Book Review: The Cordell Logan Series by David Freed

I love finding a new series of books where each entry is as good as the last. Often books in a series get worse, or occasionally better. But once in a while you find one that starts great and never veers left or right.

The Cordell Logan Series is a series of action adventure mysteries sprinkled with a little romance about a pilot and former black ops operative who finds himself involved in life and death situations. They are available as eBooks, audiobooks, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

Characters. The characters are so likable and so enjoyable to read. They're not all that unique (you will probably recognize people you know in them) but they are fleshed out in such a way that they feel real and relatable. I find myself caring what happens to them and feel like I know them.

Pacing. The books are all well paced. The mystery begins early on with a clear goal and steam forward full speed ahead. There are moments of comedy and romance to give the reader a breather, and then it's back on with the chase.

Romance. There is romance in these books, but it's more realistic than overblown and is never overused in the books. It helps to flesh out the characters and make them more human than literary figures.

Predictability. If you've read one Cordell Logan book, you've read them all. But they are so charming and

Ray Porter. Ray Porter is a master of reading audiobooks. I buy audiobooks just because he reads them, and even mediocre ones he elevates to pretty good.

The Bad

Second Story. The second story is NOT read by Ray Porter and so isn't as good as the others. I wish they'd release a new edition with the proper voice talent.

Death of an Important Character. In the fifth book, the author kills a major character. The sixth book is definitely missing that character and just isn't as enjoyable without them.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the author hadn't killed off a certain character in book five, because book six was lacking.

Overall

The Cordell Logan Series by David Freed is so enjoyable with fast-paced action, exciting adventure, a sarcastic protagonist who gives his jaded opinion about everything, and other great characters who feel so real and so human and so familiar. This series is pure entertainment with each book delivering exactly what you expect. I give this series a solid 4.5 out of 5 eReaders.

    

    

Book Review - Dogs of War: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry

I picked up this book on a sale. As I read it, the names of the characters seemed awfully familiar. Then I realized I had read an earlier book in the series. The fact I didn't immediately recognize the series and characters had me worried that this book would be equally unmemorable.

Dogs of War: A Joe Ledger Novel is a science fiction, action, techno thriller by Jonathan Maberry. It's available in all formats: eBooks, Audiobooks, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

Ray Porter. I know I sound like a broken record, but Ray Porter's narration was the number one reason I picked this up, and it was the best part of the story. He was at the top of his game giving each character such a unique voice and putting so much emotion into his performance.

Science. I love the edge of reality--it's such a fun place for science fiction to play--and this novel had much cutting edge and experimental science. Some of it like nanotech has been overdone, but others such as the unique use of disease and the novel designs of drones were a lot of fun.

References. This book is number 9 in the series and ties up events from the previous eight novels. I've only read two books in this series, but that was okay, because the author does an excellent job of summarizing events from previous books with enough detail that newcomers can follow it, but not so thoroughly that fans will get bored.


Ties Up The Series. This book takes most of the events from previous novels and ties them up into one giant conspiracy. Being a conspiracy theory fan, I really appreciated and enjoyed that. And it was done in a very logical, unforced way which I also appreciated. 

Great Villains. This book had some really great villains, all of them very different, and all explored sufficiently to make them interesting.

The Bad

Unoriginal Threats. This is a doomsday book with one group plotting to destroy the world for their own benefit. They use the usual back of tricks--disease, nanotech, robots, and AI. Some of it was novel, but a lot of it was pretty standard and a little stale.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I enjoyed the story, but I wish it hadn't been quite so predictable and taken all the obvious turns. I wish it had surprised me.

Overall

Dogs of War: A Joe Ledger Novel is an exciting science fiction conspiracy thriller about a small group with extensive resources using cutting edge science to destroy the world for their benefit and an elite government black ops team who fights to stop them. If that setup sounds familiar, the way it plays out won't surprise you. It's fun, it's exciting, it's incredibly well read, but nothing I haven't seen before. I give it 4 out of 5 eReaders.

    

Movie Review: Snowden

I remember when the story of Edward Snowden broke, I wasn't at all surprised. I guess I'm just cynical, but I assumed the government had been illegally spying on everyone and collecting information they had no right to possess for decades. What I was surprised at was how callous and flippant the government was in its response. There was no embarrassment or attempt to conceal what they were doing. They just smiled, said it was for everyone's good, and kept doing it.

Snowden is a 2016 historical thriller drama based on actual events. It's rated R for some harsh language and brief nudity and is appropriate for teenagers and up.

Overview

This film tells the story of Edward Snowden, an employee/consultant for the CIA and other US intelligence agencies, who discovered the US was spying on its citizens and the citizens of other countries without following legal search procedures and exposed it resulting in his exile to Russia.

The Good

Acting/Casting. This movie was really well cast with each actor and actress doing an excellent job of creating memorable characters that I found myself caring about either positively or negatively.

Storytelling. This movie presents its message very clearly in a very linear fashion. It begins with Snowden's loyalty and love of country and desire to serve and shows that love challenged by revelation after revelation. The explanations to cover up the apparent problems are clearly laid out and then clearly shown to be lies. The viewer understands what is going on in Snowden's mind and all the conflicts he is dealing with.

Not Heavy Handed. This subject would be very easy to take a heavy-handed approach with, but I didn't feel it was so biased it hurt the film. The filmakers' personal view that the military industrial complex and greed are the root of the corruption is very clear,  but I didn't feel they hit me over the head with it. They also didn't blame a single political party, but showed both parties were involved and guilty.

The Bad

Pacing. This movie was over two hours long, and it felt like it was over two hours long.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish I knew how much of this was actually true and how much was exaggerated or even invented.

Overall

Snowden is a well-told dramatization of actual events that affect everyone on this planet. The writing, acting, and storytelling were all excellent expressing a very clear message. While the story did drag in spots and the movie felt like it was over two hours long, I still give this film a solid 4.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.