Monthly Archives: March 2019

Head in the Cloud

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The second of Jack Forsithe’s books is a fast-moving read that combines the genres of thriller and alien-type fantasy. It is an easier story to follow than the first volume, Heart in the Clouds, because the four original separate story-lines have merged into two at the book’s opening and quickly becomes a single plot. Naturally that would be easier to follow, although it is hard for me to assess that since I did read the first volume first, so I had already become familiar with the whole other-creature setup (and their tongue-twister moniker, the Zighorottiz). Although Forsithe does provide enough back story to pick up on the ideas, it would definitely be worth your while to read Heart also (here’s the review). Forsithe himself also seems to be more comfortable with his own story-telling style and there is less reliance on Clancy-style descriptions of equipment, and his voice is getting stronger.

At the end, Forsithe chooses not to employ the now-common device of leaving the characters hanging on a cliff in order to drive sales of the sequel (but driving readers like me away because of the cheesiness of it all). Instead, he presents a very satisfying conclusion to the installment of the tale while leaving the characters at a point from which several roads may plausibly diverge. I have a feeling that we are going in the direction of the Sith from Star wars, but that remains to be seen. I look forward to it.

As an added thrill – one I wasn’t aware of until I stumbled across it in the text – one of Caltrop Press’ other books gets a mention along with some of the great business books of our time.  Maybe you too will enjoy Let It Simmer.

Here’s a link to Head in the Cloud on Amazon:

Radiant Angel and the Cuban Affair

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Two recent offerings from Nelson DeMille explore his similar but different sub-genres and both are well worth your time.

Radiant Angel is another in the series about ex-NYPD detective John Corey, the wise-cracking hard-boiled contract investigator. As ever, the dialog owes much to Robert Parker’s Spenser books although Corey’s wry remarks tend to be more often in the nature of side observations to the reader, except when pushing some official’s buttons. This particular novel also draws on the Clancy approach with Russians and technical terminology. It is a true thriller in the sense of guns, terrorists and chases.

The Cuban Affair, by contrast, is without a doubt an homage to John McDonald and his creation, Travis McGee. With the settings in Key West and Cuba, and the inevitable maritime phases of the story, there is a great deal of mention of Hemingway and some reflection on his biography during his Cuban residence, but those are mostly color. This story is in Travis McGee’s voice and it develops by acting pretty much as McGee would have. The difference is that McDonald’s stories were pretty much straight up: damsel in distress, reluctant participation, ferret out and deal with bad guys while getting injured or having boat blown up in process; girl goes her way in the end. In DeMille’s hands, while the book follows the same general arc, the plot is broader and twistier, and the big question is whether we really grasp who the good guys and bad guys are. In addition to enjoying the thriller part of the novel, you’ll be interested in DeMille’s take on the “Cuban thaw”; for those who think socialism would be just wonderful, it offers glimpses of what life under such regimes has always been.

Amazon links: