Wars universe (pre-dating Rose from “Episode VIII: The Last Jedi”, I think), so she holds a special place in the APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) community. Not that her race has any significance within the SWEU. Her “Asian-ness” is actually quite meaningless in a galaxy in which there is no “Asia”. Nevertheless, it’s an admirable attempt by both Disney and Marvel to be more inclusive. Kuhn is a third-generation Japanese-American. ...more
I don’t like James Patterson, and here’s why, in four long-winded personal reasons that most Patterson fans will simply write off as nit-picking, pettI don’t like James Patterson, and here’s why, in four long-winded personal reasons that most Patterson fans will simply write off as nit-picking, petty, or just plain wrong, but whatever:
1) Nobody can convince me that he actually writes his own books anymore. I have no actual proof that he doesn’t, but I’m fairly certain—-based on the circumstantial evidence that I’m about to lay down—-that he does NOT, in fact, write his own books. I’m sure, early in his career, he actually did his own writing. Now, though, I’m pretty sure that he shops his book ideas around to other writers, which is why you never see a James Patterson novel with just his name on it anymore. There is always a co-writer’s name on the cover, usually in half the font size below Patterson’s giant-fonted size name. I’m sure these co-writers are getting a pretty penny in royalties, while Patterson is getting the main credit, but these co-writers are probably doing all the writing. And, I’m sorry, but no writer can single-handedly write the number of books he seems to churn out in a month without the help of a co-writer or a ghost writer getting co-writer credit. Unless, of course, Patterson is on a cocktail of meth, cocaine, and No-Doze. Which could explain the next reason…
2) His writing sucks. He tends to write at a fourth-grade level, which is probably insulting to most fourth-graders. I often can’t tell if his intended audience is young adult or people who think Donald Trump is a genius. To be fair, I’ve read plenty of young adult authors who are far better wordsmiths than Patterson. Listen, I’m not putting down Patterson simply because he writes at a fourth-grade level. It’s also what he writes. The sentences are sloppy. The details he includes tend to be extraneous, while he, on more than a few occasions, leaves out significant details. His notoriously short chapters may make the story seem to go by quicker but it does nothing to improve the actual story. Patterson seems to live by the motto “less is more”, but, in some cases, “less is just less”.
3) I read “The Murder of King Tut”, which claims to be nonfiction (it says so on the cover), but for a book which claims to be nonfiction and, supposedly, full of factual information, there is not an iota of an attribution, credits, footnotes, endnotes, or sources anywhere in the book. The parts set during Ancient Egyptian times (14th century) read like sections from a novel, which is what they are, because I am sure that there is no way Patterson knew what the hell King Tut ate or wore on any given day or who Tut slept with. I could be wrong. Patterson may very well have a time machine, was able to go visit Tut, interview him, talk to his servants and relatives and concubines and the Egyptian man on the street. But I doubt it. If Patterson had simply called his book a “novel”, I wouldn’t be complaining. Okay. Yeah, I would. It would still suck. Sadly, Patterson isn’t just ruining his own reputation with this, he’s also hurting the street-cred of his co-writer, Martin Dugard. (If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the co-writer for Bill O’Reilly on all his “Killing” books.) My guess is Dugard did all the hard research and fed it all to Patterson, but Patterson didn’t feel the need to share all the hard work that went into the research. Why not? Because Patterson didn’t do it himself, so it doesn’t matter.
4) Patterson annoyingly interjects himself into his own narrative in such a meaningless and distracting way, that, even if the book were in any way interesting (which it’s not), it actually makes the book more stupid. I don’t need Patterson to tell me, three times, that he knows who murdered King Tut. Especially when, in the end, he essentially leaves the reader hanging with the worst cop-out ending. It worked in the movie “Clue”, but it doesn’t work here. Note to writers: don’t keep telling the reader you know who the killer is and then—-bam!—-get to the end and surprise them with “Ha! Just kidding! I don’t really know who the killer is! Just speculation!” Besides pissing off the reader, you’re actually killing your own credibility. Why the fuck would I ever want to read another Patterson novel after this one? Answer: I wouldn’t....more
James Rollins can write a helluva good action/adventure story. Granted, they are blatantly derivative, but the fact that he doesn’t really hide the faJames Rollins can write a helluva good action/adventure story. Granted, they are blatantly derivative, but the fact that he doesn’t really hide the fact makes it seem okay.
