Odyssey

4 Stars

This, the fifth book (the third I’ve read) in Jack McDevitt’s Academy Series, is my favorite so far. The story has the Space Academy setting out to investigate sightings of spherical alien ships, and discovering a few nasty surprises. In this novel you will find all the imaginings of alien wonder that have made the series enjoyable, with extra helpings of adventure an mystery.

Odyssey may end up being the last book in this series, since at the end of the novel the series protagonist, Pricilla Hutchins, retires from the Academy. But you never know.

ben

On a Pale Horse

3 Stars

By the time I read this book, I was already a big Discworld fan.  The character Death from that series, and the novel Mort in particular, are parodies of On a Pale Horse.  So from the start I had a special enjoyment of this book.

It’s about a down-on-his-luck guy who takes over the office of Death, and then gets involved in some cosmic struggle of good versus evil.  The book started off really well, with cleverness and intrigue and an engaging story.  As it went along it got a little weak, but it was still a pretty good book overall.

This was the first in an eight book series called Incarnations of Immortality.  Will I read more of the volumes?  Maybe.

ben

Open House

3 Stars

You know, I do my best to keep away from any book marked “Oprah’s Book Club” just because I’m not fond of following the crowd, and Oprah is the biggest crowd leader out there. However, I got this in a box of books I picked up and I read it. It was pretty good–kind of a cross between female fiction and general fiction. The story involved a newly divorced woman whose husband left her after many years of marriage. She goes through the normal reactions–spending huge amounts of her husband’s money, trying to seduce him again, finding out she’s pregnant, and trying to get a job for the first time in years. It was an interesting story delving into the thought process of a middle aged woman who finds herself alone for the first time in a long time. Not bad.

–Adrienne

Odd Thomas

5 Stars

Not often does a mystery/thriller book come along that incorporates the supernatural and human elements with such finesse. Odd Thomas (the actual name of our hero–last name “Thomas” first name “Odd”) is able to see ghosts. Not talk to them, just see them. They let him know when things need to be taken care of. Odd is a great character–he is unassuming, kind, interesting, and doesn’t care for money. He works at a diner because he likes making pancakes and wants to make people happy. He has a girlfriend named Stormy who has a matching birthmark, so he thinks its fate. (Turns out Stormy had the “birthmark” tattooed to match Odd’s natural one…girls are sneaky like that). His life plan includes selling shoes in the future, because that sounds interesting, although he may turn to tire sales if he gets married. Odd is also able to predict major disasters by tracking certain spirits who feed off the misery of humans. Most of the story revolves around him trying to figure out why his sleepy little town is suddenly inundated with such spirits, and how to stop the inevitable from happening. I laughed, I cried, I read the book twice in a week. Now that’s a good book.

–Adrienne

The Other Daughter

3 Stars

This is a new genre for me…it’s more of a detective thriller rather than my normal mystery choice. I’m not sure I’m overly fond of this type of book, but this story was interesting. A murderer is put to death and his daughter (who, naturally, doesn’t know she is the murderer’s daughter since she’s been adopted and raised by a wealthy surgeon) soon finds out her adoption may not have been completely legal. She teams with an FBI investigator who helps her figure out what is going on. It’s basically the sex, guns and murder formula that makes me kinda hate most action movies, but I didn’t hate it. That’s good, right?

–Adrienne