Among all the Dan Simmons book I’ve been reading in the last few weeks, I think this is the weakest, while also suggesting a much tighter, better book within. Perhaps that’s why he followed this book up with three shorter noir books in the Joe Kurtz series. He creates an interesting character, a former Marine sniper who later became a transportation crash expert through a doctorate and work on the Challenger explosion (this is the second thing I’ve read that Dan Simmons wrote about the […]

The second book in the Hyperion Cantos, and the direct sequel to the book Hyperion. From what I can gather the next two books are more spin-offs and far sequels, so my plan is to wait on those a little. We begin in the fallout of the first book, which is mostly told in storytelling and flashback. Hyperion is a mystical planet with a godlike creature on it that if captured, beaten in battle, or wooed can grant a wish. In the first book, several […]

Hardcase There’s a tell early in this novel about what exactly we’re dealing with here. It’s neo noir book written by Dan Simmons, who is mostly known for science fiction and horror, but who has dabbled in some other genres. The tell is that a character mentions loving the Richard Stark “Parker” books, but hates the prissy Donald Westlake books. Donald Westlake and Richard Stark are the same person (Donald Westlake), and the Westlake books tend to be light-hearted and funny, while the Stark books […]