“Excavation”, published in 2000, essentially “steals” whole plot lines, devices, twists, and scenarios from a myriad of sources, including Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard, Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, and all four of the “Indiana Jones” movies.
Rollins does, in book form, what Quentin Tarantino does in film: throw an assortment of stolen ideas from a variety of different sources and genres together into something new and original. And I’ve always disagreed with Tarantino’s critics that he is unoriginal and an idea-thief. I always thought Tarantino was paying homage to the original source material he was “borrowing”. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Tarantino is one big, fat, talented imitator.
So is Rollins.
For fear of dropping spoilers, I’ll refrain from giving a full synopsis, other than to say that exploding mummy heads, lost Incan tribes, the Spanish Inquisition, nanotechnology, and ancient meteorites containing gold all play significant roles within the story.
This is just a rollicking good yarn. I think Rollins may be shaping into one of my new favorite authors....more
Stories of explorers visiting strange new lands, adventure-seekers, and treasure-hunters have always gripped people’s imaginations, from time immemoriStories of explorers visiting strange new lands, adventure-seekers, and treasure-hunters have always gripped people’s imaginations, from time immemorial. Our heroes have always been the brave and the curious, those willing to set out on untrodden paths into the unknown.
In 1981, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg brought the character of Indiana Jones to life in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Professor Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones was not created out of whole cloth. He was a pastiche of the 19th-century fictional hero, Allan Quatermain, created by the author H. Rider Haggard. Quatermain, who appeared in over 20 novels, was the true literary predecessor of Jones, but Jones was also a composite of many real-life adventurers.
One of those was British explorer Percy Fawcett, a fascinating, heroic, and somewhat enigmatic character who became obsessed with the notion that a large civilization of people had once thrived in the Amazonian jungles of South America. With very little physical evidence to support his theory, Fawcett conducted several expeditions into the jungle. On his last expedition, in 1925, he and his son disappeared into the rainforest, never to return. Many have speculated what happened to them, but nobody has ever uncovered the truth. Over the past century since his disappearance, hundreds of people have conducted their own expeditions. Most of them have died attempting to find the truth or have been swallowed by the jungle, presumed missing.
In 2009, David Grann---a writer for the New Yorker---was bitten by the Fawcett bug. Despite the fact that his wife thought he was nuts for doing it, Grann initiated his own expedition. The result was his book, “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon”, a rip-roaring page-turner that was part biography and part examination of certain people’s weird fascination with exploration into uncharted lands.
There was something almost superhuman about Fawcett, least of which was his charm and good looks. He abhorred drinking, smoking, and lustful behavior, and he was notorious for being the only person in his numerous expeditions to never succumb to illness or parasitic infections, which seemed to be almost de rigueur for a trip to the Amazon.
Grann’s description of Fawcett is one of deep admiration, although many people who knew the man would not have shared that sentiment. Other explorers, like James Murray, a biologist who gained renown for his work on Ernest Shackleton’s famous Antarctic Expedition, grew to hate Fawcett. Murray, who nearly died during an Amazon expedition with Fawcett, accused Fawcett of being a compassionless leader and obsessed with the jungle.
While the latter may be true, Fawcett was not so much compassionless as he was unforgiving of laziness and incompetence. In any case, while many admired him, few wanted to explore with him.
Grann’s description of the Amazon is like a travelogue through Hell. He describes the many infectious diseases and parasites one can contract, in horrifying detail, such as the microscopic thin fish that likes to hide in the warmth of one’s urethra and can only be removed surgically or via castration. He also describes the many insects and predatory creatures that can kill you with a single sting or bite, or, like the 20-foot anaconda snake, slow crushing and digestion over a period of several hours.
