KCR: Slanted Jack (scifi, adventure, space)

A sequel to "One Jump Ahead", the nano-enhanced soldier Jon Moore, and his sentient gunship Lobo seem always heading into some sort of trouble. This time, the trouble came looking for him...

Premise: Slanted Jack, a con man from Jon's past, came to seek his help. He needs to protect a child, who supposedly have special powers... and a lot of people want the kid. A religious fanatic who moonlights as an arms dealer... a notorious and ruthless gang boss... and a high government official out to clean up the frontier, each wanting Jon's allegiance, each with the power to crush Jon and Lobo. Then there's the kid... How does Jon and Lobo get out of this one?

Problem with Slanted Jack is the characters came across as a bit flat, with Jon being the only one with any depth. Every body else came across as cold-hearted people out to use other people to their own purposes for little reason other it it suits them. The book is sort of adventure where the hero tries to play off one side against another. The result is satisfying, though it's a bit shallow.

If you like sci-fi action, with a bit of intrigue, go right ahead.

KCR: Triple Tap (movie, shooting, Hong Kong)

Image via WikipediaThe movie "Triple Tap" is a Hong Kong crime drama that has a couple twists and turns that you may not see coming, and as a result, is a much better thriller than what typically comes out of Hong Kong.

Premise: competition shooter "Ken" had just beaten a cop "Jerry" at a live ammo shooting competition by 0.31 seconds with zero misses. On the way home, he interrupted an armored car heist and shot several of the robbers, who were killing the guards. A traffic cop who came onto the scene was also shot. One robber got away. Ken was arrested for murder and illegal discharge of firearms, but was released and hailed as a hero by the media. But not all is as it looked on the surface. Ken has been illegally accessing his supervisor's funds in the investment firm trying to cover his losses. The supervisor wants him as her boyfriend, even though he already has a nice nurse for a girlfriend at home. As Jerry digs deeper for the truth, he discovers that Ken is a methodical planner, possibly with a killer instinct, trying to live a double life. When more people turned up dead, Jerry and Ken match wits resulting in a showdown... Who is the ultimate pistolero?

This psychological thriller is much better than your typical Hong Kong action film, with really tense moments without too much special effects, big explosions, or even much gore. The movie, in a sense, reminded a bit like Roshomon, that Japanese classic where we get four different versions of the story. It's a bit of whodunit, a bit of crime drama, and as clues are revealed, the showdown at the end is inevitable. The only problem I have is with the re-enactment scene, where "Jerry" the cop went to see this retired cop for some advice on reenacting the shooting to get the pscyhological state. It's as if the other guy went into a trance channeling the killer's spirit, and that's just dumb.

Rating: Watch it at least once.

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KCR: Persuader, a Jack Reacher novel (crime)

Cover of Persuader (Jack Reacher, No. 7)

Persuader is a typical thriller... except when Jack Reacher is involved, and there are several twists and turns.

Jack Reacher foiled a kidnapping attempt, only to reveal that the victim's father is a suspected kingpin in gunrunning, possibly involved in a kidnapped Federal agent... and an enemy Reacher thought he killed long time ago... As Reacher hired on as a bodyguard, he tries to search the house looking for evidence of the agent, while dealing with enemies who started to suspect him.

Lee Child by now is great in ratcheting up the pressure slowly, as the tension gets thicker and thicker in the air as he gets closer and closer to the truth. The book also has quite a bit of flashback where Reacher revealed why he thought he had killed the other guy. Clearly, this time he'll make SURE he really IS dead.

Undercover work is always tense, and Reacher have no problem this time dealing out some justice.

KCR: Post-Mortem, a Kay Scarpetta novel (crime, forensic, detective)

Image via Wikipedia

Patricia Cornwell

Post-Mortem is the first Kay Scarpetta novel by Patricia Cornwell, and the author was a former crime reporter that have worked closely with police and medical examiner's office. The case was also based on a real-life case in Richmond Virginia, and the result is a thriller that has you peeling back the layers with plenty of red herrings to keep you distracted and surprised, then a forehead-slap "Why didn't I think of that?"

Premise is simple: Kay Scarpetta, a new Chief Medical Examiner, is trying to catch a serial killer, while manuevering through city politics, personal life, life with her niece, crime reporter, staff, and stay sane amidst death and other things. The serial killer has a signature: he hogties his victims, and adds a rope around the victim's neck, then sodomizes her and tortures her and eventually strangles her. Yet he had left behind very little physical evidence, and the victims have almost nothing in common, except they all live alone. Amidst false leads, barking up the wrong trees (and there were lots of them), the ending is a surprise, even to me.

