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The next book (which is currently going through final revisions) is about Alexander the Great, and the villains are Nazis. Yes, actual, proper, straight outta WW2 Nazis. And not an evil billionaire in sight!
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May 21, 2014 07:18
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Payndz posted:The next book (which is currently going through final revisions) is about Alexander the Great, and the villains are Nazis. Yes, actual, proper, straight outta WW2 Nazis. And not an evil billionaire in sight! So just a few hundred millionaires? It sounds like a great setting. Is the Earth Energy/Statue/Blackwood arc done with? Will we be seeing another overarching storyline? The 8 years ago / present day alterations in The Valhalla Prophecy was so on point. Really ramped up the tension and we got to see Mac and Hugo again! It's hilarious to me that Nina's greatest discovery, the veteres, was so crazy that she was like "yeah, welp the sinister shadow group is right to keep this a secret."
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May 21, 2014 11:11
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Just finished Persona Protocol...Nice work Ndy McDerm.
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May 22, 2014 20:36
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Just finished up CODE ZERO by J. Maberry, the latest of the JOE LEDGER novels. Gotta say, didn't really float my boat. The plot synopsis on the back makes it sound like OH gently caress CRAZY poo poo GOING ON ALL THE TIME OH GOD, and the book is actually fairly boring. There's WAY more weird backstory for some reason, to introduce a character that OH poo poo GASP turns out to be the evil person in the book that has never been mentioned before now, and the chapters move from NOW, past, NOW, past, NOW NOW NOW, past, NOW, past again. It's just... I get there are limited places you can go when your last book had the president kidnapped by aliens, but gently caress man this is just lazy. It's literally reusing plot devices from the previous books but making em way more lame. I understand WHY they are being used, but it doesn't change the fact it's loving retarded. Also, there's the lovely idea that you can teach kids to be master hackers and shooters and killers and whatnot by providing the free pirated versions of GTA, Saint's Row, etc. Just, head shakingly bad ideas all around. I'd say unless you are a HUGE ledger fan (and I mean that like you read every book day one and have a DMS tat on your nutsack and three separate personalities you refer to in the third person), I'd avoid it unless you are incredibly bored. Biggest bitch point to me was a character reveal that is completely and utterly loving pointless other than the somehow give JOE LEDGER more of a poo poo life than Jack Bauer. To me, Assassin's code, was loving retarded and the worst book in the series until now. This book ranks below Assassin's code.
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Jun 1, 2014 07:35
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I don't know if they count as airport fiction, but I just finished the Kenzie/Gennaro series by Dennis Lehane, and really enjoyed them. I saw Gone Baby Gone when it came out originally but had forgotten most of the plot other than the broad strokes.
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Jun 4, 2014 16:17
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Where does Vince Flynn stand with the Book Barn? I picked up American Assassin for $2 at a used book store and got into it almost instantly. It's emberassing to admit but this is the first novel I have finished in years after starting several get bad scifi books and always losing interest. I was relieved to find something I liked so much. I certainly didn't expect to get so captured by a spy novel. I've now finished the second one chronologically speaking, though I believe it may actually be a more recent novel. I'm torn between reading the books in the order Flynn wrote them, or going by the chronological order he lists on his website. American Assassin is the prequel story of how this special CIA killer got that way, I didn't know there were others in the series since it was just a blank hardcover with no sleeve. The second one was paperback and had Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck on the inside cover with big "AWESOME!!" Quotes next to their names. No surprise there. The books aren't very rah rah military though, more about how sometimes secretive people have to shoot another person in the head to stop money or information going to the wrong people. At any rate this thread seemed like the place for that type of book. Is he well regarded? I don't want to read any reviews and spoil any plot by accident.
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Jun 7, 2014 20:58
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Paragon8 posted:At first I was a little put off by how quick Eddie and Nina ended up together, I expected a little more will they won't they but it actually I think is the defining aspect of the series. It saves us from the babe of the book common in other adventure series.
