Kathy Reichs – Déjà Dead (Temperance Brennan #1)

231604

Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Her life is devoted to justice; for those she never even knew. In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Temperance detects an alarming pattern and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her, her best friend and her own daughter in mortal danger…

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Scribner

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no www.

Vērtējums/Rating: 2.75/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Temperansas Brenanas brīvdienu plāni apskatīt Kvebekas provinci tiek kārtējo reizi izjaukti, kad atrod nežēlīgi noslepkavotas sievietes līķi. Šī jaunā lieta atsauc Brenanai atmiņā izmeklēšanu pirms gada ar līdzīgiem notikumu apstākļiem un upurim nodarīto.

Viņa sākotnēji ir vienīgā, kas saskata saistību un pat piesauc sērijveida slepkavu. Dažiem kolēģiem, īpaši detektīvam Klaudelam šāda iejaukšanās viņa darbā nemazām nepatīk un nekautrējas norādīt, lai Brenana paliek pie sava darba specialitātes. Tomēr ne visi izjūt tādu attieksmi. Jau tagad bija neliela ievirze uz iespējamu romantisko stāsta līniju un prognozēju, ka tā tiks arī attīstīta.

Daļēji varētu arī saprast Klaudela viedokli. Tomēr pateicoties tieši viņas iniciatīvai un arī pārgalvībai izmeklēšanā ir kaut kāda virzība, bet pārgalvības un brīžiem neapdomības dēļ viņa apdraud arī sev tuvos un tā padarot visu daudz personīgāku.

Pie mīnusiem, kas nedaudz traucēja un samazināja kopējo vērtējumu, varētu pieskaitīt lielu uzmanības veltīšanu upuru un viņu kaulu u.c. aprakstiem, kas padarīja tekstu sausāku un sižeta virzību piebremzēja. Tas, protams, ir saprotams autores specialitātes dēļ, un varbūt arī, ka šī ir viņas debijas grāmata.

Patika, ka darbība nenorisinās ASV (konkrētāk Bostona), citādi pēdējie lasītie detektīvi/kriminālromāni vien no tās puses :D. Bija jāizlasa pārdesmit lapaspušu līdz pieradu pie franču valodas iestarpinājumiem.

Grāmatā Brenana ir šķīrusies, meita štatos, bet pati pārcēlusies strādāt uz Kanādu. Par norises vietu dažādību tā kā būtu skaidrs, bet pēc manas atmiņas Brenanai meita piedzimst vien vēlākajās sezonās un arī šķīrusies seriāla sākumā nav. Skatos vien, ja sanāk noķert, kad rāda pa TV.

                                                                                                                                           

Temperance Brennan’s holiday plans are ruined once again when a brutally murdered woman is found. This new case remind Brennan about an investigation a year ago with similar MO.

At the beginning no one takes her seriously and she is the only one that even dares to mention a possibility of a serial killer. Some of her cop colleagues aren’t happy about she is doing, especially detective Luc Claudel and he’s not afraid to show Brennan her place. However not everyone feels like that. There some hints already in this book and my guess is that the romantic story line will be more visible in the next books.

Partially I can understand Claudel’s opinion. But thanks to Brennan’s initiative and also some reckless action the case has some movement. Unfortunately this recklessness endangers her friends making this case a bit more personal than others.

Some minuses in this book for me was the sometimes long and detailed descriptions of bones and victims but that I guess is understandable because of the author’s professional degree, and maybe because this is her debut novel.

But what I liked that finally I changed the location because the last few detectives/crime novels were set in USA (specifically Boston). Only after quite some page count I was used to frequent French words.

There are many differences from the TV show and what I noticed the most was that Temperance Brennan in the books is divorced, (already) has a daughter and of course works in Canada.

BLOG TOUR STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART By BREIGH FORSTNER (Guest Post)

 

Kathleen

author photo

Author Biography:

Breigh Forstner currently resides in Southeast Michigan with her two daughter. While she works full-time during the week, at night she spends time with her girls dancing and coming up with her next book idea. Her goal is to make it onto a best sellers list at some point in her career, and writes any chance she can get. She is a music lover and is a sucker for going to concerts, rock bands, and tattooed bad boys.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000037_00031]

Book Synopsis:

Cale Pelton didn’t want to fall in love.

 

Fresh off a breakup, he was scrambling to find a new lead guitarist for his band, Everlasting, before they went on tour. He wanted to enjoy being single, singing his heart out nightly to fans.

 

Never did he expect to meet Bryn Schaefler, the sassy rich girl that would change his life.

