Fiction

Background

Published in 2018, The Fallen is the fourth book in the Memory Man series by David Baldacci. Amos Decker is the memory man due to a head injury he sustained in his first and only play in the NFL. Not only was his personality changed but he now has a perfect memory which he uses for the Ohio police and later the FBI.

Decker and his partner go to Baronville, a run down town which is only starting to make a comeback. Baronville was named for the owner of the mine who worked his employees mercilessly and grew amazingly wealthy. Now his great grandson is the last of the Baron line who lives in poverty in the ruins of his family’s broken mansion. However, the first Baron may have hid all of his wealth and some people will stop at nothing to get it.

My Thoughts

The Fallen was a book that took me along a journey that I didn’t see coming. The author does a great job of not tipping his hand as the story unfolds and everything comes into place.

The convention of Decker’s perfect memory comes in very handy as a plot device. He seems to be an ever flowing fount of wisdom and knowledge through which anything can be explained. I didn’t feel like it was overused but it was rather convenient this time around.

Recommendation

A good read.

Background

Judy Blume brings us back to 4th grade by teaching us how to make Freckle Juice and the simple joy of being the one picked to be in a play.

My Thoughts

Even in 4th grade I thought Judy Blume’s books were pretty spot on with the thinking of a 4th grader. Now, nearly 4 decades later, I was surprised how quickly I was brought back to that time. Enough time has passed that I had forgotten the plot and was able to enjoy discovering the story yet again. (Perhaps that will be one of the few blessings of going senile.)

Recommendation

Great book. Everyone should read it.

Background

Published in 1985, “B” is for Burglar is the second installment of Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series. The protagonist is Kinsey Millhone. A no nonsense private investigator who solves crimes while only occasionally bending the rules.

This mystery starts as a case of a missing person but quickly spins into money, intrigue and murder.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this book not only because of the story line but because of the mid 1980’s references. Having largely grown up in the 80s, there are a number of words and situations that kick off a bout of nastalga.

Recommendation

A good read but it contains some language and adult situations.

Background

Published in 2011, A Dance with Dragons is the 5th book in the “Song of Fire and Ice” series otherwise known as the Game of Thrones series. It was originally packaged with the previous book until the publisher told the author that 2000 pages would be a bit to unwieldy.

At a mere 1016 pages, it is a little longer than the former A Feast for Crows. This version follows Bran, John, Tyrion and others not mentioned in A Feast for Crows as the author didn’t split the books chronologically. Rather he split them by each of their stories.

My Thoughts

It’s a great book for a long memory. We knew a good deal of the story so we were waiting for it to unfold by the perspective of the next character. The ending included several great cliffhangers.

The author has been at work on the next volume for the last 8 years. I have no idea when it will come out but I’m sure there will be a media storm around it and I’m sure it won’t be short. I guess I will wait.

Recommendation

I was glad I read it but I don’t know I would have read it if I knew the series wasn’t complete. I hate the feeling of waiting for the next thing, particularly when it is 8 years ago. (At least I haven’t been waiting since then…)

Background

The Fix is the third book in the “Memory Man” series or the books following Amos Decker. At this point, Decker is a special agent with the FBI who is so new he still hasn’t had his clearance completed. He and his former journalist turned agent, and now roommate, work together to solve a mystery which is much bigger than they thought.

My Thoughts

Yet another fun read from David Baldacci. I was interested from start to finish and enjoyed the process.

Recommendation

Good read but start at the first book in the series.