Then there are the natives. Even today, in the 21st century, tribes of natives live in the jungles that have had little or no contact with the outside world. Anecdotes of cannibalism may have been slightly exaggerated by past explorers, but there is some evidence to support it. If the jungle doesn’t kill you and eat you, some of the natives might.
The most compelling part of Grann’s book is Fawcett’s obsession with the idea of a lost civilization, one that he simply called “Z”. Bucking the racism of anthropologists of his time (and, sadly, many of today’s), Fawcett believed that an ancient civilization once thrived in South America. Much like the Egyptians, these people built stone buildings, made complex political systems, and were far more advanced, scientifically, than previously suspected. Although he had very little actual evidence to support this theory, he had accumulated many accounts and stories of past explorers and tribesmen that bolstered it.
Grann’s own intrepid investigation---researching Fawcett’s numerous journals, diaries, and ephemera; visiting the actual sites that Fawcett visited; speaking with many different tribes, including the ones that many scholars believe are the ones that most likely killed Fawcett; looking at all the advancements and new information in the fields of anthropology and archaeology---ultimately reveals that Fawcett may have actually been right in his theory.
“The Lost City of Z” is great reading for adventure hounds, especially the excitement of adventures involving uncharted and unexplored worlds, here, on our own little planet....more
Douglas Preston writes supernatural thrillers with co-author Lincoln Child. Consistently best-sellers, their books appeal generally to fans of contempDouglas Preston writes supernatural thrillers with co-author Lincoln Child. Consistently best-sellers, their books appeal generally to fans of contemporary pulp and aficionados of grade-B horror and sci-fi. Occasionally, they publish individually.
While Preston’s latest has the gloriously spectacular title---“The Lost City of the Monkey God”---and all the pulpy grade-B horror elements of his previous novels, “Lost City” is, actually, nonfiction.
In 2012, an archaeological survey was conducted in an uncharted section of rainforest in Honduras. Preston was invited along to document the events for National Geographic magazine. The search was on for what historians and archaeologists have, for decades, called “The Forbidden City”, “The White City”, and, most ridiculously, “The Lost City of the Monkey God”, a legend that began with the conquistador Hernan Cortes’s accounts of an enormous city, filled with riches, buried somewhere deep with the Honduran rainforest. Numerous attempts throughout the past several centuries to find this “lost city” were fruitless, but reports of wayward travelers and occasional findings of ancient pottery kept the legend alive.
There is very little of the Indiana Jones-style derring-do and fisticuffs within this book, but Preston is describing a very different world of archaeology. Long gone are the days of traipsing illegally through other countries, plundering ancient burial grounds, and essentially stealing property that does not belong to anyone, legally, except for the dead. All in the name of "fortune and glory".
Today’s archaeology is months and months, if not years, of requests for permits from foreign governments, permits which may never be approved, or, if they are, may be invalidated if the government undergoes a political or military coup. Assuming an archaeological team does get permission: digging up ancient pottery in the middle of a military hot zone may not be one’s idea of fun.
Indeed, a military coup was exactly what happened in Honduras in 2009, when President Manuel Zelaya was ousted and replaced by Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo Sosa. Excited at the prospect of good news for his country and, perhaps, as a way to deflect the attentions of his people away from the fact the country was a hot economic mess, President Lobo was extremely excited about the archaeological dig and quickly approved all permits. The dig was a go.
Except, “dig” probably isn’t the best word to use anymore. Given today’s amazing technology, especially in the field of laser imaging and a tool called “lidar”, most archaeology nowadays is done in a plane, on a laptop, and without a shovel touching the ground.
A relatively new technology for archaeology, lidar had been used for mapping the surface of the moon by NASA and for searching buried IEDs in Baghdad by the U.S. military. Finding 1,000-year-old ruins buried under trees and foliage would be a unique endeavor.
I probably don’t have to tell you that it was a success. For a brief, synopsis-like reportage of the actual dig, here is Preston’s own article that he subsequently wrote for Nat Geo about it: (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/20...)
The far more fascinating and disturbing part of the story happens after the dig, weeks and months after all members of the team are safe at home, basking in the glow of success.
Then the itching started...
