Some book stuff

As I said, I am doing some stuff on 50bookchallenge, actually a couple of things -- Sports and Fiction to start. I already posted my first two sports books, and am now onto fiction, and I will crosspost here.

Liam

OK, so I started off with popcorn reading for the first two books of the
year.

No. 1: Temple by Matthew Reilly.

Interesting, a couple good twists, but very predictable. You know that when
the first description of a character includes a specific analysis of his
birthmark, and a similar birthmark is quickly mentioned later, that's
clearly accidental.

Anyway, Clive Cussler-like is the best description for me, though the book
jacket pulls in Clancy, Iam Fleming, Grisham and Crichton, too.

Mild-mannered professor William Race (complete with birthmark) gets involved
in a military-led attempt to find a lost idol which can power a
world-destroying weapon. Believe me, you have read this stuff before, but
the twists here, including "living ancient myths," made it a little better
than the average book in the genre.

Reilly's other books include Contest and Ice Station, which I have read, and
came before Temple, and Area 7 and Scarecrow came afterwards. I have read
Area 7, also, but have not read Scarecrow, which came out last year and
features a character from Ice Station and Area 7.

No. 2: Retreat Hell! by W.E.B. Griffin.

I have read everything he has written -- 34 books in four series -- and I
enjoyed this one just as I expected. I lucked onto it at the library within
days of its release.

This is definitely either something you love right away or a taste you have
to acquire quickly, but I love it. His books are extremely accurate in
general detail, in-depth and focus on American men and women at war
(mostly). He's done everything from WWII to Vietnam and the civil wars in
Africa and also has a pretty good cop series. This one is Book X in The
Corps, which obviously follows the Marine Corps and includes about a dozen
characters we have come to know and love.

Griffin is incredibly detailed and opinionated. There's a lot of history
packed into this book, which covers the 37 days leading to Chinese
intervention in the Korean War in 491 pages, and even for a fan like me, it
dragged in spots.

If you like Griffin, you need to read it. There's enough backstory that you
could work your way through it even if you hadn't read anything else, but I
would suggest starting with Book I: Semper Fi, or, if you prefer the Army,
Brotherhood of War: The Lieutenants. The cop series is Badge of Honor,
starts with Men in Blue and focuses on Philadelphia.

Liam