Paul’s Book Reviews: Fiction, Science Fiction, Mysteries, DNFs

“Leroy bet me I couldn’t find a pot of gold at the end, and I told him that was a stupid bet because the rainbow was enough.” —Rita Mae Brown, Rubyfruit Jungle The Fated Sky (Lady Astronaut #2) by Mary Robinette Kowal When I finished the first Lady Astronaut novel, “The Calculating Stars,” I decided […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Mysteries, Thrillers, Young Adult Sci-Fi

“Out of the blue and into the black is what they called going into a tunnel. Each one was a black echo. Nothing but death in there. But, still, they went.” —Michael Connelly, The Black Echo The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) by Michael Connelly In an earlier review, I commented on the differences between […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Thrillers, Mysteries, Spies, Florida Noir

“I said nothing. I’m good at saying nothing. I don’t like talking. I could go the rest of my life without saying another word, if I had to.” —Lee Child, The Affair Raylan Givens 3-Book Collection: Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole (Raylan Givens #1-3) by Elmore Leonard Rayland Givins was a memorable […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Fiction, Thrillers, Mysteries, Space Opera, Duds

“One thing was certain: Rose had been wrong about the world becoming small again. Or at least it would not be the same small world it had been. Too much had changed. And amid those shifts and realignments, Anna had slipped through a crack and escaped.” — Jennifer Egan, Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach by Jennifer […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, One I Didn’t Finish Reading

“In Paris, the evenings of September are sometimes warm, excessively gentle, and, in the magic particular to that city, irresistibly seductive. The autumn of the year 1938 began in just such weather and on the terraces of the best cafes, in the famous restaurants, at the dinner parties one wished to attend, the conversation was, […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Mysteries, Thrillers, Fantasy, (Bad) Science Fiction

“I spend the months following my grandfather’s death cycling through a purgatory of beige waiting rooms and anonymous offices, analyzed and interviewed, talked about just out of earshot, nodding when spoken to, repeating myself, the object of a thousand pitying glances and knitted brows.  My parents treated me like a breakable heirloom, afraid to fight […]