 

Bryn left her parents’ house with only her suitcase and guitar, leaving her old life behind her. She nails the band audition and becomes Everlasting’s new lead guitarist. Bryn didn’t want to find Cale attractive, let alone develop a crush on a bandmate. But when trouble starts to find the band, Bryn starts to believe her family will do whatever it takes to get her home.

 

Will Cale and Bryn listen to their heads and stay strictly professional? Or will they follow their hearts and admit their feelings towards eachother?

rock passionate girl with black wings

straightfromtheheartteaser3

Guest Post:

My Journey As a Writer:

 

Like any journey in life, there’s going to be bumps and turns you don’t expect to face. That sums up my journey as a writer. I started writing when I was a kid, and wrote short horror stories. When I graduated High School, it wasn’t that I wanted to write books, but my love for music bloomed and I wanted to be a music journalist. That dream was put on hold after I changed my major in college and I had stopped writing after I changed majors.

I wrote here and there, never considering publishing what I wrote. It was mainly real life situations that I’ve been through, but just writing them out helped me, kind of like therapy. I started writing fully again back in 2012 after my 2nd daughter was born. I had wrote a 100,000 book and published it on Amazon. I had no idea about formatting, editing at the time, and not knowing ANYONE in the business, I did everything myself. Needless to say, the book was a hot mess! The storyline was actually good, and something I would go back to someday, but when I released “Straight from the Heart” in July 2014, I wanted to establish myself as a credible author, and so I took down the first book from Amazon (You can still see it on Goodreads..haha).

I’ve had lots of bumps in the recent years. There’s been days where I don’t write, there’s been weeks! But when the story isn’t coming to me, I won’t write it. The process in writing my first 3 books in the Straight from the Heart series went smoother then I had planned. The authors in this community, indie and published, have been very nice to me and I’ve made friends with quite a few.

Now, I know I’m not a bestseller. A lot of readers out there still don’t know who I am. But when I go to events and people say “Oh, I recognize your cover I have it on my Kindle!” It makes me feel amazing to know that there’s people that do read my books!

And that’s what fuels me to keep going.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/breighforstnerauthor

Twitter: @BreighForstner

Instagram: https://instagram.com/breighforstner/

Blog Page: http://breighforstnerauthor.weebly.com

 

Izlasīju, lasu, lasīšu #1 (16.11-22.11)

Izlasīju, lasu, lasīšu jeb Read, Reading, To Read katru svētdienu būs tāds kā iknedēļas kopsavilkums, kā arī, ko lasu un klausos dotajā brīdī, un, kas plānojas tālāk. Ideja rakstam no aizņemta EMSVIEW. Tad arī izpaliks vajadzība pēc lielā mēneša kopsavilkuma un Mēneša grāmatai atkal būs savs raksts : )

Izlasīju:

–

Noklausījos:

100365

Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle – The Mote in God’s Eye (Moties #1)

4981

Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse-Five

Lasu:

231604

Joprojām Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. Patīk, ka nomainīju vidi no ASV uz Kanādu, vienīgais pie tiem franču nosaukumiem un vārdiem jāpierod.

Klausos:

414999

Šodien sāku Arthur C. Clarke – Childhood’s End. Pats sākums nešķiet daudzsološs.

Lasīšu:

128756

Otro grāmata Temperance Brennan sērijā – Death du Jour

Klausīšos:

112537

Pēc Childhood’s End plānojās cits Klārka gabals – Rendezvous With Rama

Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse-Five (audiobook)

4981

Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

Kurt Vonnegut’s absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut’s) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.

Don’t let the ease of reading fool you – Vonnegut’s isn’t a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, “There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters.”

Slaughterhouse-Five is not only Vonnegut’s most powerful book, it is also as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author’s experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut’s other works, but the book’s basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy – and humor.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Harper Audio

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no www. Izvēlējos no Top 100 Sci-Fi Books grāmatu listes.

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.75/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Galvenais varonis Billijs Pilgrims piedzīvojis kara šausmas, redzējis kā mirst viņa biedri, bet īsti par to nebēdā. Kāpēc? Jo pateicoties citplanētiešiem no Tralfamadore planētas, kur būtnes spēj redzēt ne vien telpā, bet arī laikā, tādējādi varētu teikt, ka katrs eksistē mūžīgi, bet tas nenozīmē nemirstību. Stāstā Tralfamadoras būtnes pavīd pavisam maz; ir pāris ainu, bet gribētos uzzināt par viņiem vairāk un plašāk. Billijs varētu ‘’pateikties’’ viņiem par atbrīvošanu no laika ķetnas, kamēr mēs pārējie kustamies tikai telpā.

