Author: Reynold Starnes

The October List

Review by Reynold Starnes The October List is the newest thriller from Jeffrey Deaver. It is a ‘stand-alone’ story. While I enjoy Deaver’s series, some of his best work has been stand-alone. The October List is a good effort, but it is not his best. Deaver clearly worked hard on this novel; the structure is very clever. It moves backwards in time. Chronologically, the ending scene is at the beginning of the book. Each subsequent scene is some, varying, time earlier. The reader learns progressively more the farther back in time he goes over a three day weekend. Deaver is very skilled and thoughtful; and this almost works. Gabriella McKenzie is the protagonist of the story. We learn in the first scene her young daughter has been kidnapped, and the truly sinister kidnapper has demanded a $500,000 ransom and the mysterious October List, which was in the possession of her… Read more »

Storm Front

Review by Reynold Starnes Storm Front is the seventh, and newest, entry in John Sandford’s Virgil Flowers series. Sandford, the pseudonym for John Camp, who won a Pulitzer as a journalist, has penned three series: Kidd, Prey and Flowers. The characters inhabit the same fictional universe and are interrelated; Flowers works for Lucas Davenport, the protagonist of the Prey books. I like them all, but Flowers is a current favorite. Sandford writes terrific thrillers, which are often very dark. Virgil Flowers is not a dark character, but he has confronted massive child abuse cases, organized attacked squads and vicious criminals. Storm Front is different. It is lighter and more humorous; and a good read. There are bad guys and good guys in the book, as well as bad good guys and good bad guys. In this story, Flowers is trying to track down a stolen engraved stone from an archaeological site… Read more »

Starship Troopers vs. Old Man’s War: A Comparison

by Reynold Starnes Since first published in 1959, Starship Troopers, several later novels have been compared to it, including but not limited to, Haldeman’s The Forever War, Gunn’s Death’s Head, and Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Examining the similarities and differences between Starship Troopers and Old Man’s War provides insights into both. Authors Background and Comparison Robert Heinlein was a twentieth century man. He was born in 1907 and died in 1988; he was a part of, and influenced by, major events of the century. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served on the first purpose built U.S. aircraft carrier under Captain Ernest King, who as Admiral King led the U.S. fleet in the Second World War. Heinlein had strong and determined political views, although they evolved over his life. He was an active supporter of socialist Upton Sinclair’s campaign for the Governor of California in the… Read more »

Agent of Change

Review by Reynold Starnes Agent of Change, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, initially published in 1988, is the first book featuring the Liaden Universe. There are currently sixteen novels and numerous short stories set in this universe, with several later novels and stories set chronologically before the events in Agent of Change. Agent of Change introduces three strains of humans, Liaden, Terran, and Yxtrang, and an alien species, Clutch Turtles. The key to the plot and set up for Agent of Change is xenophobic behavior by some humans and most Liadens. There are four specific sequels to this book, but each stands alone. Val Con yos’Phelium, future head of Clan Korval, the most powerful of Liaden Clans has been brainwashed by the Department of the Interior, a clandestine organization intent on establishing Liaden supremacy. As the plot unfolds, he saves the life of Miri Robertson. They become involved in… Read more »

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

Review by Reynold Starnes A reviewer for the New York Times called Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era the best one volume history of the era he had ever read. I have read many Civil War histories; Battle Cry of Freedom may be the best, single volume status notwithstanding. James M. McPherson’s masterpiece justifiably won the Pulitzer in 1988. It is volume six in the Oxford History of the United States. McPherson is obviously a good scholar; he is also an excellent writer. His narrative style is serious, but clear. The book works in both conception and execution. The book has several distinguishing characteristics. It is about the era, not just the war and its immediate run up. It is not only a military and social history, it is a political history throughout. The polarization of the populace and the politicians in the pre-war era is described in… Read more »

Never Go Back

Review by Reynold Starnes Never Go Back is the eighteenth and latest Lee Child thriller featuring Jack Reacher. For those new to the series, Reacher is a drifter who, often without intending to, finds himself against very bad people, which never ends well for the bad guys. He is an ex-Army MP who is six feet, five inches tall and weighs around two-fifty. He is an accomplished investigator, expert marksman, trained in hand-to-hand combat, and very smart. In Never Go Back, Reacher heads to the special MP unit he used to lead to see the new commander, a woman, whose voice he liked when he spoke to her on the phone. When he gets to the post, he becomes involved in a conspiracy she has inadvertently touched. Like the other Reacher novels, this is a good read. It isn’t a favorite, but it isn’t the least favorite either. Middle of… Read more »