Russell Davis

I haven't seen the movie in ages, and even then I suspect I never saw all of it in one go. However, this book gave me plenty of flashbacks and I almost watched the movie again.

Like the movie, the book is corny, but also a light, fun adventure. The archaeology-adventurer genre punches through even though the main character is a Librarian. Both of these cliches are cliches I love and appreciate. However, the stereotypical objectifying of the female lead and falling in love over night (and surely break up by the next movie because they never had an long term prospects) romance is a cliche I never liked. It doesn't make much of a difference that the girl is the brawn in this one. It's still a vehicle to create a black and white secondary character.

To create a corny, lighthearted adventure, writers often create an overall shallow work. While this book has been a slightly better than OK experience, I would never get into the habit of reading movie and TV adaptions because they tend to lack the emotional and environmental depth that I expect of a book. Meanwhile, it's always interesting how poorly likeable movies don't translate well into book form because of the depth issue. I suppose because movies and TV shows play faster than we read and supply visual environments and emotional music they don't seem near as cheesy as they are when the script moves to a novel format.

On another note, I appreciate how well the story ties in everything from beginning to end. There are no details left to exist in of themselves. I don't particularly mind that--sometimes a chair is just a chair, or rain happens to come regardless what a person is up to--but it is nice to see initially innocent details tie together by the end. Assuming you don't think too hard about geography, logistics, or general between-the-lines logic, of course.

Overall, The Adventures of the Librarian: Quest for the Spear, was good in terms of a nostalgia trip and seeing how an adventure movie could be written as a book, but ultimately most adventures first written as novels have better depth in their characters and atmosphere.… (mer)

I'm not the best audience for this book, but my faculty book club chose this one to read and discuss this semester. The best stories were "A Woman's Work" by Tanya Huff and "Art Therapy" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. I hated pretty much all the remaining stories with the exception of one that was enough better than earlier installments that I tolerated it a little better. In our final wrap-up discussion, all of us pretty much agreed that those two stories were the best. I'm just thankful this one is complete and that we can move onto something different next semester.… (mer)

A very mixed collection. Some good, a few bordering on great and some nearly unreadable.
Gallow's Rescue by Lilith Saintcrow tracks a fae as he answers the call of one he loves and hates. An excellent start, although also an excellent example of Saintcrow's ability to leave you wanting more.
An Answer From the North by Sarah A. Hoyt. A knight enters the court of the Seelie and gives them an ultimatum. Not my cup of tea with it's attempt to read like a fairy tale. It falls short of fulfilling that attempt and I found it all a little too obvious. Still good and very readable.
Goodhouse Keeping by Mary Robinette Kowal. One of my favorites. The foster daughter of the fairy queen watches over the little people like the Brownies who cannot protect themselves. Very fun and novel idea. Would like more of this world.
The Song of the Wind by Paul Crilley. Once touched by the magic of the fey, a man lives without in favor of love. Wandering one day he is "blessed" by a fairy. A much better fairy tale voice than An Answer From the North. Enjoyable.
First Ball...Last Call by Rob Thurman. Probably my honest favorite. Dark and twisted with a wry sense of humor - exactly why I love Rob's writing. Two men go hunting evil.
Beauty by Jenifer Ruth. One of the Unseelie goes hunting for her talented prey. A modern writing of one of the classical fey
Pennyroyal by Kerrie Hughes. One of the Seeklie runs away to escape an uncertain fate. Cute but the writing lacks . It just feels like it needed tweaking to be written for anyone over 12 years old.
Unlocked Gate by Dean Wesley Smith. Really did not enjoy this one. I actually ended up skipping the last 2/3's. annoyingly repetitive, silly, and boring for me. I bailed and honestly should have bailed earlier than I did.
Mushroom Clouds and Fairy Rings by J.A. Pitts interesting. Overall did not hold my interest. One of the stolen children goes back to earth to place a Changeling and finds it oddly quiet
Hunting the Unicorn by Jane Lindskold. A Seelie and an Unseelie go hunting for a unicorn for very different reasons and meet along the way. Interesting but did not leave any great impression on me. Love this author though, so if this isn't your cup of tea keep reading.
The Green Man by Amber Benson. Very flowery writing. I wanted to cut away entire paragraphs. Too much of a good thing as they say. rape warning - I did not enjoy it and it felt gratuitous. Why must we rape our female heroines to prove their lives are difficult? Just overall not my thing. Also, just because you know how to use a semi-colon does not mean you should. I counted one sentence at over 55 words. What???
Anne by Michelle Sagara. A man takes his friend home after the bar. Nothing is as it seems. I enjoyed this one. It is what I now consider classic Sagara story telling. She sneaks in the world build up so beautifully you don't even realize it, you just seem to wake up in it.

Some very strong reads here and some that are much weaker. At least 4 stories well worth the read and several more still enjoyable. Overall this is a small collection which is why I rate it so low. With so little to choose from the poor selections really stand out. One more knock out story might have tipped it higher for me. Just a little too short of that hope.… (mer)

Title: Law of the Gun (Story title: Inferno pgs. 114-131)
Author: William W. Johnstone & J. A. Johnstone
ISBN: 9780786019571
Pages: 368
Year: 2010
Publisher: Pinnacle
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
In the Law of the Gun, there are other authors with their short stories included. I wanted to read only “Inferno” by William W. Johnstone & J. A. Johnstone. The story takes place before the first book in the Loner Series titled, The Drifter. When I read the tale, I had already begun reading the Loner Series, but it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the story or series.
The main character is Frank Morgan, a man fast with the gun; however, he just wants to be left alone. Here Frank is on the prairie when he senses a fire is nearby. When he gets to a rise, the picture before him would bring fear to any man. A whole town is threatened by the rapidly growing fire that is spurred along by strong winds.
Frank Morgan ends up getting involved in a feud between the town and a renegade band of outlaw brothers. Frank can identify them from wanted posters plastered everywhere in towns he has ridden through but he’s about to get caught up in a fight he doesn’t want but can’t walk away from either.
It’s an exciting tale with a flavor of mystery, hard riding men facing each other in life or death battles. This is a must read for fans of western fiction everywhere!
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility.… (mer)