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2 hours ago, YorkshireRed said:

Started The Cartel, Don Winslow’s follow up The Power of the Dog.

 

I’m not enjoying it as much as I did the first book, as yet, but it’s still a good read. 

I gave up. Thought it was boring. 

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35 minutes ago, Paul said:

I gave up. Thought it was boring. 

I can see how it might go that way. I reckon I’m already invested enough in the characters, from the first book, to see it through. It’s not brilliant but, for me at the moment, it’s enjoyable enough. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
18 minutes ago, Elite said:

I tried to read All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and couldn't get past the first few chapters, I'm guessing his writing style is an acquired taste. I hates it.

You probably wouldn't like Blood Meridian either. But The Road and No Country for Old Man are stylistically less peculiar.

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2 minutes ago, Ian Sea said:

I’m currently re-reading the Bosch books, finished the Concrete Blonde today. Forgot how good the early ones were, fantastic stuff. 

Yeah the recent ones haven't been as good, not fussed about the Ballard character in which the series is going.

 

I'm in the middle of the new Mickey Haller book, The Law Of Innocence.

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12 hours ago, Elite said:

Yeah the recent ones haven't been as good, not fussed about the Ballard character in which the series is going.

 

I'm in the middle of the new Mickey Haller book, The Law Of Innocence.

I read that last week, thought it was pretty good. Not as good as Connelly’s early stuff though.

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I think the idea Bosch will age with actual passing of years eventually proved a hindrance, at first it made it more realistic and created the usual dramatic tension (will he stay, will the superiors tolerate him) but after a while, he had to look for excuses how can Bosch still be involved in cases. Painted himself in a corner a bit.

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4 hours ago, SasaS said:

I think the idea Bosch will age with actual passing of years eventually proved a hindrance, at first it made it more realistic and created the usual dramatic tension (will he stay, will the superiors tolerate him) but after a while, he had to look for excuses how can Bosch still be involved in cases. Painted himself in a corner a bit.

To be fair, a 20+ run of global best sellers and a lucrative TV adaptation isn’t the worst of corners to be painted into. 

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13 minutes ago, Paul said:

To be fair, a 20+ run of global best sellers and a lucrative TV adaptation isn’t the worst of corners to be painted into. 

The point was, expanding on comments that earlier novels may feel better written and some new characters less well accepted by readers, Connelly may have created a problem to himself by letting Bosch age in real time. He then has to find a way how to plausibly involve him in cases.

It reminds me (in the creating an obstacle for yourself sense) of a cop show in which I first properly noticed Welliver as an actor, Brooklyn South, in which creators of NYPD Blue Milch and Bochco wanted to crate a show similar to NYPD Blue, but focused on uniformed cops. It didn't work because they constantly had to come up with explanations why are the uniformed cops getting involved in solving murder and other more serious cases, which is normally the job of plain clothes detectives. The show wasn't bad, characters were interesting and acting great, but writers had this albatros around their necks all the time.

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I’m sure he knew what he was doing when he started. I reckon he’ll kill him off in the next book or so. As for the relative quality of the latter books vs the earlier ones, that could be just as much to do with running out of stories as ageing the character. In fact maybe he saw ageing the character as a way of sustaining the series, fearing it’d all be too predictable if he didn’t. 

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I don't think Ballard has enough about her to carry the series forward as the main protagonist. I think once Bosch dies, he should finish the series and start fresh on something else.

 

It's different with Mickey Haller as he's a lawyer, so it's a different perspective from the troubled detective angle.

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I read an interview with Connelly recently where he said he regrets making Bosch as old as he was when it started but he had no idea how successful the series would go on to become.

 

I do wonder whether Connelly would ever consider writing some prequel books as there’s almost a 20 year period that Bosch was in the LAPD before the first book. I think I’d prefer that to the token character he’s become. 

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2 hours ago, Ian Sea said:

I read an interview with Connelly recently where he said he regrets making Bosch as old as he was when it started but he had no idea how successful the series would go on to become.

 

I do wonder whether Connelly would ever consider writing some prequel books as there’s almost a 20 year period that Bosch was in the LAPD before the first book. I think I’d prefer that to the token character he’s become. 

Yeah. Good shout. There’d have to be a period where he was a beat or radio car cop. Or even take it back to when he was in the academy. 

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Read the new Andy Weir book, Project Hail Mary. It was entertaining enough if a little formulaic. It’s basically the same formula as The Martian except with a much higher concept. 

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On 02/06/2021 at 06:35, Paul said:

Read the new Andy Weir book, Project Hail Mary. It was entertaining enough if a little formulaic. It’s basically the same formula as The Martian except with a much higher concept. 

Almost done with it. I’m enjoying it. I think the (POTENTIAL SPOILER) first contact section was particularly excellent. 

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On 18/05/2021 at 13:25, YorkshireRed said:

Started The Cartel, Don Winslow’s follow up The Power of the Dog.

 

I’m not enjoying it as much as I did the first book, as yet, but it’s still a good read. 

I think the first quarter, maybe a third is just a game of hide and seek. But once it moves beyond that and the Zeta's a d Crazy Eddie come into play it gets really good. 

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Read Love and Theft by Stan Parish about a crook trying to go straight for the love of a good woman whose former cohorts and associates aren’t so keen on him bailing out. It was diverting enough, but not especially amazing. 
 

Now on The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, (yet) another post-apocalyptic thing. This one seems to be attempting a more literary interpretation of the genre akin to The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It’s started well. 

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On 06/06/2021 at 10:10, Paul said:

Read Love and Theft by Stan Parish about a crook trying to go straight for the love of a good woman whose former cohorts and associates aren’t so keen on him bailing out. It was diverting enough, but not especially amazing. 
 

Now on The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, (yet) another post-apocalyptic thing. This one seems to be attempting a more literary interpretation of the genre akin to The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It’s started well. 

I really recommend The Dog Stars. Don’t think I’ve ever read a novel of mostly interior monologue before that I didn’t find annoying and/or boring. This is great though and has a cracking little narrative as well a very different tone to most post-apocalyptic stuff. 
 

Now reading The Postman by David Brin and it’s started well. 

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