Pats Billijis nespēj kontrolēt, kad un kur viņš laika ‘’lēcienos’’ nokļūst (būtu vēl jāpadomā, vai tikt tas galu galā nav drīzāk lāsts; vismaz tas notiek savas dzīves ietvaros), arī stāsta sižets nav laika līnijas ziņā vienmērīgs; ar lēcieniem šurpu turpu.

Lai gan aprakstā apgalvots, ka tēlu gandrīz vai nav (vien daži) un konfrontāciju arī pamaz, tad negribētos tam piekrist. Kaut vai grāmatas sākums, kas uzreiz nogādā lasītāju brīdī, kad Drēzdene tiek bombardēta. Bez Billija pieminēšanas vērts ir arī Roland Weary tēls, viņu karš ietekmē daudz smagāk.

Cik saprotu, dzirdēto var uzskatīt daļēji par autora reāli piedzīvoto Otrajā pasaules karā. Neiztrūkst arī filozofiska rakstura pārdomas. Patika neraksturīgā pieeja stāsta formai; šur tur pavīd arī optometristi :D. Sci-fi aspekts laikam piedēvējams (vien) citplanētiešu un Billija jauno ~spēju dēļ, citādi tiešām vairāk atskats uz kara atmiņām.

                                                                                                                                           

Our main character Billy Pilgrim has seen how horrible the war can be and how his colleagues have died but that doesn’t trouble that much. Why? Because thanks to aliens from planet Tralfamadore he now knows that death isn’t the end, everyone exists forever but that doesn’t mean that they or others are immortal. Creatures from that planet can also see back and forward in time, not just only in space. In the story those creatures are shown very little; I would have liked to know a bit more about them. Billy could ‘’thank’’ them about making him unstuck in time while we forced to moved around just in three dimensions.

Billy himself can’t control where and when he will show up when the time jump occurs (you would have to think hard – if in the end that’s not a curse, at least that happens within his own life), because of that also the story jumps back and forth.

Although in the synopsis it’s mentioned that there are almost no characters or dramatic confrontations, I wouldn’t like to agree to that. As for example the beginning of the book is when the reader is already at the bombing of Dresden. Besides Billy’s character I would like to mention Roland Weary, it seemed that the war affected him harsher.

If I understood correctly this can be partially considered as Vonnegut’s memories of what he experienced in the World War II. Inevitably there are some philosophical thoughts. I liked the unusual and quirky approach to the story; here and there you might see some optometrists :D. I guess the only reason this could be considered as a sci-fi is because of aliens and what they did to Billy (his new capabilities), otherwise more likely a retrospect of war memories.

I, Mary Blog Tour (Guest Post)

I, Mary banner

I, Mary

About the Book:

Title: I, Mary
Author: Mike Hartner
Publisher: Eternity 4 Popsickle Publishing
Pages: 266
Genre: Historical Romance

Mary Crofter’s first trip on the water was just after her first birthday, when her parents came from her birthplace in Kilwa to Portsmouth. She’s been on several trips from Portsmouth to London and other places since. She loves the water and the water seems to love her. Can she survive on the water? Will people ever take seriously a GIRL as a sailor? Will she ever come off the water? If she does, will the lure of the ocean draw her back?

For More Information

Book Excerpt:

I looked upon the gray waters that surrounded me.  To the west it was dark and cloudy, the wind blustering.  But as I braced myself against the gale hitting full force against my peacoat, I smiled.

It was fitting that I was here, and nothing could ever convince me otherwise.  I’d been birthed on land but it wasn’t long afterward that I was on the water—and acquiring my sea legs.  From the time I could walk, I learned to balance myself on the uneven deck. And later to climb the gnarly spars and ultimately the sayles.  My parents taught me my numbers and to read and write as well.  Numbers, well, was my best subject, and I was good at that.  But my time at sea was what I loved the most.  In truth, the only fun I remember in my childhood was when they took me on our merchant ship from our home in Portsmouth to London or to Bristol.  It wasn’t the location that I liked or the end of the journey; no, for me it was the sayling, standing on the deck, listening to the wind, watching the ocean and the clouds and . . . late at night . . . the stars.  I wanted to be on the sea forever, and I knew this from my very first time aboard ship.

I remember very well every one of those trips, because during each voyage I would close my eyes and concentrate, and it was as if I were talking to the water.  And through a combination of waves and the ship’s motion, it felt as if the sea was in turn communicating with me.