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Jun 7, 2014 22:08
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I read the first Ndy McDermo on a plane last week, and it suited the environment. Enjoyed it quite a bit, including the James Cameron reference for the sub. Was only a little disappointed by the various people not being turned to paste by proximity to underwater explosions, and the ending didn't feel too clever for its own good. I have Kindled the next, but not yet started it; it hit a little close to home, because I lost family to the Athenian-Atlantean war. Read A Rough Man by Brad Taylor next, which was also good, if a little more politically active. Both sides of the conflict think the US is too soft on terror, so I'm actually not sure what the author's position is. As he's former special forces, I have a guess. It also appears that the author is avoiding the rightfully-maligned "babe of the book" pattern. I'd also recommend Charles Cummings' books about Alec Milius. Not so much exploding, but good just-implausible-enough espionage plots. Edit: boy, am I ever not former special forces.
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Jun 7, 2014 23:13
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Payndz posted:Going back a bit, but I wanted to address this: having Nina and Eddie get (and stay) together was a conscious decision right from the start, because I hate, hate, loving HATE the entire concept of "the babe of the book", as seen most prominently in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels. (There's something a bit "hmm" about the self-professed author avatar of a married man banging a different hero-worshipping woman in each book...) It reduces the heroine to "the girl", a prize to be won at the finale - and if it's a series, then chucked away like a used Kleenex by the start of the next book. and it works really well and humanises the books. The relationship felt very real despite there being some crazy adventure every six months or so. You have a fantastic cast of characters and I'm in constant fear of ancillary characters dying.
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Jun 8, 2014 00:58
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homo punching bag posted:Vince Flynn Flynn was pretty great. A couple of his books really drag as they get into politics a bit more and all that, but they're still fun and he pulls himself out of that later on. Reading American Assassin first probably hurt the effect of it - as it's a ton more fun reading that one after reading all the rest. So you read AA - then Kill Shot I assume? From then on, the Publication/Chronological Order is all of the same. So no need to worry there. However I would read Term Limits first. That was Flynns first book, and written before Mitch Rapp existed, but takes place in the same world. There are some characters that feature in later Flynn books, so may as well read that first then dive into Transfer of Power and so on.
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Jun 8, 2014 00:59
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Simon Kernick counts, right? The later books move from crime to counterterrorism, there are lots of explosions, and ridiculously inflated body counts. But on the other hand his most frequently recurring protagonist is a woman, and while there's some regressive fantasizing about how the cop's jobs would be easier if their hands weren't tied and they could torture their suspects a little bit the primary villains are neo-Nazi-esque White supremacist army veterans instead of completely interchangeable, cartoonishly evil and misogynist Arab villains that go by monikers like "The Sheikh" or "The Emir".
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Jun 8, 2014 04:49
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homo punching bag posted:Where does Vince Flynn stand with the Book Barn? I picked up American Assassin for $2 at a used book store and got into it almost instantly. It's emberassing to admit but this is the first novel I have finished in years after starting several get bad scifi books and always losing interest. I was relieved to find something I liked so much. I certainly didn't expect to get so captured by a spy novel. I've now finished the second one chronologically speaking, though I believe it may actually be a more recent novel. I'm torn between reading the books in the order Flynn wrote them, or going by the chronological order he lists on his website. American Assassin is the prequel story of how this special CIA killer got that way, I didn't know there were others in the series since it was just a blank hardcover with no sleeve. I've read the first three chronologically and I enjoyed them. The next is on my to read pile. They are quite a bit of fun, even with people like Glen Beck sticking their name on. I will say, Flynn doesn't seem to care much for the Arab world, but it's sort of the point for his books. Who you should avoid is Ted Bell. I read Assassin a few month back and it is amazing how bad it was.
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Jun 10, 2014 11:38
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homo punching bag posted:Where does Vince Flynn stand with the Book Barn? Vince Flynn's books are great airport novels. For my $9, they leave Lee Childs for dead. They have plenty of action, a super assassin who is amazing at literally everything, ridiculously cartoonish LIBERALS WHO JUST DONT GET IT and all the bad guys are evil terrists who Get What They Deserve. The fact that O'Reilly said we should send Rapp after Julian Assange is just the conservative icing on the nutcase cake. Plus, he died really young and suddenly, so I don't feel bad about my couple of bucks going to his family (rather than to a rabid rightwing douche like Brad Thor). I haven't really found another series anywhere near as good to replace them.