One of the recurring legends of the White City was that anyone who came upon the city would eventually suffer death at the hands of an ancient evil. Spooky shit, huh? Well, as it turns out, it’s true. Sort of.
Every single member involved in the dig was stricken with a disease so unusual that it had the CDC bewildered. After vigilant research, doctors from numerous health groups around the world agreed that every member contracted an extremely rare form of parasitic infection, one that was not necessarily lethal but extremely unpleasant and certainly incurable. I won’t go into details (especially if you’ve just eaten), as Preston goes into excruciating detail of his own symptoms.
In all seriousness, the disease illustrates the dangers of upsetting the environmental balance of our planet’s ecosystems. Deforestation of the rainforests is at an almost unstoppable pace, and many scientists believe that the rainforests will be completely gone by the end of the century if things don’t change drastically. Besides being an irreparable scar on the surface of our planet, millions of previously comfortable microorganisms will find themselves homeless, and they will have no choice but to spread out to new homes: namely, cities.
Health experts agree that a global health crisis caused by a heretofore unknown virus or bacterial outbreak is not a question of “if” but a question of “when”. New diseases are springing up all the time.
Preston’s book manages to encapsulate a lot, and while it ends on kind of a downer of a message, it’s a message that probably needs to be pounded into all of us: No ancient civilization or empire ever survived, at all. Individuals, yes, but the great cities built by wealth and greed and on the backs of the oppressed all fell into ruins eventually, if not by wars, then by internal political strife; and if not by strife, then by Mother Nature herself.
So, I’m berating myself that I have only recently discovered the joys of reading Clive Cussler. Seriously, Clive, where have you been all my life?
“NigSo, I’m berating myself that I have only recently discovered the joys of reading Clive Cussler. Seriously, Clive, where have you been all my life?
“Night Probe!” is the third Cussler novel I have ever read, and it’s the sixth to feature his beloved action hero, Dirk Pitt. It’s clear to me now why so many people love the Pitt series.
Strange name aside, Dirk Pitt is a pretty lovable hero. Tough but funny, charismatic but serious when he needs to be, Pitt is basically an American James Bond minus a political agenda. His sole motivation is the thrill of the hunt and the adrenaline rush of adventure. Pitt was into extreme living long before anyone was into “extreme” anything.
Cussler’s novels are ridiculously good fun. They are not meant to be anything more. Matthew McConaughey’s attempt to bring Pitt to the big screen in “Sahara” (which was the second attempt to adapt a Cussler novel to the big screen, the first being “Raise the Titanic!” in 1980, starring Richard Jordan as Pitt) captured some of the fun of the series but apparently didn’t bring the fan base (or the box office revenue) expected.
I think part of the reason for the movie's lackluster success is that Cussler’s machine gun pacing and clever plotting didn't translate well. Not a prose stylist by any stretch of the imagination, Cussler nevertheless tells a damn good story. It’s perhaps no wonder, then, that other best-selling action/adventure authors like Tom Clancy have often cited Cussler as one of their inspirations as writers. Cussler is like Hemingway with a helluva lot more testosterone and minus the literary pretension.
The plot of “Night Probe!” hinges on two tragedies that occurred in May 1914, one fictional and one real. The fictional tragedy was the passenger steam locomotive The Manhattan Limited that went over a bridge and plunged headlong into the Hudson River, killing everyone aboard. Pieces of the train washed ashore but the majority of the wreckage was never discovered. The real-life tragedy was the accidental sinking of the ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland in the Saint Lawrence River. Of the 1,477 passengers on-board, only 465 survived. It is considered the largest maritime accident in Canadian history in terms of casualties.
In a cosmic twist of fate, two copies of a significant document known as the North American Treaty were lost to history in these tragedies. Mysteriously, all traces and mention of the treaty were purposely erased from history at the behest of the parties involved, namely the British and American governments.
Fast-forward to 1989, when an intrepid naval commander named Heidi Milligan, conducting research on something seemingly unrelated, uncovers mention of the treaty. Her sleuthing attracts the attention of the British government, who activates a retired spy named Brian Shaw to stop her from discovering more.
