Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Love Isn’t Always On Time

Spy Line by Len Deighton

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Similar to a lot of series that have an overarching plot, Len Deighton keeps having to invent new ways to rework the chessboard. Does it always work plot-wise? I’m not sure. Do I enjoy reading it? Hell yeah I do. I’m not sure why I land with the Samson series so closely. I concede that Le Carré writes circles around Deighton in terms of espionage tales. And yet, I just love the characters Deighton creates; the ones who have come back to these tales time-and-time […]

Thanksgiving 2024 Leftovers

Remembrance Day by Henry Porter

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

Killing Castro by Lawrence Block

Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins

Spy Hook by Len Deighton

London Rules by Mick Herron

Real Tigers by Mick Herron

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Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Remembrance Day**** An interesting take on the English-vs-Irish spy novel and while the author telegraphs too many things, he knows how to keep a story moving. Barely clears the 4-star threshold but if I invest time to read something almost 500 pages long, it has to be at least “good” and this was. Dead Lions, Real Tigers, and London Rules**** I had originally meant to do a big long post on my love/grr relationship with Mick Herron’s Slough House […]

The End and the Beginning

London Match by Len Deighton

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I’m glad I slept on this review. I confess to some disappointment when I finished it…that was the resolution? That was the best Deighton could do after an excellent two-book buildup? I expected a massive conflict and was sort of let down. But then I thought about the final conversation in the book, which I won’t use to spoil the plot but basically talks about the stagnancy of the spy game. You’re never really winning, per se, and you almost don’t know what constitutes winning. Occasionally, you […]

Ohhh Mexico

Mexico Set by Len Deighton

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I’m going to review this under the assumption that the reader has read the first book in Len Deighton’s Game, Set, Match trilogy. If you have not, I encourage you to do so (it’s very good!) and skip this review until you have. I liked this one almost as much as Berlin Game, perhaps even more! I love how Len Deighton writes books where he ratchets up the tension just by having people talk. It’s fun. His dialogue is great and it works well to building the story. […]

Beyond the Wall

Berlin Game by Len Deighton

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My wife and I honeymooned in Berlin. A lot of folks are surprised by this but we’re not beach people. We like to explore histories, interesting cultural icons, the unusual. Berlin was perfect for that. We had a great nine days there and it was a good start to our marriage. Berlin is sort of a Frankenstein’s monster of a city: a pastiche of prewar romanticism, total ruin, capitalist-western occupation and totalitarian communist occupation make up a sort of fascinating urban landscape. It is doing […]

Grab Bag

Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold

Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

Basic Training by Kurt Vonnegut

The Ipcress File by Len Deighton

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

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Assassins of Thasalon – 3/5 Stars I fear I am starting to get some Penric-fatigue, and I hope it’s not Bujold fatigue as well. I have to say that the previous two entries in the series did little for me, and this one was more interesting, but won’t stay with me much longer. It’s also possible that’s where I’ve been all along with Penric, who is part of the World of the Five Gods, the world that Bujold has created that I care the least […]



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