Blog - Page 5 of 30 - Gary David Gillen

It by Stephen King

Introduction

It by Stephen King is the horror story of seven people who faced horror in two time periods in the fictional Maine town of Derry. The chapters alternate between the two time periods, 1957 to 1958 and 1984 to 1985. The seven people call themselves the Losers Club. They are kids in the first period and adults in the second. They face a horror that manifests itself as Pennywise the Clown. It feeds on their fears. Will the Losers Club defeat the hidden evil in the Derry sewers, or will they perish?

Summary

In It by Stephen King, there’s horror in the sewers of Derry, Maine. The horror preys on the fears of children taking the image of what they fear. Mostly It takes the form of Pennywise the Clown.

In 1957, seven kids come together to defeat It. They call themselves the Losers club. After the battle, they lose their memories of the encounter with It. In 1985, they return to Derry to fight it again.

Bill Denbrough is the leader of the Losers Club, who feels responsible for the disappearance and death of his younger brother, Georgie. He likes Bev but doesn’t end up with her. He becomes a horror writer and returns to Derry to finish what they started.

Ben Hanscom is the most intelligent of the Losers and he has an engineering talent. He has a crush on Bev. Ben was obese as a child but loses weight as an adult. He made a lot of money as an architect and lives in Texas.

Bev Marsh is the only girl in the Loser’s Club. All the boys have a crush on her. She becomes a fashion designer in Chicago. She gets married and her husband physically abuses her.

Summary Continued

Richie Tozier is the comic of the club. He becomes a successful DJ in Los Angeles.

Eddie Kaspbrak is a hypochondriac with an inhaler. He runs a successful limousine business in New York.

Mike Hanlon is the only African American in the club. He is the only member who stays in Derry after high school and becomes the town librarian. He researches the history of Derry and calls back all the Losers when he realizes It has returned.

Stan Uris is Jewish and a Boy Scout. He’s skeptical and logical. He becomes an accountant in Atlanta.

Recommendation

It by Stephen King is a long, good novel. The novel explores the themes of coming of age and adult reflection on childhood. It reminds me of Stephen King’s novella, The Body, adapted into the movie Stand by Me. Both stories feature a group of misfit kids trying to solve a problem. They adapted it as a miniseries and also into two movies. The 1958 story in It, and the 1985 story in It: Chapter Two. The miniseries alternates the stories. The part of the story I didn’t like was an incident near the end of the 1958 story. You will know what I’m talking about if you read it. I don’t think the incident was earned or warranted. I know that my opinion of the novel would change for the better if the author had eliminated that incident or changed it into something else.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of It by Stephen King.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/644173.It

Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.

Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Writing Progress Report December 2022

This is my Writing Progress Report December 2022.

It snowed the night before I took this picture on November 13, 2022, at my house.

Writing Progress from November 2022.

I wrote two blog posts for my website, garydavidgillen.com. One post was my writing progress report for November 2022, which is linked below.

Writing Progress Report November 2022

In November 2022, I submitted my short story, “Nanotechnology,” to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library. It is the final chapter of the first draft of the novel.

I submitted my short story, “In The Box,” to the Fiction Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library in November 2022.

Writing Progress from November 2022 Continued

I made five posts on my Goodreads account in November 2022.

In the past, I submitted the stories; Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.

The seven Flash Fiction Stories I submitted in 2020 and 2021 were Space-Dog Confession, Sleeping Sickness, Caliburnus, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, Wormhole Generator, Runs with Scissors, and Principled Rogue.

Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories submitted 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. No submission for 2022.

Events from November 2022.

I attended no events in November 2022.

Writing Goals for December 2022.

In December 2022, I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my Writing Progress Report for December 2022.

I plan to submit a story to the Fiction Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library in December 2022.

In December 2022, I plan to submit a short story to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library.

I plan to submit a story to the critters workshop in December 2022.

In December 2022, I plan to work on third draft edits for Assassin in New Marl City using comments from the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio. I plan to split Chapter 1 into two chapters and add a scene to the new Chapter 1.