Unfortunately for Shaw, Milligan shares her information with Dirk Pitt, who is as intrepid if not moreso.
Amidst this ensuing cat-and-mouse, international relations between the U.S. and Canada are becoming strained, to say the least. When Quebec freedom fighters unsuccessfully attempt to assassinate Quebec’s Prime Minister, it opens the door for a national secessionist movement in the Canadian government’s parliament. The U.S. will be hit hard by a potential secession of Quebec from Canada, due to a new discovery of underwater oil wells within Quebec waters. The U.S. is already facing a major oil shortage and skyrocketing oil prices, so Quebec’s secession could result in an economic disaster.
When the President of the United States discovers that the North American Treaty was, essentially, a bill of sale negotiated between President Woodrow Wilson and King George of England to sell Canada in its entirety to the U.S. for one billion dollars of 1914 money, Pitt and his team at the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) are immediately called in to retrieve the North American Treaty from one or both wrecks, if possible.
Hot on Pitt’s trail, of course, is Shaw and a psychotic Canadian mountie improbably and sadly named Floss Gly. The clock is ticking...
As ridiculous as the plot sounds, Cussler makes it seem believable. Of course, anyone who actually lived through 1989 would notice the glaring historical inaccuracies. One must keep in mind that Cussler published the book in 1981, so the events in the novel were set nine years in Cussler’s future.
If you’re good at suspending some of your disbelief and enjoy an exciting action/adventure now and then, pick up an early Cussler novel if you’ve never done so. You may be pleasantly surprised....more
Clive Cussler's novel "Raise the Titanic!" screams manliness.
Written in 1976, "Raise the Titanic!" was the fourth book to feature Cussler's manly herClive Cussler's novel "Raise the Titanic!" screams manliness.
Written in 1976, "Raise the Titanic!" was the fourth book to feature Cussler's manly hero, Dirk Pitt. Rugged, taciturn, ex-Navy, knows a lot about boats. Also: charmer with the ladies, who don't really figure much in the book. Women have three purposes: secretarial, sexual, or villainous. It's not that Cussler doesn't like women, it's just that he doesn't have a lot of things for them to do, and he's not quite sure what to do with them when they're there. Granted, this is Cussler in '76. I'm sure he's evolved somewhat.
Sexism aside, Cussler can write a pretty damn good maritime action/adventure yarn. I don't even like boats, and after the first 20 pages or so, I was ready to set sail into a hurricane on a dinghy and man the rigging. (I have no idea what I just wrote there…) Seriously, I still don't have a clue what "port" or "starboard" mean, but it doesn't matter. Cussler's vast knowledge of sea-faring only enhances the pleasure of reading this book, even for land-lubbers like myself.
The plot: a rare element known as byzanium is needed in a top-secret government project called The Sicilian Project. It just so happens that, in 1912, a large amount of byzanium was crossing the Atlantic in the cargo hold of a deluxe cruise ship on its maiden voyage. The ship was the Titanic. (Yes, the same ship on which Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio met, fell in love, and had sex in a car. According to history, the ship hit an iceberg and sank, never to be found again, until Bill Paxton discovers it many decades later, with funding from James Cameron.) In a series of interesting and somewhat coincidental events, the Titanic is discovered, and a race ensues between the U.S. and the Soviets. Dirk Pitt, a courageous jack-of-all-trades and manly man, leads the expedition to retrieve the Titanic and raise it from its watery grave in order to secure the byzanium. Little things like Soviet assassin spies, hurricanes, and naked women won't get in his way.
Did I mention this book is a testosterone-laden manly Manfest?
There are some weird things about it. One is that it was published in '76, but it takes place in the "present" of 1987. I'm not sure why Cussler chose to set it in a near future, although I'm sure the fact that the technology for underwater retrieval needed for raising a ship like the Titanic probably wasn't around in '76, or it was still in its early stages. In any case, the 1987 setting threw me off a bit. Interestingly enough, the socio-political issues Cussler writes about in his future aren't that completely far off from the real 1987. Weird.