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Jun 11, 2014 01:56
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I just finished the Covenant of Genesis and It was a wild ride but I found that the number of supporting characters made it a little bit difficult to follow especially when the action hots up. That might be influenced by the fact I read a lot after a few beers  .I like Eddie and Nina as characters but I think I preferred The Persona Protocol as a story.
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Jun 18, 2014 19:22
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The number of supporting characters in a Nina and Eddie novel tends to shrink dramatically over time.  I'm glad you liked The Persona Protocol; I really enjoyed writing it, but generally it wasn't as well received as the Wilde/Chase series, so I'm not sure if there'll ever be a sequel. Which is a shame, as I set up a bunch of hooks for the next story!
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Jun 19, 2014 08:03
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Looks like that there will be more Mitch Rapp novels. What is the author like, who's contracted to finish the unfinished Survivor novel and new ones?
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Jun 27, 2014 19:12
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So I've been doing a lot of bus travelling lately due to work and now taken up a habit of reading to spend time instead of just staring out the window so I ordered the first two Nina and Eddie books and I can't wait to read them. 
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Jun 28, 2014 00:26
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So I have just got Steve Berry's "The Jefferson Key" out of the library. I have enjoyed the other Cotton Malone books - is this one of a similar quality? I am tossing up for my next read between this and a Karin Slaughter mystery "Unseen".
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Jun 29, 2014 22:15
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Cooked Auto posted:So I've been doing a lot of bus travelling lately due to work and now taken up a habit of reading to spend time instead of just staring out the window so I ordered the first two Nina and Eddie books and I can't wait to read them.  Also on the front, I just optioned the movie rights for the entire Nina and Eddie series!
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Jun 30, 2014 15:13
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Payndz posted:
Congrats! I've ordered the first book in the series to check it out.
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Jun 30, 2014 16:54
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Payndz posted:
Holy gently caress! Ndy McDerm hits the big time! Congratulations and good luck.
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Jun 30, 2014 19:56
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Payndz posted:Also on the Can you share any details, or are you bound to silence by blood contracts with Hollywood? I understand the latter is the norm.
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Jun 30, 2014 19:57
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Vaz posted:Looks like that there will be more Mitch Rapp novels. What is the author like, who's contracted to finish the unfinished Survivor novel and new ones? That's interesting. Here's a bit more information: http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/boo...784606d6b4.html quote:Simon & Schuster and Flynn’s estate have commissioned thriller writer Kyle Mills to complete Flynn’s unfinished novel, “The Survivor,” and to write two more books in the Rapp series. “The Survivor” is tentatively scheduled to hit shelves next year. I don't know anything about Kyle Mills, but he certainly isn't Brad Thor. He seems to really like the series and has written things in the Jason Bourne style. I bet it'll be fine but I hope they're great and movie talks can continue. I want to see Bruce Willis' being Hurley. bring back old gbs fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Jun 30, 2014 |
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Jun 30, 2014 20:14
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Oh cool. New Greig Beck book is out! Title's Gorgon. Gonna check it out in a bit
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Jul 1, 2014 12:44
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Payndz posted:
Did they sign you on a a screenwriter or anything as well? If they ever get made I hope they hew towards following the books, we haven't had many movies that crazy-fun.
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Jul 1, 2014 12:47
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effectual posted:Did they sign you on a a screenwriter or anything as well? If they ever get made I hope they hew towards following the books, we haven't had many movies that crazy-fun. Whether a movie ever gets made is something else entirely - a lot of books get optioned, but only a small percentage actually go into production - but at this stage I'm just stoked that the first step's been taken. Fingers crossed!
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Jul 1, 2014 13:51
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Has anyone else read The Boy from Reactor 4 (Orest Stelmach)? I just finished it, nice page turner through New York and Ukraine with a quick pass through Russia and Alaska complete with MacGuffin. I checked it out because it had decent reviews and was on sale for Kindle for $2.00). I got the second book too, The Boy Who Stole from the Dead, also on sale for Kindle. I'm going to wait for the holiday to start it since I couldn't put the first down until I was done.
