Michael Crichton’s second novel, which he wrote under his pseudonym of John Lange, is a fast-paced thriller that plays on the familiar trope of mistaken identity. This time out an American lawyer, Roger Carr, finds himself mistaken for a high-profile hitman and finds himself stuck between opposing sides in an arms deal which has its…
Category: The Book Shelf
Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Children of Hamlin (1988) – Carmen Carter
Space, the final frontier… So here I am three novels into the original novels released by Pocket Book (Simon & Schuster) and to date, this one feels like the best one I’ve read. Although I think when I read this when it first came out, it probably didn’t catch my interest as much as it…
A House with Good Bones (2023) – T. Kingfisher
T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon has entertained and creeped me out with each of the books I’ve read by her; three to date, with A House with Good Bones being the latest. Once again she introduces us to a relatable character, in this case entomologist Samantha who, when her summer dig is cancelled, decides to…
Holly (2023) – Stephen King
Wordsmith and beloved storyteller, Stephen King, delivers his latest tale this week. Released by Simon & Schuster, the story allows the readers and King to spend some time with one of his favourite characters, private investigator, Holly Gibney. Holly has become a beloved character, appearing in the End of Watch trilogy, The Outsider and a…
Star Trek: Prodigy – Escape Route (2023) – Cassandra Rose Clarke
The Protostar is gone, and its young crew, Dal, Gwyn, Rok, Murf, Jankom and Zero are in a lone shuttlecraft making its way slowly to Earth in the new young readers adventure from Cassandra Rose Clarke and released by Simon & Schuster. Set during the season one finale, Supernova, the crew are travelling to Earth…
High Time to Kill (1999) – Raymond Benson
007 is back. It’s been awhile since I’ve delved into a James Bond story, and it was definitely becoming an itch that needed to be scratched, so I happily dove into the next novel in the series, Raymond Benson’s High Time to Kill from 1999. The story finds Bond pursuing a relationship with his personal…
The Twisted Ones (2019) – T. Kingfisher
I absolutely loved Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places and immediately sought out her other horror novel, The Twisted Ones, and much like Places, this one didn’t disappoint. Filled with a sense of humor that is increasingly mixed with dread, this tale dives into folk horror, and leaves enough questions unanswered that the solutions your imagination creates,…
Star Trek: Avenger (1997) – William Shatner with Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens
The Reeves-Stevens help William Shatner tell his next Star Trek tale, the third in his Shatner-verse stories. This time out, despite his continued work to make sure that James T. Kirk is still the smartest, bravest, strongest and most desirable man in the room, the story ties together a lot of interesting ideas and melds…
Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Peacekeepers (1988) – Gene DeWeese
The second original novel in The Next Generation book series came out om September of 1988, two months before the premiere of season two. The crew of the Enterprise comes across a strange derelict starship and when Data and LaForge investigate they are transported away, leaving Captain Picard and the rest struggling to find out…
Odds On (1966) – Michael Crichton
While Michael Crichton was in med school he wrote a series of novels under the pseudonym John Lange, and that seemed like a good place to start if I was going to explore Crichton’s writing, revisit some I knew (like Sphere the other week) and discover some new favorites. Odds On is a crime thriller…