Another weird thing is that, at the time, the Titanic had not been discovered. I can't recall exactly when it was discovered, although I'm pretty sure it was in the early '80s, because I was in elementary school at the time and remember it being in the news. I was fairly certain that scientists would discover that it was full of underwater alien eggs, and that they would hatch and multiply and eventually eat everyone in the world. (I think the movie "Alien" scarred my childhood. I curse my father for letting me stay up late and watch that damn movie…) Anyway, interesting to note that Cussler kind of predicted the discovery of the Titanic. Weird.
Overall, I was pretty taken in by "Raise the Titanic!" It's everything a manly techno-thriller should be: exciting, action-packed, full of good ol' fashioned fisticuffs, gunplay, and explosions. And some sexy ladies, of course....more
I have never read a Clive Cussler novel until "Treasure of Khan", which is, I think, the 20th novel in his long-running Dirk Pitt series. My Cussler dI have never read a Clive Cussler novel until "Treasure of Khan", which is, I think, the 20th novel in his long-running Dirk Pitt series. My Cussler deprivation is not due to any calculated or irrational dismissal of the author; I just never got around to reading him. Starting with the 20th book in the series is probably not wise, as Cussler has reached that "I can basically write a 200-page shopping list and any publishing company will publish it" status, which is never a good thing. For proof, see anything by James Patterson.
Cussler also has a co-writer for this one (his son, Dirk Cussler), which, in my opinion, is ALWAYS a red flag. When well-known authors start writing "with" other people, it usually means they have become so lazy that they can't come up with any new ideas of their own, or they wrote a quick outline for a novel and had someone else actually write it. Again, see James Patterson.
So, truth be told, I was a bit leary about this one, and I didn't have high expectations. Consider my surprise and delight that I actually enjoyed the book.
I'm not going to lie: it starts slow. The real action didn't kick in until around page 150 (out of 600), the first 150 pages devoted mostly to scene-setting and necessary (but excruciatingly dry and, at times, textbook-like) backstory. I'm guessing Cussler books all follow a similar formula: at some point in history, a ship carrying treasure or objects of vital importance is lost; fast-forward hundreds of years to modern times when a clue is uncovered that reveals the possible whereabouts of said lost ship; adventurer and treasure-hunter Dirk Pitt and his crew go off to find it, only to encounter numerous obstacles and nefarious villains trying to prevent him from finding it.
I'm guessing each Cussler book is a "fill in the blank" in terms of historical period, lost treasure, modern-day clue, and nefarious villain. In this case, the book starts with a dying Genghis Khan in the 13th-century. The treasure is the long-lost burial place of Khan. The modern-day clue is a scroll found on the body of a dead archaeologist. The villain is a mysterious multi-billionaire who has access to untapped oil riches in Lower Mongolia and a giant gun that can create earthquakes.
Yes, it's pretty silly. It's part Indiana Jones and part James Bond, and it's all ridiculous, but it's good, clean fun. While it's not exceptionally good writing, it's good enough that it makes me want to go back and read Cussler's early work, when he wasn't just getting published on his name alone....more
One of the more recent Indy adventure novels, this one penned by veteran sci-fi author Steve Perry, "Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead" pits IndyOne of the more recent Indy adventure novels, this one penned by veteran sci-fi author Steve Perry, "Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead" pits Indy and his pals against the walking dead. In this episode, set during WWII, Indy, a new agent with the OSS, and his pal Mac crash-land in Haiti, where they search for a legendary Black Pearl that supposedly has supernatural powers (of course). Hot on their trail (of course) are Nazis, Imperial Japanese soldiers,.. and zombies! This book is great fun if you are a fan of Indiana Jones AND zombies. ...more
In "Indiana Jones and the White Witch" by Martin Caidin, Jones goes in search of the legendary sword, Excalibur. He, of course, gets involved with a sIn "Indiana Jones and the White Witch" by Martin Caidin, Jones goes in search of the legendary sword, Excalibur. He, of course, gets involved with a sassy British pilot named Gale... and her sister Caitlin! Uh oh! Raucous mayhem abounds....more
Rob Macgregor wrote this novel, "Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi"---the first in a series of books based on the popular character created by GeoRob Macgregor wrote this novel, "Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi"---the first in a series of books based on the popular character created by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg---in '91, long before the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", and just as The Young Indiana Jones series was starting on TV.
