meg reads and reads

Title: The Night Trade Author: Barry Eisler After the disappointment of Livia Lone , The Night Trade really makes up for it. Reading about Dox is always a pleasure, and it was nice to see him team up with Livia. I love that they are not perfect. They are very human, making mistakes and false assumptions, jumping into situations without fully thinking about them. Livia and Dox balanced each other out well. They would certainly be dead without one another. Five out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 68% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 51% Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: 18% The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White: NOW STARTING

Title: Livia Lone Author: Barry Eisler The plot of this novel is great, by turns incredibly moving, immensely devastating, and completely horrifying. Child sex trafficking is not a easy subject to tackle, but Barry Eisler does it convincingly and without holding back. At the beginning, I felt like some of the details were only gratuitous, but as the plot advanced, I realized he had a purpose. That said, there are some issues I have. First, how many times do I have to read the phrase "he panted"? Second, what 8th grader goes to recess? Third, he talks about how the moon was out in one scene, but it was also pouring snow. Which is it? These are three examples of things that really bugged me and that were ultimately distracting while reading. If I ignore those things, it was very enjoyable. I give it three out of five stars. --------- READING PROGRESS: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon: 50% The Waste Lands by Stephen King: 47% The Warriors Ser...

Title: The Killer Collective Author: Barry Eisler So I finally am current with the John Rain series. I have mixed feelings about this book. All in all, it was a fantastic read, though I feel the ending was too neat for most of the characters and not neat enough for others. Ben - I have mixed feelings about Ben's storyline. I feel like we were built up to like him, then dislike him, then not know how to feel about him, and there's no real resolution there. Delilah - I was actually delighted (ha, word choice) to have Delilah back in the plot, and I loved the role that she played in this book. It worked for her. Hort - I don't care what Eisler does, I will never like Hort, and I don't care if we ever see him again. Larison - He's not particularly a likable guy, but his role in this book is effective and important. I was glad to have him back. My main problem with Larison is I feel like Eisler created the Ben Treven series solely to introduce Larison, so w...

Title : Zero Sum Author: Barry Eisler This book is more a sequel to Graveyard of Memories than a continuation of the John Rain series. It is another glimpse into John's past which is at points endearing, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as Graveyard of Memories was. It felt kind of forced, and the ending was pretty anticlimactic. We do get more of an idea where he obtained some of his methods, which was nice, but all in all, this wasn't close to being one of my favorites in this series. In spite of that, I think it's good enough for four out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 94% The Dark Half by Stephen King: 61% Let's Dance, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz: 85% The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler: NOW STARTING

Title: Graveyard of Memories Author: Barry Eisler I'm going to be completely honest. I was not thrilled when I found out this book was a prequel. I was ready for John's story to move forward. That said, this book was a very pleasant surprise. As much fun as John is to read as an older man, young John was much more complicated and even endearing. It was nice to see where his love of jazz came from and to get the back story on his situation in Japan. This was also the first Kindle in Motion book I've ever read, and I have to tell you, it was absolutely gorgeous. The art and animation were phenomenal and really added to the story. I never thought I would say something like that, but it's true. It's interesting to see literature taking this direction. At one time, I would have been completely against it, but having seen the thought and detail put into this book, I am completely on board. This book is easily 5 out of 5 stars, no question. I would even say tha...

Title: The Detachment Author: Barry Eisler I'm happy to report that, even after the disappointment of the last Eisler novel I read, this one did not fail to please. I'm glad I read the first two Ben Treven books so that I would know what was going on in that storyline, because it was very important to the continuation of John Rain's story in book 7 of this series. I have no real complaints. It was a really good book, and I'm glad John, Dox, Larison, and Ben could keep from killing each other. They were certainly an interesting combination of people, and it was very fun to read. Four out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 73% The Dark Half by Stephen King: 51% Let's Dance, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz: 46% Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler: NOW STARTING

Title: Inside Out Author: Barry Eisler Eisler knows how to write a good story, and he didn't disappoint with the second Ben Treven book, Inside Out. It was good to see the potential tie-in to the John Rain novels (which I will be able to go back to now), and I have missed John dearly. To be completely honest, this book felt hurried. It's not really any shorter than any of his other books, but there are lots of distracting and careless punctuation errors that normally aren't such a huge presence in his work. Despite that, this was an enjoyable read. I really liked Paula's character, and I was super disappointed that she turned out to be the way she was. I guess the clues were there all along, though. There is also a really interesting (and not altogether inaccurate, I'd say) take on the state of the American government, and it's fascinating, because it feels particularly accurate now, and this book was published in the pre-Trump presidency world. Hort h...