Submit the stories Space-Dog Confession, Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, Grognard, LARP Film noir, Sleeping Sickness, Popular Mechanics Re-brewed, and Caliburnus. to other short fiction magazines.

Polish and submit the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Writing Goals for December 2022 continued.

In December 2022, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.

Put the novel Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Buy an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Planned Events for December 2022.

The next conference I plan to attend is ConFusion in Novi, Michigan, from January 20, 2022, to January 22, 2022. The Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association Sponsors ConFusion.

https://2023.confusionsf.org/

The con theme this year is Avatar: The Legend of Confusion

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #9 of the Vorkosigan saga.

Introduction

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold is the ninth published novel of the Vorkosigan saga. It is also the sixth novel of the internal chronology of the saga. Miles Vorkosigan is the protagonist of the novel. He suffers from brittle bones because of an assassination attempt on his mother when she was pregnant with him. Miles and his cousin Ivan are sent to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy the Cetagandan Empire and avoid their hostile fragmented forces threatening his home planet of Barrayar?

Summary

Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan Vorpatril are sent to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. They are both young inexperienced lieutenants in the Barrayar secret service. They dock at Eta Ceta IV, the home planet of the Cetagandan Empire. The secret service sent them there to represent Barrayar at the state funeral of the dowager, Empress Lisbet. After they dock someone attacks them, they obtain a mysterious object, and they become involved in a complex plot to destroy the Cetagandan Empire. If the Empire is broken apart then the pieces will expand into Barrayan space so Miles cannot let that happen.

There are three important classes of people in the Cetagandan Empire. The haut class are the rulers, the ghem class is their military force, and the ba class is their sexless servants. The plot involves the Cetagandan class system, genetics, and the key to the Cetagandan’s future.

Ivan is exotic to the haut ladies and desirable to them. Miles has a close relationship with the haut woman Rian Degtiar, who helps Miles unravel the mystery.

Miles juggles these impossible tasks in a way only he could succeed and then he saves the day.

Recommendation

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold takes a mysterious former enemy of Barrayar and gives them context. The reader learns about why and how the Cetagandans do things. The Cetagandan background introduced in this novel is explored further in the novel, Ethan of Athos. At first, I found it difficult to understand the Cetagandan terms introduced in this novel, but by the end of the novel, I understood their meaning. I like Miles and wanted him to succeed. I liked his relationship with Rian Degtair, and how she intrigued him. I’m looking forward to reading Miles’s next adventure in my Vorkosigan saga reading project.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76812.Cetaganda

In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?

Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold

In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?

Warriors Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold

In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination attempt and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold

In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Writing Progress Report November 2022

Writing Progress Report November 2022.

This is my Writing Progress Report November 2022.

I took this picture of the beach on October 13, 2022, when I was on vacation at Siesta key in Florida.

Writing Progress from October 2022.

I wrote two blog posts for my website, garydavidgillen.com. One post was my writing progress report for October 2022, which is linked below.

Writing Progress Report October 2022

In October 2022, I submitted Chapter 24 of my novel titled Cuba Liberto to the Novel Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library. It is the final chapter of the first draft of the novel.

I missed the Fiction Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library in October 2022 because I was on vacation in Florida.

Writing Progress from October 2022 Continued

I made five posts on my Goodreads account in October 2022.

In the past, I submitted the stories; Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.

Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories submitted 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. No submission for 2022.

Events from October 2022.

I attended no events in October. I missed going to the Capclave Washington Conference 2022 from September 30 to October 2, 2022, in Rockville, Maryland.

Writing Goals for November 2022.

In November 2022, I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my Writing Progress Report for November 2022.

I plan to submit a story to the Fiction Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library in November 2022.

In November 2022, I plan to submit a short story to the Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library.

I plan to submit a story to the critters workshop in November 2022.

In November 2022, I plan to work on third draft edits for Assassin in New Marl City using comments from the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio. I plan to split Chapter 1 into two chapters and add a scene to the new Chapter 1.

Polish and submit the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Writing Goals for November 2022 continued.

In November 2022, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.

