2018 Books Read

  1. ***Find a Victim (Ross MacDonald). Lew Archer is driving to Sacramento when, north of Bakersfield, he comes across a man who is shot. He ends up sticking around in the area to figure out what was going on. 1/3
  2. ***Hunter/Prey (Sam Sisavath). The first Allie Krycek novel, in which ten years of searching for her sister’s killer come to a conclusion. 1/3
  3. ***Finders/Keepers (Sam Sisavath). The third Allie Krycek novel. All three were very good and quick reads. 1/5
  4. *East of West (Jonathan Hickman, 2015). An incomprehensible graphic novel. I’m not even to attempt to tell what it’s about. 1/8
  5. ***Battle Lines (Arthur Bradley). The 5th Survivalist book. 1/9
  6. ***Finest Hour (Arthur Bradley). The 6th Survivalist book. Both Mason and Tanner, having finally met up, leave on separate missions to stop President Pike. 1/10
  7. ****End Game (David Baldacci, 2017). The 5th Will Robie/Jessica Reel thriller finds them in Colorado, mixing it up with cultists and neo-Nazis, and they search for Blue Man, who has gone missing. 1/13
  8. **Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes (Neil Gaman). The first Sandman volume. A little too weird for my taste, but certainly great art. 1/16
  9. ***The Cleaner (Brett Battles). The first in this series. Takes place in the US, Vietnam, and Berlin. Kind of interesting, but didn’t interest me enough to read the rest of the series. 1/19
  10. ****Hallowed Ground (James MacPherson). A superb, short history of the battle of Gettysburg. Tells it like taking a tour of the current battlefield, with lots of interesting anecdotes. Loved it. 1/19
  11. ***Winter Kill (Bill Brooks). The second (or maybe 3rd) John Henry Cole book. A western in which Cole and a couple others go after an old flame, who is being tracked by assassins. 1/21
  12. ***Fire and Fury (Michael Wolff, 2017). A controversial book about the Trump administration. Pretty good. 1/26
  13. ***Dawn of the Hunter (Blake Banner). The first Omega series book. Former SAS commando Lacklan Walker goes looking for his ex and gets drawn into a big international conspiracy. Pretty good. 2/2
  14. ****Sniper’s Honor (Stephen Hunter). The latest Bob Lee Swagger novel takes him to Russia to learn what happened to a top-notch Russian woman sniper. Alternates between the present and World War II. Fascinating. 2/7
  15. ***Double Edged Blade (Blake Banner). The 2nd Omega book finds Lacklan following Marni to Tucson, where he becomes involved in a drugs and human trafficking operation. The Omega plot advances a little bit. 2/9
  16. **The Storm (Blake Banner). The 3rd Omega book finds Lacklan heading to New Orleans to find Marni, but gets sidetracked in Baton Rouge helping a former SAS comrade who is accused of murder. The whole book follows that plot, and ignores the Omega conspiracy. I didn’t even care how it turned out–just raced through the ending pages. 2/14
  17. ****Blood on Snow (Jo Nesbo, 2015). A stand-alone, non-Harry-Hole book. This one follows a mob killer with a good heart, sort of. He’s supposed to kill his boss’s wife, but doesn’t follow through. Plenty of violence. 2/19
  18. ***Twisted Truth (Melinda Leigh, 2013). The first in the Rogue Justice series. Kind of interesting, pretty well written, but I’ll probably not read any more of the series. 2/25
  19. **Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War Over the Truth (Howard Kurtz, 2018). Kurtz reviews press coverage of Trump’s first year. It’s mostly anti-press, and he makes totally valid points. But it gets old. As he covers each episode, he cherry-picks the worst things said about Trump, whether or not they are truly representative of the coverage. 3/1
  20. ****Last Stand (Arthur Bradley). The 7th Survivalist book brings the initial story line to a close. But there are three more books in the series, so far. I love this series. 3/4
  21. ***Arisen 1: Fortress Britain (Glynn James/Michael Stephen Fuchs). The first Arisen book. The world has been overrun buy zombies, but Great Britain has been secured at humanity’s last stronghold. The story revolves around some special forces and attempts to find a cure. Well written. 3/8
  22. ***Arisen 2: Mogadishu of the Dead (Glynn James/Michael Stephen Fuchs). The 2nd Arisen book finds Alpha Team parachuting into Chicago to find information about a possible cure. 3/10
  23. ***Arisen 3: Three Parts Dead (Glynn James/Michael Stephen Fuchs). The 3rd Arisen book finds Alpha Team on the Michigan coast with a woman survivalist and her family. 3/11
  24. ****Following Francis (Susan Pitchford, 2006). A lay Tertiary’s comments on applying the teachings of St. Francis to modern-day life. 3/17
  25. ****The Big Fat Kill (Frank Miller). The third Sin City book. This one follows the Clive Owen part of the Sin City movie. 3/18
  26. **The Reckoning (Robert J. Thomas). The first Jess Williams western. He starts as a kid, sees his family murdered, trains himself as a gunfighter, and sets off for vengeance. He kills a lot of people. 3/19
  27. ***Brother’s Keeper (Robert J. Thomas). The second Jess Williams western. He runs into his twin brothers, a bad seed, in this one. I think I’ll not read any more in the series. 3/22
  28. ***The Greatest of These is Love (Lori Pieper, 2013). The life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. 3/24
  29. **The Hunter (Richard Stark, Darwyn Cooke, 2012). A graphic novel based on the first Parker book. Stays pretty true to the book. 4/1
  30. ***The Bridge at Andau (James Michener, 1957). The story of the Hungarian Revolution. 4/4