It's set during Indy's college days, as a young Greek Linguistics scholar named Henry Jones Jr. falls for his sexy (but much older) archaeology professor. Adventure and romance ensue as Indy and his hot prof jet off to Paris and then Greece to find an ancient Greek artifact that is reputed to give the possessor the power to see the future. Entertaining stuff, if you are an Indy fan....more
I think every guy wishes he were Indiana Jones. He's a college professor, so he's got the smart thing going for him. He's also good with a whip. HenceI think every guy wishes he were Indiana Jones. He's a college professor, so he's got the smart thing going for him. He's also good with a whip. Hence why he's so good with the ladies... I've read roughly six or seven of the Indiana Jones novel series, and I think there are close to twenty, with more being written. They are quick, fun reads, like literary popcorn, that you can enjoy in one sitting. And they're actually pretty well-written, although not necessarily historically "accurate". In each book Indy goes in search of an actual legendary artifact which is historically documented, not necessarily "real". In this one, he's after an artifact that may hold the long-lost secret of alchemy. There are, of course, hordes of villains (in this case, Mussolini's Fascists), exotic locales (Italy and Libya), and a sexy school-marmish sidekick who naturally falls for Indy. On to the next book!.. ...more
I am by no means an archaeologist, amateur or otherwise. My wife can attest that I cringe at the prospect of touching anything covered in dirt and griI am by no means an archaeologist, amateur or otherwise. My wife can attest that I cringe at the prospect of touching anything covered in dirt and grime (and yet I tend to be the one most often found pulling weeds out of our flower bed), so I can only imagine how squeamish and uncomfortable I'd be on an archaeological dig.
I do, however, "dig" the idea of archaeology and find it fascinating. (See what I did there? "Dig" it? Get it? See, what I did was a play on the word "dig", which is… oh, never mind...)
Part of my fascination with archaeology is the fault of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for making those wonderful Indiana Jones movies. Did you know that there was a real-life archaeologist who was the basis for Indy? In truth, there was probably several, but one of the contemporary models is an archaeologist and founder and director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute in Erie, PA. He is still a professor at Mercyhurst College, and he still actively does fieldwork. He also manages to find time to write books.
J.M. Adavasio's "The First Americans" may be esoteric reading material for some, but it is fascinating nonetheless. Part history of the science of archaeology, part overview of the ancestry of humans on the American continents, the book also manages to be an entertaining and often funny reportage of the ongoing controversy within American archaeology, of which Adavasio puts himself dead-center: Clovis Man.
As Adavasio himself admits, most people neither know nor care about the controversy. He himself didn't care, until his work on the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania involuntarily thrust him into the middle of the controversy. So, who or what is Clovis man?
To explain in a nutshell requires an explanation of the Clovis spear, a finely chiseled spear point unique to America. They were created by men living between 11,250 and 10,550 years ago. Until recently, the archaeological party line has been that, due to lack of any evidence, Clovis Man was the first to set foot on this continent, spread out, and become the many (800+) Native American tribes that populated this country before European man ever set foot here.
There has, however, within just the past 30 years or so, a growing amount of evidence that suggests Clovis Man wasn't the first. And, hoo boy! them's fightin' words to the pro-Clovis Firsters!
With a pretty straight face (and a tongue occasionally firmly placed in cheek), Adavasio recounts the recent debates, brouhahas, and near-fisticuffs (I shit you not) that have erupted among the American archaeological community.
It seems now that only a mere handful of (albeit still somewhat powerful) minds in the field still hold on to the belief that no humans preceded Clovis, while more and more archaeologists are coming around to Adavasio et al's thinking.
A surprisingly entertaining and informative book, "The First Americans" is one of those books that should be on the shelves of everyone who has always wanted to know about a pretty interesting controversy in a field that very few people actually give a crap about....more