I recall all of the journeys with my father and his good friend, Captain Jose.  The saylors on those ships were always good to me, and I came to respect all of them.  They taught me sayling while they went about their own jobs.  Even as a little kid I was taught how to tie knots.  And when I was eleven they instructed me on how to throw knives and swing a cutlass.  Soon afterward I was taught how to prime, load, and shoot a musket.  But I turned up my nose at the musket, even the smaller flintlock pistols.  To me, there was no honor in this sort of fight.  No great talent was needed to shoot somebody.  Any idiot could pull a trigger.  In my mind, it required real skill to defeat a man, or woman for that matter, with a cutlass.   And, yes, I will take up swords against a woman.  Because, you see, I am one also.

Captain Jose had been a friend of the family since before I was born.  He’d sayled with my father, James, and my mother, Rosalind.  I heard the stories of the trip from Kilwa, where I was born, and then to Portsmouth, where we now live.  I don’t know how they originally met because I haven’t been told that yet, but Captain Jose is so close to the family that I’ve always called him Uncle Jose or Uncle for short.

Currently, I am not quite twelve years old, thin as a rail, a little over eleven hands high, and maybe weighing four stone soaking wet.  My hair is long enough to wear tied behind so it looks like the tail on a pony, but many men wear their hair the same way, so no one would know I was a girl just by looking at me.

I was in the office of Crofter Shipping Yards one day when Uncle Jose called me to him said, “Come over here and sit down.”  He was always so nice to me that I never hesitated at any request of his, so I took a seat next to him.  He gave me a funny look, kind of sly but not really since he smiled right away.  “I’ve already talked to your parents, and both James and Rosalind agree with me.”

I looked at him and fidgeted, not having a clue what he was going to say next.

“You’ve sayled with your father and me all your life.  We brought you to Portsmouth on a carrack many years ago.  You’ve been on the caravel we sayled to Le Havre and on a special boat too, a cog—the one with just one sayle—when we sayled to London.”

I nodded at him, but I was confused.  Had I done something wrong?

“Mary, there is a caravel that will be leaving these shipping yards in a little over a week.  It’s headed to the north of Scotland.  Seldom do pirates sayle these waters, so other than weather it will be relatively safe and . . .” My eyes widened.  Was I getting the right message?  Was he really doing this?  Was he really going to make my dream come true?  “If you should be interested, I can schedule you to take your sayling tests in the next few days so you can be on that caravel and start out as part of the crew on this trip.  This way, you can see if sayling is really what you want to do.”

I threw myself at Uncle Jose. “Yes, yes.  Please, yes.”

He laughed.  “Then let’s go get you some sayling clothes and set you up to crew on your very first ship.  Then I’ll introduce you to the captain.”  I jumped up from my chair but Uncle Jose pointed to me so I’d  retake my seat.  His face turned solemn, almost to a frown.  “There’s something we need to discuss, and this won’t be easy to talk about.  I brought this up this with your parents, and they told me to go ahead and tell you.”

Uncle Jose’s change of attitude was so great that I was startled.  “I don’t understand.”

“I’ve already spoken to the captain, since I assumed you’d say yes.  And he assured me that his main crew will respect you as a girl and also as a Crofter.  But there are always new men brought on board.  And even though the regular crew is honorable as far as this captain knows, they are still men of the sea.  Mary, do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

“Your crew was always wonderful to me.”  As soon as I said this I started to think back to all the times the men had helped me.

“You were a young girl who was the daughter of the owner of the ship, and I was the captain who knew each man well.  If anyone had stepped out of line, he would have been run through or thrown overboard.  This will be different, and you must understand that you are older now, almost a woman if you aren’t already.  I don’t know how else to put it, but to say you will have to be on your guard at all times.  The captain will have a couple of his most trusted men watching over you, but even a caravel is a big enough boat that . . . well, no person can be looked after day and night.”

I hadn’t given what Uncle Jose was talking about a single thought, but I wasn’t scared.  “I’m not saying I can take down a saylor, but I know how to defend myself, and Mother has taught me how to hurt a man where it hurts the most.”

Uncle Jose let out a muffled laugh that might’ve been a groan.  “Always know who’s around you, and be aware that you’re going to constantly have to prove yourself.”

“Because I’m a girl?” I snapped, mad that I’d done so at Uncle Jose.