Put the novel Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Buy an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Planned Events for November 2022.

The next conference I plan to attend is ConFusion in Novi, Michigan, from January 20, 2022, to January 22, 2022. The Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association Sponsors ConFusion.

https://2023.confusionsf.org/

The con theme this year is Avatar: The Legend of Confusion

Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan, Book Eight of the Wheel of Time series.

Introduction

Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan is the eighth book of The Wheel of Time series. The novel follows four main plot arcs. Elayne, with the help of the Kin and the Sea Folk, seeks to use the Bowl of the Winds to stop the hot weather created by the Forsaken. Perrin and Faile seek to bring the Prophet back to Rand in Cairhein. Egwene seeks to bring her army to Tar Valon. Rand fights the Seanchan near Ebou Dar and talks with Min in Cairhein. When Rand fights the Seanchan, will they defeat him, or will he win across the Path of Daggers?

Summary – Prologue

The prologue has three point-of-view characters, and each point of view sets up a plot arc.

Queen Ethenielle of Kandor is the first viewpoint character in the prologue. She attends a meeting of the four leaders of the Borderland kingdoms. The other leaders are Queen Tenobia of Saldea, King Paitar of Arafel, and King Easar of Shienar. They want to meet the Dragon Reborn and decide if they want to follow him.

Verin Mathwin is the second viewpoint character. She finishes up the plot of the aftermath of what happened at the end of the last book at Dumai Wells.

Moridin of the Forsaken (Chosen by their reckoning) plots against Rand, the Dragon Reborn.

Summary–Groups of characters

Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan has four main plots.

Elayne, Aviendha, and Brigitte are in Ebou Dar. They plan to use the Bowl of the Winds to cancel the heat wave that the Forsaken has unleashed on the land. They have the Kin and the Sea Folk help them. The Seanchan invade Ebou Dar and compromise their escape.

Perrin brings the army Rand has given to him to Ghealdan looking for Masema, the Prophet of the Dragon. The army is made up of the Winged Guards of Mayene, Aiel, and the people of the Two Rivers. Rand wants Perrin to bring Masema back to him in Cairhein. Perrin tries to convince Masema to come with him and Faile has other ideas.

Egwene seeks to bring her army to siege and capture Tar Valon. Her army is in Murandy. She must negotiate with the nobles of Murandy, build up her army’s strength, and find a way through Andor to achieve her objective.

Rand prepares his army in Ilian to stop a potential Seanchan invasion from Ebou Dar. He fights the Seanchan and must live with the aftermath of the battle.

Summary–Best Plot Points

Three Plot Points stand out in Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan.

Chapter 6, Threads is the chapter where the Bowl of the Winds plotline resolves.

Chapter 23, Fog of War, Storm of Battle, and Chapter 24, A Time for Iron detail the battle between Rand’s army and the Seanchan. The multiple viewpoints in these chapters show the complications caused by the fog of war.

Chapter 26, The Extra Bit covers two initiatives of Elaida of the White Tower. First is the effort of a group of Aes Sedai to uncover the Black Ajah at the White Tower. Second is the group sent to defeat The Black Tower, the home of the Asha’man, men who can channel.

Recommendation

Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan has some brilliant scenes but misses conclusions to the plot arcs explored.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140974.The_Path_of_Daggers

This is the link to my review of Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. When Rand forces the hand of one of the Forsaken, will the Forsaken defeat him or will he earn a Crown of Swords?

Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, Book Six of the Wheel of Time. Chaos reigns in the Westlands. They push Rand to the edge of insanity. Will he survive the box?

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan, Book Five of the Wheel of Time.

Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, Book Four of the Wheel of Time.

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan, Book three of the Wheel of Time.

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Book two of the Wheel of Time.

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Book one of the Wheel of Time.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Writing Progress Report October 2022

This is my Writing Progress Report October 2022.

I went to the Cleveland Guardians baseball game on October 8, 2022. They beat Tampa Bay 1-0 in 15 innings to win the wild card series. This is the picture I took of the Pepsi, hot dog, and rally towel I got at the game.

Writing Progress from September 2022.

