A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin

October 27, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: bestseller, Fantasy, George R. R. Martin 

In A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin continues to tell the titanic story of The Song Of Ice And Fire. It is as good as the previous book, if not better. And it is even grimmer and A Clash of Kings, by George R. R: Martin longer than the first volume.

It starts right where A Game of Thrones ends. King Robert is dead. Lord Stark’s head has parted with his shoulders. In the realm there is total chaos. Several kings vie for power, there is war everywhere.

Princess Arya Stark flees her dead father’s capital of King’s Landing, disguised as a boy. And the kingdom is now divided, with several groups wanting the Throne. Robb Stark has been appalled by the treachery of the Lannister family, and has declared himself King of the North. As well, two of the dead King’s brothers also declare for the throne and plan war.

At the same time, things are happening in the North, and it seems strange and mysterious forces are making their way into the civilized lands. Also, a young woman raises a trio of dragons and plots her revenge.

Tyrion Lannister – a very cynical and intriguing character indeed – is once again one at the centre stage in this book. Using his perspective, Martin is able to provide both humor and lots of intelligence.

Each of the three major plots is developing at great pace. And like the previous book, A Clash of Kings is full of scheming, plotting, betrayal, violence and action. The strings are masterfully held together by Martin, and the world of the Seven Kingdoms in vividly clear. Another great installment in a major saga you should not miss out on.

Links to George R. R. Martin’s books: amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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Shadow Account, by Stephen Frey

October 22, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: bestseller, book review, New York Times bestseller, Stephen Frey, Thriller 

Stephen Frey, who is a specialist in mergers and acquisitions Shadow Account, by Stephen Frey and works in corporate finance, has written a series of financial thrillers. This book, Shadow Account, is not the best of his books, but I still found it to be an interesting and very entertaining read.

We meet up with the main character, Connor Ashby is in his apartment in Manhattan, with his wealthy engaged to someone else girlfriend Liz Shaw. Then an email addressed to a person named Victor arrives. The email indicates that revenues are profit is being manipulated in a very big but unnamed firm. Connor realizes the email he received was an error, but before he can decide what to do Liz sends him out to buy cigarettes. When he returns Liz has been killed, the apartment has been completely trashed and a goon is trying to kill him. Responding quickly, he manages to get out of the apartment and run off. However, when he returns with the police, his apartment is clean, nothing is broken, and there is no corpse. It is as if nothing has happened.

As he follows a twisting trail of misdeeds and misinformation that stretches nationwide, Conner slowly uncovers a shocking plot as undeniably real as the gunshot wound in his arm. Now, surviving will mean struggling to expose the truth as relentlessly as his shadowy enemies seek to conceal it— and fighting for his life as ruthlessly as those determined to end it.

Shadow Account has a good plot, and it quickly hooks you. And in the course of the story, Frey explains the complex financial issues in a fashion that makes them understandable. Having read this book, you will better understand some of the recent meltdown scandals like Enron.

Stephen Frey’s novels of big money and murder in the world of finance have earned this New York Times bestselling author a richly deserved reputation as a master of suspense who always delivers a high yield. Now he raises the stakes, and the risk factor, in this new thriller that pits a young Wall Street player against corporate conspiracy and White House intrigue—in a dangerous game of double crosses, dirty tricks, and deadly consequences.

Shadow Account. It does jump and twist a little here and there, and may be a little too convoluted at times, but it is a very entertaining and enjoyable read in a genre with relatively few very good writers.

Links to the books by Stephen Frey: amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski

February 10, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, David Wroblewski, Edgar Sawtelle, Fiction, Main character, New York Times bestseller, recommendation 

Every day there is a great book published. And every once in a rare while, extraordinary books appear, books that have something, often hard to define, which set them apart from other great books. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski to me is such a book. So be aware, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewskithere is magic afoot, and to fully experience this enormous, profound, and big-hearted story, you may need to suspend your disbelief a bit. It is a book that took the author ten years to write, and that in the process become one of those books that you in a sense live rather than read.

There are numerous parallels in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  However, as there are many reviews out there that deal at length with this aspect of the book, written by people who know Hamlet much better than I do, I will not dwell on that (but see Janet Maslin’s review in New York Times, Sarah Laurence (blog) for excellent discussions of this aspect of the book).

