Cussler takes a breather from his several ongoing series with this historical thriller set in the western states, circa 1906. The U.S. government hires the renowned Van Dorn Detective Agency and its equally renowned lead agent, Isaac Bell, to capture the bank robber known as the Butcher Bandit. The Butcher has gunned down 38 men and women and two children, leaving behind neither witnesses nor clues. Bell heads the manhunt and finally figures out the Butcher's true identity, which is when the real chase begins.
Two years ago, Executive Orders, which thrust Jack Ryan into the Oval Office, raised the bar for its immensely popular author. This first Clancy hardcover since then, though a ripping read, matches its predecessor neither in complexity nor intensity nor even, at 752 pages, length, despite a strong premise and some world-class action sequences.
Moshui, The Books of Stone and Water 03 - Hidden Cities
The conclusion of Fox's trilogy set in a magical version of ancient China (Dragon in Chains; Jade Man's Skin) mixes action with scenes that feel like timeless, almost perfect moments. The emperor is exiled, and his pregnant beloved is being targeted by assassins. Rebels battle for control of the nation. An island-dwelling dragon is linked to the boy Han in ways neither understands, and an old man bargains with the dragon for access to the sea in which she was once imprisoned.
Added by: naokokt | Karma: 186.54 | Fiction literature | 11 January 2011
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The Ask: A Novel
How can a life so miserable be so funny? Is it because the stakes are so low (Milo Burke, the antihero of Sam Lipsyte's novel, The Ask, is a failure at many things, but most prominently at his job of pulling in major donors for a deadwater arts program at a middling university neither you nor he care about), or because they are so high (among them death, love, and the general squandering of the glories of creation on trivia)?
For Halloween, Bernie Bridges and Sherman Oaks are making scary movies, and the winner of the scariest one will get to star in a genuine horror film! Bernie and Sherman have the same plan—scare each other and capture it on film. But neither of them is prepared for just how scary things will get!