Title : Fault Line Author: Barry Eisler Book Seven in the John Rain Series also says "Ben Treven Book 3," so I figured I should read the first two Ben Treven books before I moved on to the seventh John Rain. The first two thirds of this book was absolutely miserable for me. I didn't like Ben. I didn't like Alex. And I really didn't like Sarah. Also, the plot was extremely predictable up to the end. No surprise twists. I think maybe it was supposed to be a surprise, but it wasn't. I think this book was also a huge letdown, because when you read the John Rain books, John has such a strong voice and such a strong presence that you really feel like you're there in the story. This book was severely lacking in that regard. This was really almost a two-star review, but Ben became more likable by the end of the book, and that's the only thing that saved it. Hopefully, Book Two will be better. Three out of five stars. ----------- READING PROGR...

Title: Extremis Author: Barry Eisler Okay, so I know I was a bit disappointed in the last John Rain novel, but I did  say that I felt that it was building up to something fantastic. I am so happy  that I was right! Book Five has been by far the best in the series up to this point. At first, I thought that the pace was way too fast, but Eisler masterfully reined it back in about two-thirds of the way through, and so many open storylines closed just like that, with the reader's (my) jaw hanging open. Unbelievable! I'm very excited to move on to move on to Book 6. John's story is open to go almost anywhere. Five out of five stars. ------------------ READING PROGRESS: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King: 99% An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 16% The Boy Who Painted the World by Melody J. Bremen: 53% The Killer Ascendant by Barry Eisler: STARTING NOW

Title: Redemption Games Author: Barry Eisler The fourth John Rain installment was the first one that I didn't love. I still liked it. It was slower on the action, but I think Eisler was developing John's character more. He definitely becomes more human in this book. The return of Dox and Delilah were both very welcome, and the tie-in to Midori was a pleasant surprise. Though I say I didn't love it, I see the direction Eisler is taking John, and I love that. I see this as necessary ground to cover before we can return to the kind of stuff I've enjoyed reading in this series in a much more hardcore fashion. Three out of five stars. ------------ READING PROGRESS: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King: 83% The Berenstain Bears Chapter Book Collection by Stan & Jan Berenstain: 96% An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: 6% Extremis by Barry Eisler: JUST STARTING

Title: Winner Take All Author: Barry Eisler The third installment of the John Rain series kept up the momentum from the first two. It was full of action, fast-paced, and fun to read. Getting to know Dox as a character was a blast, too. I hope to see him again. I also hope to see more of Delilah. There are so many very interesting characters being thrown into the mix. I also appreciated that this book was the first to truly acknowledge John's age. The book was published in 2004, and John fought in Vietnam. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's elderly, but he's certainly not necessarily a spring chicken either. In any event, I haven't breezed through a series of books like this in a long time, so this is a really fun change of pace for me. I can't wait to start book four. Four out of five stars. ------- READING PROGRESS The Tommyknockers by Stephen King: 82% The Berenstain Bears Chapter Book Collection by Stan & Jan Berenst...

Title: A Lonely Resurrection Author: Barry Eisler This is the second installment of the John Rain series, and I have to say it was even more enjoyable than the first. There was lots of fast-paced action, and the crime web that Yamaoto--who I am assuming is the series' ultimate villain--seems to be involved with seems to grow ever more complex. I have a notoriously short attention span when it comes to books, just because I'm moody, but I actually read this one beginning to end without pausing to read anything else. It had me that riveted. Four out of five stars. ------------ READING PROGRESS The Tommyknockers by Stephen King: 73% A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon: 80% The Berenstain Bears Chapter Book Collection: 36% Winner Take All by Barry Eisler: STARTING NOW

Title: A Clean Kill in Tokyo Author: Barry Eisler I was perusing the Amazon Best Seller list for a new book to read, and book 10 of this series was pretty high on the list. I read the description, and it seemed pretty interesting, but I knew it was going to be a huge commitment, as I would need to start from the beginning. I'm already reading the Outlander  series. Did I really want to start another series? I decided to give it a shot. Boy, was it worth it. This is a fantastic thriller with lots of twists and action. It was quite a ride, and I'm very much looking forward to book two. Four out of five stars. -------- READING PROGRESS: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King: 73% A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon: 80% The Berenstain Bears Chapter Book Collection by Stan & Jan Berenstain: 36% A Lonely Resurrection by Barry Eisler: NOW STARTING