I wrote two blog posts for my website, garydavidgillen.com. One post was my writing progress report for September 2022, which is linked below.

Writing Progress Report September 2022

In August 2022, I submitted Chapter 23 of my novel titled Cuba Liberto to the Novel Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library.

I missed the Fiction Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library in September 2022 because I was on vacation in Florida.

Writing Progress from September 2022 Continued

I made five posts on my Goodreads account in September 2022.

In the past, I submitted the stories; Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.

Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories submitted 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. No submission for 2022.

Events from September 2022.

I attended no events in September. I missed going to the Capclave Washington Conference 2022 from September 30 to October 2, 2022, in Rockville, Maryland.

Writing Goals for October 2022.

I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my Writing Progress Report for October 2022.

I am working on a novel titled Cuba Liberto. The first draft was a script. My plan for the rewrite is to convert the story into 24 Chapters. I plan to complete writing Chapter 24 in October 2022 and submit it to the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library. It is the final chapter of the first draft of the novel.

In October 2022, I plan to submit a story to the Fiction Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library.

I plan to submit a story to the critters workshop in October 2022.

I plan to work on third draft edits for Assassin in New Marl City using comments from the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio. In October 2022, I plan to split Chapter 1 into two chapters and add a scene to the new Chapter 1.

Polish and submit the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Writing Goals for October 2022 continued.

In October 2022, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.

Put the novel Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Buy an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Planned Events for October 2022.

The next conference I plan to attend is ConFusion in Novi, Michigan, from January 20, 2022, to January 22, 2022. The Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association Sponsors ConFusion.

https://2023.confusionsf.org/

The con theme this year is Avatar: The Legend of Confusion

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #7

Introduction

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie has thirteen stories from the World of the First Law. The stories are arranged chronologically by the date the story was set. They are either novel chapter outtakes, scenes set between the novels, or part of the sequence featuring Shev and Carcolf. Six stories were first published in this anthology, four stories were first published in other anthologies, and three stories were published as extras in the author’s novels in this series. Will the protagonists in these thirteen fantasy action stories prevail or fail in their efforts?

Summary

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie has these thirteen stories from the World of the First Law.

A Beautiful Bastard whose main character is Sand dan Glotka from the main series.
Small Kindness which features the first appearance of Shev the thief.
The Fool Jobs feature Curden Craw and occur in the North.
Skipping Town is another Shev story.
Hell occurs in Dagoska and features Temple the beggar.
Two’s Company is another story about Shev.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time occurs in Styria during the events of the novel named Best Served Cold.
Some Desperado features Shev.
Yesterday, Near a Village Called Barden… is an outtake chapter from the novel named the Heroes.
Three’s a Crowd is about Shev.

Recommendation

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie fills in the blanks between the six novels of the World of the First Law. The stories are excellent, but I enjoyed two of the stories the most. Yesterday, Near a Village Called Barden… is an outtake chapter of the novel named the Heroes. The story shifts between six POV characters including Colonel Bremer dan Gorst resulting in a surprising ending. Tough Times all over was first published in the Rogues anthology. The story wraps up the Shev and Carcolf story sequence. It has fourteen different Pov characters. I like how both stories are constructed, connected, and build to a satisfying ending. Reading all the stories in this anthology will help the reader to understand the background of the First Law World better. Reading the six novels first will help the reader to put these stories into context.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #7

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26030742-sharp-ends

This is the link to my Book Review of the Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie, Age of Madness Series Book #3. They defeated the rebellion, but all is not well in the Union. Will the wisdom of crowds start a revolution and bring down the Union once and for all?

Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

Writing Progress Report September 2022

Writing Progress Report September 2022.

This is my Writing Progress Report September 2022.

I went to the Cleveland Guardians baseball game on August 7, 2022. They beat Houston 1-0. This is the picture I took of the scoreboard after the win.

Writing Progress from August 2022.

I wrote four blog posts for my website, garydavidgillen.com. One post was my writing progress report for August 2022, which is linked below.

