Tag Archives: book review

Oct 21 2014

Black Hole Bounty— a review

Black Hole Bounty coverRecently, I read Sienna Bronwyn’s Black Hole Bounty, which was a little more erotic than the romances that I normally read, but this one was quite good. The heroine, Jerusa, is different (an albino of Central American origin) who wears a nose ring and is scared of heights. Actually, she’s scared of lots of things…but that’s what a big part of what makes her an interesting heroine. She’s already married and has a daughter, and that’s atypical as well. The plot is not as far from the norm (for science fiction romance) as are the characters, so I’ll call it character driven fiction. It’s also rather funny, because the POV character is, well, quite a character. Still, this story is an action/adventure, and Jerusa never runs out of beings who make her afraid. Often, she has every reason to be scared silly.

As some of the reviewers stated, the worst thing about this story is that it is first in a series and the other entries are not yet available. Some authors are great at writing a series where each story can stand alone, but lots of writers are not bothering with that these days, and that’s annoying, but again, not unusual.

If Ms. Bronwyn can get part two of this series out before I forget all about the story, then I will be happy to purchase it. So, dear author, get busy.

May 15 2013

Investment Biker— a review

Investment bikesWhile touring the Barber Motorsports Museum in Alabama, I came upon a display of two rather battered BMW touring bikes, on a round platform, with a sculpture of the world suspended over them. In a museum where even hundred-year-old motorcycles are preserved in showroom condition, these two road warriors stood out. The information spread around the platform indicated that the bikes were used by Jim Rogers and his companion, Tabitha Estebrook, as they went on an around the world trip, on motorcycles.

When I got home, I bought the book that Rogers wrote about his trip, Investment Biker. As a fairly young man who had made his money on Wall Street, Rogers takes his reader on a ride around the world, and into the world of finance. At first, I was rather annoyed, because I wanted to read about the bikes and the sights, but not about the price of commodities. However, as Rogers explained how his trip through Europe, Asia, Africa, Southern America, and other regions influenced his trading, I gained respect for his reasoning in investing in some areas, while steering clear of others.

That said, there are motorcycle tales aplenty, from having a hole in a piston welded in a remote village, because the closest BMW dealer was thousands of miles away, to spills along a road with gravel pieces the size of baseballs for a road surface.

Since this journey occurred a couple of decades back, there are sections which read more like history, such as his observations about why the Soviet Union appeared to be crumbling. And, I am sure that Rogers might want to retract some of his political  predictions, should he ever have a second edition.

Still, I am really glad I read Investment Biker. Many of the reviewers on Amazon seemed disappointed that this book is about travel on a motorcycle, rather than investment advice. I wanted to read about adventure, and this book has plenty of that. Most of the moto-journalism I have read has been inferior. Rogers writes well, and his vision and experiences are inspiring.

Nov 26 2012

Alarm of War—Best Space Opera I’ve Read Recently!

Okay, the story line is hardly new: green recruit impresses everyone, gets promoted, and saves the day. But, Alarm of War by Kennedy Hudner does have some freshness, and most of the spelling and all of the grammar is correct. That’s saying quite a great deal in this day of self-published ebooks available for the Kindle.

Our main character is Emily Tuttle. Yep, that does not sound like a heroine’s name, now does it? Especially not a military fiction heroine, who should have a big name, like, oh, say, “Honor Harrington.” But, our heroine is Emily Tuttle, and she doesn’t look particularly heroic, being rather small. Oh, and she has a master’s degree—in history. Her best bud in training is a tall Hispanic chick named Maria, who goes by “Cookie.” And the smartest dude in the training group is a geeky guy named Hiram. And what is really odd is that the leadership of the training facility actually recognizes who is smart and acts accordingly. Maybe the government will do stuff like that in the future.

Anyway, the novel begins with background and political intrigue; actually, too much of that. Oh, it helps to know all that as the story moves along, but it might be better dished out in the middle of the story. To be honest, I did not get interested in this novel until a royal despot kills a lawyer and uses him for decor. Then, I got interested, and I stayed interested. Just when the reader believes that he or she knows exactly what is going to happen, something comes along to shake things up a bit and keep the reader turning the pages.

This one ends with a bit of a cliff-hanger, so I went back to Amazon, intent on purchasing the sequel. Unfortunately, Alarm of War was published in August, and there is (as yet) no sequel. Darn.

I hope that Mr. Hudner is busy working on part ii of this yarn. Maybe it will be out by Christmas. Gosh, I hope so.