All the characters are multi-dimensional, and all are flawed in more ways than one. Marino the detective is hard-broiled street-smart, but is a bit too cynical. Kay Scarpetta herself have a bit too much self-doubt and have personal relationship issues, esp. when her sister (her niece's mother) is a total flake, leaving Kay with the kid. The kid's way too smart beyond her years. The reporter, the politicians, and more are all imperfect, and all have proper motivations to do what they did. The premise is solid enough to have this warrant a great read.

The book came out in 1995 and hold up even today as a murder mystery. Some of the SQL server command descriptions are a bit too dry and too simplified, but that's almost tolerable. If you like crime fic, you should read this novel.

Rating: Read it!

KCR: One Shot, a Jack Reacher novel (crime, sniper, detective, novel)

Another sniper novel... almost same premise as I, Sniper... sort of. A sniper kills 5 office workers with 6 shots, and disappears. Forensics picked out one guy, and he was arrested. However, he refused to cooperate. Instead, he said, "You got the wrong guy. Get Reacher for me."  However, Reacher was already on his way... Having seen the news. You see, Reacher knew this guy... who did the exact same thing a long time ago... However, Reacher will get to the bottom of this... and deal justice the only way he can.

This book has quite a few twists and turns, and enough red herrings that keep you guessing which side some of the characters are on, which is great for mysteries. Overall, a great read, esp. if you like the genre.

Rating: read it!

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KCR: 61 Hours, a Jack Reacher Novel (crime)

Image via Wikipedia61 Hours is another novel featuring Jack Reacher, former top Army MP investigator (read: top army cop), wanderer, and sort of knight errant. He enjoys wandering the country, have virtually no belongings, and tends to run into trouble everywhere... because he refuse to back down from things, but he's smart... very smart, and he can take care of business as he's a big guy too.

In 61 Hours, a bus carrying him and passengers were stranded in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. They made their way to town, Bolton South Dakota. Local cops, after figuring him out, asked him for help. Apparently there are a bunch of bad guys that come into town and cause trouble, and they may be related to that abandoned airfield on the outskirts of town, and there is a death threat against one of the outstanding citizens in town... and a prison on the edge of town ready to riot. Reacher will help to ensure justice is done, but there is a traitor in the department. When even cops turned up dead, Reacher must find the truth, and deal with a hidden legacy of the Cold War.

The action is a bit slow this time around. It's mostly wits, observations, and detective work. It was not near the end that Reacher gets to demonstrate his martial arts and gun skills. And this time, he'll meet a new enemy that may be a match to him.

If you are a Reacher fan, this book will not disappoint. However, if you are starting on Reacher, I actually recommend "Without Fail", where Reacher is tapped by the Secret Service to help protect the vice president... but the woman who found him was involved with his now dead brother...

Rating: read it once

KCR: The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes (book, crime, detective)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as drawn by Sidney Paget, Image via WikipediaThis edition put out by Castle in 2004 contains all original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, including the novel "The Hound of Baskerville" as well as 256 original illustrations by Sidney Paget the guy who depicted Sherlock Holmes as wearing a deerstalker hat and a pipe. It is a beautiful hardcover book.

The words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle still stands this day. All the plot makes sense, and has aged surprisingly little, except for few minor details, like using ink, sending telegrams, and such.

And yes, I am a fan of the new BBC Sherlock series too.

This book is usually on sale as low as $9.99, get it if it is just for reference.  The stories do get a bit repetitive by the end, but that is to be expected.

KCR: Scarpetta (novel, mystery)

I found this book to be virtually unreadable. The book spent way too much time on background and descriptions, with minimal action. When there was any sort of action, or just interaction, it keeps referring back to old events (i.e. other books) and really makes me cranky because each novel should stand alone. Scarpetta is obviously not quite normal, dealing with the dead most of the time, that she clearly can't have a normal relationship with the two men in her life. Apparently the one she liked practically raped her, while the one she does not like was married to her, and the book somehow went through page after page of her mind, his mind, that other his mind, and so on. It's like sheesh, get to the point!

Then there's setup, which is exceedingly clever... a dwarf (i.e. little people) checked himself into Bellvue, claiming he was framed in the death of his girlfriend, and he will only be examined by Dr. Scarpetta, who will exonerate him. It's a good hook, as you don't know whether this guy is crazy or not. However, the execution is botched. You can't identify with the guy who's acting crazy, but not quite THAT crazy. The ton of red herrings did not help either. The ending was not really a surprise either. 

I am usually not a fan of mystery. I got this book as a gift, apparently from the bargain bin. If you like the genre, skip this book and start from the very beginning. This one is formulaic, the setup TOO clever, and ended up a complete mess.