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Jul 3, 2014 18:08
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Little more than halfway through Gorgon, and it's pretty awesome. Maybe 6-7.5 on the REILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!! scale. We've got crazy poo poo,  babble, laser guns, spec ops teams with bio reactive armor and special gun rounds, Captain America (except not through VITA rays and science, but through being shot in the head and science), and I'm only like 54% through the book.If they set off a MOAB then we are going to go critical on the REILLY!!!!!!11!!!!!111! scale and I don't think I can survive it. They've already used some kinda thermobaric rocket system and that was about a 1/3rd of the way through. The best part is I'm this far along in the book and I still have pretty much no idea what the holy gently caress the author is going to end up making Gorgon end up being. I'd hedge my bets but after the crazy yeti poo poo he pulled, it's really a coin toss. This might be the best one in the series.
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Jul 4, 2014 10:14
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I was going to buy a Tom Clancy book to see what he's like but it turns out the only person who hasn't written a Tom Clancy book is Tom Clancy.
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Jul 5, 2014 18:04
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Red Storm Rising and Hunt for Red October are fantastic if dated.
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Jul 5, 2014 19:04
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Yeah, pretty much everything before Executive Orders is considered between pretty good and excellent*. The books written after that start marking the point where he starts losing his mind and gets weird. (Though Rainbow Six is fun, if a little psychotic.) *Note: I may be the only person in the universe who likes Clear And Present Danger, and one of like three who likes Without Remorse.
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Jul 5, 2014 19:14
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S-Alpha posted:Yeah, pretty much everything before Executive Orders is considered between pretty good and excellent*. The books written after that start marking the point where he starts losing his mind and gets weird. (Though Rainbow Six is fun, if a little psychotic.) I'm good all the way up to The Teeth of the Tiger actually.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:27
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:I'm good all the way up to The Teeth of the Tiger actually. I still like them all, I just ignore that he gets a little insane. The Bear and the Dragon was really good imo. Edit: I think picturing Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan makes it easier to tolerate.
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Jul 5, 2014 23:18
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Affleck and Pine were good too. Not saying the movie's were though.
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Jul 6, 2014 00:28
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Baldwin was, in my experience, the only Ryan who got the character - the rest are far too action hero-y. I haven't seen Pine's movie, though.
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Jul 6, 2014 00:53
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iNteg posted:Edit: I think picturing Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan makes it easier to tolerate. I've always imagined Ryan to be some sort of like Keanu Reeves after putting on a few pounds. Someone with a sort of weedy desk jockey physique, sort of disheveled, looking like you'd expect a former military guy who'd let himself go a bit after being stuck at a desk for years and stopped caring. John Clark however, I totally imagine him as Harrison. Domingo though, I don't even know.
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Jul 6, 2014 00:58
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Holy gently caress. Just finished up Gorgon, by Grieg Beck, and holy gently caress. 8.5 REILLYS!!!!111!1!1111!!11!!!!!! at the bare minimum. Story wise it's not QUITE as good as the batshit insane Iran president who wanted to throw muslims through a black hole to Allah, but god drat it's a close one. The only complaint I have about it is that the ending kinda feels rushed. The climax of the book is loving... retardedly awesome but there's a feeling of "He put WAY too much poo poo happening in this one spot" instead of fleshing it out a bit.
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Jul 6, 2014 06:36
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:
I must know what this is from.
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Jul 6, 2014 08:54
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Second book in the series, Dark Rising. It's... as amazing as that plot synopsis can make it
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Jul 6, 2014 16:31
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Just finished the second Orest Stelmach novel, The Boy Who Stole From The Dead. Posting it here again because it definitely was airport fiction. The characters from the first novel (The Boy From Reactor 4) are back and this time Bobby(The Boy) has confessed to murder. Nadia Tesla must find proof of his innocence, but Bobby isn't talking... This was another page-turner, the only reason I could put it down was because I was so tired I was literally nodding off with Kindle in hand. The two books are still on sale for kindle for $2.00 apiece.
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Jul 9, 2014 14:59
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