Gar and his wife, Trudy, have tried to have a child for a long time. After multiple miscarriages Edgar was finally born to them. He was a child surrounded by love and affection. Not only by his parents, also by his greatest fan and best companion, the family dog Almondine. They all live in a beautifully imagined world created by David Wroblewski, that is filled with intriguing people who deal and struggle with real issues.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is about this mute young boy, his family and their dog kennel. Gar and Trudy breed and train their own custom breed of dogs in rural Wisconsin. It is a breed of truly amazing dogs. Edgar is unable to speak, but he hears normally, and communicates with a half made up sign language to everyone, including the dogs.

Life at the kennel and in the family is idyllic and wonderfully portrayed by David Wroblewski. The book is full of intriguing and mesmerizing detail about dog breeding and dog training, as well as about how Edgar increasingly masters communication with the dogs without a voice. Edgar’s parents are like the horse whisperer with their dogs, and the story is equally fascinating. The family’s philosophy of dog breeding has been inherited from Edgar’s grandfather – whom we also meet, as the book slowly unfolds for us a family tradition created over generations.

A lot of research must have gone into this book – I am unable to say whether what Wroblewski describes regarding the breeding and training is possible or not, but to some extent that is far beyond the point: It is beautifully described in a subdued, rich, precise and poetic language that has holds a world of beauty. And told in a way that makes it all plausible enough, for me at least, that I could let myself be sucked into Edgar Sawtelle’s universe. And how I was! By a rich tale told without metaphors, but where every moment of reading has a special feeling of joy in multiple layers – of the tale, of the characters, of Almondine and the other dogs, of Edgar, and of the crisp, poetic style of writing.

In the story, we move to a new phase where relationships begin to change subtly when Edgar’s uncle Claude arrives, fresh from being “inside” for a spell. There is much about him neither we nor Edgar understand. And, when Gar dies, apparently of a heart attack, the idyllic life that once was can seemingly not be sustained and starts breaking apart. Conflict, deceit, and tragedy replace joy and harmony. Events start to accelerate out of control toward an unavoidable climax.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a grand saga. It is very – extremely – readable. The language is poetic, the characterizations and descriptions are never just ordinary, mostly remarkable, and quite often exceptional. The plot is somewhat complicated but still easy to follow. I think it is a book of the kind you either don’t like or love intensely. The reason is that is requires you to make a leap of faith. But if you are willing to be seduced, this book really will! And you should – it is an exceptional and very, very rewarding and affecting book.

You can order David Wroblewski’s extraordinary The Story of Edgar Sawtelle from amazon US, or from amazon UK: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, or from amazon Canada: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

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Stieg Larsson on the New York Times bestseller list!

January 8, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: bestseller, New York Times bestseller, Stieg Larsson 

I was delighted to open the book section of New York Times today, and find the Stieg Larsson’s excellent crime fiction book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, was now number 4 on the list of paperback fiction bestsellers. I have been unable to understand why this book has not been selling better than it has in the US, as it is one of my all time favorites. Now, however, it seems the publisher is doing a little more promotion of the book, and it seems to be paying off.

Here is the top 10 list:

1. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. A girl sues her parents when learning they want her to donate a kidney to her sibling.

2. The Shack, by William P. Young. A man whose daughter was abducted is invited to a shack, apparently by God.

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. A journalist travels to Guernsey.

4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. A hacker and a journalist investigate the disappearance of a Swedish heiress.

5. Olive Kitteridge: Fiction, by Elizabeth Strout. A math teacher is the link in 13 stories set on the Maine coast.

6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. The classic retold with “ultraviolent zombie mayhem.”

7. The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. A Lab-terrier mix helps his owner, a struggling race car driver.

8. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. Life with a dashing librarian who travels in time.

9. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. A Spanish shepherd boy travels to Egypt for treasure.

10. A Summer Affair: A Novel, by Elin Hilderbrand. A successful married artist is attracted to a billionaire on Nantucket.

For a lover of Scandinavian crime fiction, this is a good day. I hope 2009 will contine to be a good year for crime fiction and thrillers from Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland!

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