Writing Progress Report August 2022

In August 2022, I submitted Chapter 22 of my novel titled Cuba Liberto to the Novel Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library.

I submitted my short story, “The Last Supper,” to the Fiction Writing Workshop at the Parma, Ohio, library in August 2022.

Writing Progress from August 2022 Continued

I made five posts on my Goodreads account in August 2022.

In the past, I submitted the stories; Four Humors, Space Station Sunyata, and Grognard to magazines.

Magazine submissions for 2021 were 4 unique stories submitted 4 times, with 0 accepted, 0 pending, and 4 rejections. No submission for 2022 yet.

Events from August 2022.

No events were attended in August.

Writing Goals for September 2022.

I plan to write four blog posts for garydavidgillen.com including my Writing Progress Report for September 2022.

I am working on a novel titled Cuba Liberto. The first draft was a script. My plan for the rewrite is to convert the story into 24 Chapters. I plan to complete writing Chapter 23 in September 2022 and submit it to the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library.

In September 2022, I plan to submit a story to the Fiction Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio, library.

I plan to submit a story to the critters workshop in September 2022.

I plan to work on third draft edits for Assassin in New Marl City using comments from the Novel Writing Workshop at Parma, Ohio. In Septemeber 2022, I plan to split Chapter 1 into two chapters and add a scene to the new Chapter 1.

Polish and submit the stories White Bracer, Mage Squad, I Shall Not Return, Prisoner of Tarnal, and Kay-Eye for submission to short fiction magazines.

Writing Goals for September 2022 continued.

In August 2022, I plan to make five posts on my Goodreads account.

Put the novel Assassin in New Marl City into the writing program, Scrivener.

Buy an e-book cover for Assassin in New Marl City from Fiveer.

Planned Events for September 2022.

The next event I plan to attend is Inkubator 2022 at the Cleveland Public Library on September 10, 2022. It is sponsored by Literary Cleveland. It is a two-day in-person writing conference with virtual events throughout the prior week.

This is the link to the Literary Cleveland website.

https://www.litcleveland.org/

I also want to attend the Capclave Washington Conference 2022 from September 30 to October 2, 2022, in Rockville, Maryland. The Washington Science Fiction Association of Washington runs the conference. It is a literary science fiction and fantasy conference which focuses on short fiction.

https://www.capclave.org/capclave/capclave22/

Their motto is: Where reading is not extinct.

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.

Introduction

In Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, Jaime Gray lost his job and is delivering food now. It’s early in the pandemic and COVID-19 makes Jaime’s job difficult. Jamie’s old friend Tom offers Jamie a job to help the KPS as a grunt. Jaime takes the job and goes through a portal and makes friends with others working for the KPS. Huge creatures called Kaiju live on the land near the portal. Bad people want to use Kaiju for their short-sighted purposes. Will Jaime and their friends save the Kaiju and prevent a catastrophic event from occurring back on Earth?

Summary

In Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, Jaime Gray goes into a performance review by the boss, Rob Sanders, expecting a great review. Jamie works at a food delivery service in New York City. Jamie is demoted to a delivery person by Sanders, who he calls a deliverator. It’s the middle of COVID-19 so there are limited job opportunities in New York City. With the lockdown food service delivery is Jamie’s only viable job opportunity so Jaime starts delivering food for the boss.

Six months later Sanders sells the business and Jamie is out of a job and prospects. On the last delivery ever, Jamie meets an old friend named Tom Stevens. They talk about Jamie’s situation and Tom offers Jamie a contract job as a grunt. Tom says the job is with an animal rights organization protecting large animals. Tom sends Jamie to an intake interview. But those animals he mentioned are not what Jamie expects and the location isn’t either. It’s the beginning of a wild adventure.