“Yes,” he came back just as fast, but then he smiled and showed his big teeth.  “Just be aware that nothing I have said was with the intent of trying to talk you off the boat.  I just don’t want you—”

“Uncle Jose, I’ve heard the men talk on the boats since I was first able to walk the decks.  Sometimes I’d hear things that I know I wasn’t supposed to, and as I got older many saylors didn’t even think I was not one of them, so I’m not unaware that men are going to be men at times.  I can handle myself, I promise.”

“Let us hope you don’t have to.”  He stared hard at me.  “At least with the crew.”

Mike Hartner

About the Author:

 

Mike Hartner was born in Miami in 1965. He’s traveled much of the continental United States. He has several years post secondary education, and experience teaching and tutoring young adults. Hartner has owned and run a computer firm for more than twenty-five years. He now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with his wife and child. They share the neighborhood and their son with his maternal grandparents.

 

His latest book is the historical romance, I, Mary.

For More Information

 

Thank you for hosting!

Media Contact:

Dorothy Thompson

Pump Up Your Book

P.O. Box 643

Chincoteague Island, Virginia 23336

Email: thewriterslife@gmail.com

Facebook, Google+, Pinterest

 

Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle – The Mote in God’s Eye (Moties #1) (audiobook)

100365

Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

In 3016, the 2nd Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to faster-than-light Alderson Drive. Intelligent beings are finally found from the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud. The bottled-up ancient civilization, at least one million years old, are welcoming, kind, yet evasive, with a dark problem they have not solved in over a million years.

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Audible Frontiers

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no www. Izvēlējos no Top 100 Sci-Fi Books grāmatu listes.

Vērtējums/Rating: 4/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Kāda gan būtu cilvēces reakcija pirmoreiz sastopoties ar pilnībā atšķirīgu, inteliģentu rasi? Parasti visās filmās agresori un tie, kas vēlas visu iznīcināt ir tieši citplanētieši, bet šoreiz sastapšanās notiek, kad cilvēce jau spējusi spert savus soļus Visuma apgūšanā un apdzīvošanā. Vairākkārt tiek minēta Otrā impērija un pirmo atceras ar godu, apbrīnu, bet ne pilnībā izskaidrots tās sabrukuma iemesli.

Sastaptajai rasei Moutiem(negribas dēvēt par Puteklīšiem) ir maz līdzību ar cilvēkiem. Ne tikai ārējā ziņā un fizioloģiski, bet arī kultūras, sabiedrības un izturēšanās ziņā; jāņem vērā, ka viņu rasei ir bijis gana ilgs laiks, lai attīstītos. Reizēm vien pēc mirkļa sapratu, ka skatpunkts ir pārslēdzies no cilvēku uz citplanētiešu.

Mouti par sevi rada draudu neradošu un varbūt pat muļķu iespaidu, bet tas tikai tādai iemidzināšanai, arī viņi veic savus pētījumus un novērojumus, ne tikai cilvēks, no kuriem daļai ir ļoti lielas grūtības uzticēties un grib labāk uzbrukt pirmie, jo tak nevar zinātu, kad viņi tā varētu izdarīt. Noslēgums vismaz uz miermīlīgākas un cerīgākas nots.

Dominē militārais aspekts; dažās atsauksmēs minēts, ka darbs ir seksistisks (nav daudz sieviešu dzimuma tēlu) un tēli stereotipiski, bet vai nu īpaši nemanīju, vai arī šoreiz tas netraucēja.

­                                                                                                                                           

What would be mankind’s reaction for the first time meeting absolutely different, intelligent race? Usually in the movies the aggressors and those who want to destroy everything are the aliens, but this time the encounter happens when humans have had their chance to explore and populate the Universe. Occasionally it is mentioned that now it’s the 2nd Empire of Man and the first one is remembered with honor and admiration, but it wasn’t completely explained why the first one collapsed.

The aliens (Motes) have very little similarity with human, not only visually but also with their culture, behavior and society module. Of course their race is more than a million years old and with plenty of time to evolve.  There were some moments when POV changed from human’s to Motie’s, and then it took me awhile to catch that.

Moties create an impression about themselves as nonthreatening and maybe even a bit dum, but that’s exactly what they want. Humans aren’t the only ones that study and examine the other side, Moties do the same. Some people have trouble with trusting and all they want is to strike first just because you never know when they might. At least the ending is on hopeful and more peaceful note.

The fact that this more of a military sci-fi is clear; in some reviews I read that this book is sexist (there wasn’t many female characters) and that characters are stereotypical, but maybe I didn’t notice it that much or this time it just wasn’t bothering me.