bonus books

hello there


i have, for all sorts of fairly good reasons which i am not inclined, look you see, to share, been spending some time in hotels across our fair land. well, when i say "our", that presumes you mean i speak of us English, or if you will British. anyway, when doing so, my imagination stretches quite as far as seeing this as time to do some top level, or if you will hardcore, reading.

and so, peculiarly perhaps, i find myself in a situation where i can do some more overviews, comments, or i suppose reviews of two books that i have read. this despite the fact that earlier in the month i already did two.

sadly, due to my penchant or preference for using the ereader (mostly) as and when on my travels, i cannot present you with images of the covers together as such. but i can, should you wish for it, give you a look at the front of the ereader.

yes, i know, not the most exciting picture i have ever put on here, but it shall just have to do, i'm afraid. actually no, i am not really afraid, but that seems to be the right thing to say in these circumstances. or, is it?

moving on, then, and a brief overview of what i read, keeping it spoiler free. first off was The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton (that one) and James Patterson (that one). this was actually really rather good, and the best description i can give it is a faster paced prime Tom Clancy style to it. second was The Fox by Frederick Forsyth. this one had a remarkably similar theme to the other book - that of "cyber terrorism" - but wasn't really as good. still, provided light reading.

the provenance of the copy or if you will volume of any book i read is, surprisingly, of interest to quite a few of you. well, in this instance, that - the provenance - for both novels would be "internet", since as mentioned they were read on one of them ereader things. beyond that, please note that from here on out a *** SPOILER WARNING *** is in place for both novels.

my curiosity was somewhat piqued when i learned that a former President of the United States of America (a "POTUS", no less) had, in conjunction with a writer i was aware of but had not read much by, unleashed a work of fiction on to the literary world. let me have a look at this, said i. well, more of a read than a look, and so off i went to read The President Is Missing. in a hotel, mostly. but you don't have to check into a hotel to read it, so far as i would be aware.

plot? in a surprising move, former "POTUS" Bill Clinton has elected to make - get this - a serving POTUS the protagonist of the novel. well, write what you know, kid. anyway, this is a president under siege somewhat, facing calls for impeachment, etc, and no nothing to do with "sexual relations with that woman". in the midst of this, he is aware of  sophisticated "cyber" internet terrorist attack being imminent on the United States, and for that matter much of the Western world. for reasons i shall not disclose here, so as to leave some element of suspense for any of you who may care to read it, he has to act on this knowledge and information quickly, secretly and just about all alone. will he be able to leave the White House undetected, wander the streets of America without being spotted and manage to thwart an attack which threatens to send America back to the years before there was such a thing as a computer?

let us be honest here, i would think you could answer that question all by yourself without reading the novel. but, in truth, and surprisingly to me, you would indeed be missing out on a quite wonderful read. a couple of people i have mentioned this to have suggested - cynically or truthfully - that this book is probably less by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, more their respective "ghost writers". don't care really, whoever wrote what in this novel - and you would think a key speech off of the president in the novel was penned by Clinton himself - did so superbly well. it's a fun, thrilling read; one that i was reluctant to put down.

if i were to have a complaint, it would be that the title is misleading. well, that and the grandstanding speech mentioned just now, but anyway. yes, to some characters in the novel the president is "missing", but as much of the work is first person narrative off of the president, this is not really a "where is he" mystery sort of thing. but that said, you know, i would have no idea what other title they could have given it.

with a soft spot for the man who wrote The Day Of The Jackal i elected to pick up and try the latest offering off of Frederick Forsyth, then, The Fox. in doing so i had absolutely no idea of the plot (ebooks, alas, are not noted for having a back cover with the rudimentary details on them), so didn't know i was dipping once more into the realm of "cyber terrorism".

the plot in this instance? a gangling, socially inept English teenager is caught breaking into a supposedly impenetrable US military database. he did no harm, just "had a look". the American authorities, as is their way, very much wish to "bust his ass" and send him to Gitmo or death. the British prime minister, however, convinces our friends in America that it would be much more beneficial to use his "hacking" talents on mutual enemies.

and so this young lad, code named The Fox (hence the title of the novel, now that i think on), is set up to go and hack away at the various enemies America and the UK have somehow accumulated (despite decades of spectacular success with foreign policy). causing all sorts of mayhem. these enemies, however, soon wise up to what is going on, and elect to undertake an ambitious fox hunt, using certain dogs of war......

the best way i can describe this is "readable rubbish". characters are one dimensional, plot twists and turns are both convenient and convoluted, and the whole thing is a very simplified application of the Daily Express / Daily Mail brigades "British is Best in the eyes of the world" approach to life. everything about cyber terrorism - what it is, what hacking actually involves, what it can achieve - is in this novel precisely what you might think an 80 year old would just assume it is all about. much of it appears to long for a return to the "good old days" of the Cold War.

but, ultimately, it is a good, fun read. exciting in parts, to be sure, and yet also unintentionally "laugh out loud" funny. like, for instance, and i remind you of the spoiler warning, the bit when Russia's greatest ever covert sniper is thwarted and found short by a wily old Scottish gamekeeper. in truth, and in fairness, often you can't but help wish that the world in some way worked like Frederick Forsyth imagines it to.

right, then, that's that. at present i am back on more traditional books, as in i am reading a paperback. just as soon as i have read two such things, a post will be made here. no doubt this will be in 2019, rather than in the last five or so days of this year.

as ever, most splendid and happy a thing is it should any of this have been of any use to someone out there.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!