77. Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

With this do I end my reading chronicles for 2013, not a bad read to end the year with.

This is only my third Alistair MacLean read, and I am already a fan. MacLean's books are full of action, adventure, fast paced and generally a lot more fun. So what if the protagonist is Superman, or what if they are based on the good old principle of victory of good over evil? 

The majority of MacLean's works, from what I gather are War thrillers, most of them Anti-German WW books, which he manages to write without portraying the Germans as super-villains, which I think is in itself a great achievement, yes, there is no Hitler and the war with the Germans may as well have been based in an alternative universe, with conventional warfare, a code of conduct, and no atrocities.

For all that, they are well written and all the positive sentiments expressed in the Para above, apply. What is the catch then, you ask? Even for works of fiction, they greatly lack that grossly over-rated factor, one calls "realistic". Doesn't put me off, neither should it, I think, these books don't advertise themselves to be history books; probability is not entertained either, possible is good enough for MacLean and it is good enough for me.

76. The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth

This is going to be a short review, with not much worth talking about.

The Kill List is my second Frederick Forsyth read this year, third overall. Forsyth's work continue the common theme of a single individual with exceptional combat/strategic abilities, which is not bad, when executed well, like in the case of the cult-classic The Day of the Jackal. The execution suffered, despite a strong plot in the otherwise disappointing The Cobra, my first Forsyth read this year.

In this book, the character was strong, the execution, pretty sketchy. A weak plot and the lack of details didn't help either. These days, one expects to be educated, while being entertained, while reading Thrillers of this type. This book entertained a bit, but failed miserably in the other task. Add to that, the non-development of any character, including the lead character, a resume probably would have got one better acquainted with the character than the book. It was good to have a happy ending, but it seemed almost forced, with good things coming along for everyone, in an ideal world, free of any unfairness.

A below average read, I think I am done with Frederick Forsyth for now.

47. 1st to Die - James Patterson

Horrible, predictable, annoying. Suffice it to say, I won't be reading any more Pattersons in the future.

55. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan has never been my favourite character, be it the comics or the cartoons - now Mowgli was an entirely different story! And the irony strikes. In the last year or so, I have read both the Jungle Books, which were barely readable, the characters nowhere as snappy as I remembered them from my childhood cartoons.

And so, it was with great skepticism that I started with Tarzan of the Apes, and was I surprised! The writing was very simple, the story captivating and the characters endearing, even if stereotypical - be it the pretty, pretty Jane, the absent minded Professor or the mighty Tarzan. The never ending victories of Tarzan were not dull, nor were the highly noticeable and distinct villains bothersome. The repetitive fainting of poor Esmeralda did get on my nerves a few time, but well, she had a character to play as well, did I mention stereotypical?

The ending of the book didn't lack in flourish either and I am left wondering, whether to dare the sequel and risk getting my impression shattered or go the way of Dune and Ender's Game and leave the series on a high with fond memories and none of the regrets.

Echoes from the Dead by Johan Theorin

Book #46 - 2013

This book happens to be my first book written with a Swedish background and indeed my first encounter with a Swedish author. A thriller based based in Oland, Sweden where a small child goes missing from an island, without a trace. Does that ring a bell?With a similar background, and with a not so distinct plot, it is easy to see from where the author gets his inspiration, and I just wish publishers will stop posting Steig Larsson's name on all thrillers, be it by Scandinavian authors or by Japanese.  But well, the story, the narration, the outcome, the quality of writing, all differ from the Steig Larsson masterpiece. Not a bad read, but nothing too commendable about the book either.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Book #45 - 2013

Wow! A superb thriller with a minimal of characters (and really weird ones at that!) and hardly the semblance of a plot. And yet, the story progresses, like a ticking time bomb, till everything comes to culmination. An interesting read, despite the lack of character development, Hitchcockish in a way (the movies), with the final twist being accidental, a point where it deviates from the creations of the brilliant filmmaker.

The Tower of Silence by Gyan Prakash

Book #44 - 2013

Summary from Harper Collins website:

"A long-lost Sexton Blake mystery, 1920s detective fiction at its best

Historian Gyan Prakash of Princeton University stumbled upon part of the unpublished manuscript of Tower of Silence by Phiroshaw Jamsetjee Chevalier (or Chaiwala, as he called himself) in the British Library. After scouring several Mumbai libraries, he found the missing pages.

It is a thrilling tale that begins on a blistering April afternoon in Poona with the click of a camera shutter. An aerial photograph is taken from a small aircraft flying directly over the Tower of Silence. The Zorastrian community is thrown into turmoil and horrified grief at this heinous act.

Beram, a suave wealthy man who drives around in a Rolls Royce but is a devout Parsi, decides to exact revenge. Thus begins a sensational cat-and-mouse game between Beram and Sexton Blake, England’s most famous detective."

The biggest "mystery" in connection with this book, was the original author "Phiroshaw Jamsetjee Chevalier Chaiwala" himself. The book itself, was quite amateurish, with some supernatural phenomenon and detective tricks which were quite a bore, in search of a better word, a search I am not willing to conduct for the purpose of writing this review. The book was very racist, but the racism was so obvious and oversold, that it was more amusing than annoying. A forgettable read.