Recommendation

I thought Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi was a great and fun novel. The novel was short and featured Scalzi’s dry brand of humor. I liked how the author featured the pandemic in the novel, but the irreverent humor balanced the seriousness of the subject. I wonder if in the future the pandemic will be less than a footnote in future works. In this novel, it is important to the plot. I thought it was interesting that the author didn’t reveal Jamie’s gender. It is like the Locked-In series, where the author doesn’t reveal Chris’s gender. Scalzi doesn’t make a big deal about this, but it makes the reader think about the reader’s preconceptions coming into the novel. I had a good time reading this novel and look forward to reading more like it.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page for Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57807199-the-kaiju-preservation-society

Redshirts by John Scalzi is a stand-alone novel like KPS, and it features the same type of humor done so well in this novel. I recommend this novel if you liked Redshirts.

Review of Redshirts by John Scalzi, Ensign Andrew Dahl is assigned to the starship Intrepid. Crewmembers on away missions die at an alarming rate, but not the officers. Dahl must discover the unbelievable truth, or he will die like the other Redshirts.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Sixth Wicked Child by JD Barker

Sixth Wicked Child by JD Barker, 4MK Thriller Book #3.

Introduction

In the Sixth Wicked Child by JD Barker, the hunt for Anson Bishop the Four Monkey Killer heats up. They have implicated suspended Chicago Metro detective Sam Porter in the case and he remains in custody in a Metro interview room. Detective Brian Nash and FBI Special Agent Frank Poole continue the investigation. They quarantined detective Claire Norton in a hospital under a SARS scare. Porter thinks he is the only one who can understand the writer of the diaries. Can Sam Porter find the answers to the 4MK’s motivations in the Diaries and catch the killer?

Summary

The Sixth Wicked Child by JD Barker starts with another murder victim discovered. The four viewpoint characters are affected by the aftermath of the conclusion of the previous novel of the trilogy, The Fifth to Die.

FBI Special Agent Frank Poole entered the case after they discovered the original crime scene in South Carolina. The case took him to New Orleans and now he is back in Chicago after they discovered Porter in a compromising position set up by Bishop. He believes Porter is not telling him something, but can’t get through to him. He seeks Nash’s help because Nash might get through to Porter.

Chicago Metro detective Brian Nash is the lead investigator of the 4MK case for Metro. He interfaces with Poole. Nash thinks Porter is a good cop but is acting differently since he got deep into the 4MK case. He thinks he can get through to Porter. He is worried about Claire and Kloz, who are in quarantine at the hospital.

Summary Continued

Chicago Metro detective Claire Norton is under quarantine in the hospital because of a SARS scare instigated by Bishop. Chicago Metro IT guy Edwin Klozowski (aka Kloz) helps her at the hospital. They gathered all of Bishop’s potential victims at the hospital. Bishop threatens to release more SARS unless they cure his friend Paul Upchurch. Claire must juggle all those balls while facing the potential of getting sick herself.

Suspended Chicago Metro detective Sam Porter is in custody at Metro pending his involvement in a murder at the end of the previous novel. He has been investigating the 4MK case since the beginning and is deeply involved in Anson Bishop’s plots. There is a question of the depth of his involvement. Porter has been reading Bishop’s diaries all along. He thinks he can sort the fact from the fiction and learn the motives and a way to catch Bishop if he reads the last diaries left by Bishop at the crime scene where they found Porter.

Recommendation

The Sixth Wicked Child by JD Barker concludes the 4MK Thriller trilogy. This novel is a surprising and fitting conclusion to the story. The best things about the trilogy are the complicated antagonist Anson Bishop, the deep mysteries contained within the diary chapters, and the flawed protagonist Sam Porter. I’m glad I went on this trip with them. As 4MK says; Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil, and Do no evil.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Sixth Wicked Child by JD Barker, 4MK Thriller Book #3.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49667585-the-sixth-wicked-child

Book Review of the Fifth to Die by JD Barker. Detective Sam Porter searches for the serial killer’s mother, the source of the killer’s deviant behavior.

Fifth to Die by JD Barker

This is the link to my review of The Fourth Monkey by JD Barker, 4MK Thriller Book #1

Detective Sam Porter is on the trail of the Four Monkey Killer. See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil, Do no evil. An eye, an ear, a tongue, and a body. Will he find the killer’s latest victim before it’s too late? Read and find out.

The Fourth Monkey by J. D. Barker