  31. ****Winterkill (C.J . Box, 2004). A federal official is killed, a group of sovereigns set up camp, a crazy FBI woman comes to town, and April’s biological mother gets custody. Lots of stuff happening. 4/8
  32. ***Dead Aim (Joe Lansdale). A Hap & Leonard Novella. 4/9
  33. ***Hoodoo Harry (Joe Lansdale). A Hap Leonard novella. 4/10
  34. ***Cold Cotton ((Joe Lansdale). A Hap Leonard novella. 4/10
  35. ****The Black Book (James Patterson, 2017). An excellent cop thriller set in Chicago. 4/19
  36. ****Still Evangelical? (InterVarsity Press). Twelve persons write about the state of evangelicalism and its challenges in the Trump era. 4/21
  37. ***Consent to Kill (Vince Flynn, 2005). The next Mitch Rapp book for me. A Saudi, whose son Rapp killed, commissions contract killers to take out Rapp. 4/22
  38. **American Guerrilla (Mike Guardia, 2015). A biography of Russell Volckman, who escaped the fall of Bataan and led a large guerrilla army in the Philippines. He’s credited as launching American special forces. Not very well written, but a story that needed to be told. 4/25
  39. ****Protect and Defend (Vince Flynn, 2007). The 10th Mitch Rapp book. This time, the bad guys are Iranians. 4/28
  40. ****Russian Assassin (Jack Arbor, 2016). The first in a series. This was a very pleasant surprise, being a 99-cent epub. Ranks up there with the best thriller writers. I went immediately into the second book in what is currently a three-book series. 5/1
  41. ****The Pursuit (Jack Arbor, 2016). The second Max Austin book. It’s really a sequel to Russian Assassin, and brings that story to a close. 5/7
  42. ***The Biography of Jonathan Weaver (Henry Adams Thompson). The life of Jonathan Weaver, UB Bishop 1865-1900. 5/8
  43. ****The Long Lavender Look (John McDonald, 1970). Intrigue in a small town where McGee and Meyer are initially arrested for murder. 5/12
  44. ****A Tan and Sandy Silence (John McDonald, 1971). McGee tries to track down the missing wife of a construction exec, a woman he once had a fling with. Takes him to Granada. 5/20
  45. ***Hell Hath No Fury (Charles G. West, 2017). First book about an army tracker named Hawk. Pretty good. 5/22
  46. ****Grizzly Killer (Lane R. Warenski, 2017). First in the Grizzly Killer series, about a mountain man from the 1820s.
  47. ****On Target (Mark Greaney, 2010). The 2nd Gray Man book. Really good. 6/1
  48. ****Starship Conquest (David VanDyke, 2014). Vandyke has written 18 books in the Plague Wars series, grouped into mini-series of six books. This is the first book of the third mini-series–in other words, the 13th book in the series. It starts a new series with the Conquest, a huge ship from earth, arriving in a solar system governed by their enemies. Fighting starts pretty quickly. I really enjoyed it. 6/3
  49. ****American Heritage History of Early America: 1492-1776 (Robert G. Ahearn, 2016). A wonderful, short history of the American continent, starting with Columbus and going up to the Revolutionary War. 6/6
  50. ****Camino Island (John Grisham, 2017). The first Grisham novel I’ve read in over 20 years. Involves the original F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts stolen from Princeton’s archives, and FBI sting to recover them, and a bookstore owner in Camino Island in Florida. Loved it. 6/9
  51. ****Desolator: Conquest (David VanDyke, 2014). Second in the Stellar Conquest series. A massive but heavily damaged alien ship comes into the Giliese 370 system. It’s artificial intelligence system control the ship, but has gone “insane.” 6/10
  52. ****Nobody Runs Forever (Richard Stark, 2004). Parker and a couple others engineer a robbery in Massachusetts, as money is being transferred from one bank to another. 6/22
  53. ****Ask the Parrot (Richard Stark, 2005). On the run after the caper in the previous book, Parker finds himself in a small Pennsylvania town getting involved in another heist. 6/25
  54. ***Mission to Universe (Gordon R. Dickson). An earthship explores the galaxy looking for another planet that can sustain human life. 6/25
  55. ****Tactics of Conquest (David VanDyke, 2013). The third book in the Stellar Conquest series finds the starship Conquest, refitted with advanced alien technology, return to earth to take on the Meme, who had conquered the system decades ago. 7/2
  56. ****The Final Day (William Forstchen, 2017). The third John Matherson novel, which started with One Second After, in which an EMP left the USA without electric power, leading to massive societal meltdown. Really good. I thought it would conclude the trilogy, but I suspect it’ll continue. 7/3
  57. ****Back of Beyond (C.J. Box, 2011). Introducing Cody Holt, who discovers a serial killer is part of a packhorse expedition into Yellowstone which his son is part of. 7/14
  58. ***History of Virginia UB Conference (A. B. Funkhouser, 1921). Very good history of Virginia Conference. 7/18
  59. ****The Highway (C.J. Box, 2013). Follow-up to Back of Beyond, and introducing Cassie Dewell, who will star in the third book, The Badlands. Two girls from “Back of Beyond” are kidnapped by a trucker. Cody Hoyt and Cassie to the rescue. Really really good. 7/19
  60. ***The Slavery Question (John Lawrence, 1852). An excellent book by the former United Brethren editor, hitting many aspects of slavery. Some very disturbing stuff. 7/21
  61. ****Woman of God (Maxine Paetro/James Patterson, 2017). Very different for a James Patterson book: the religious journey of a Catholic woman. I really liked it. 7/21
  62. ***The Last Man, Book 4 (Brian Vaughan). The fourth collection in the Last Man series.  7/24
  63. ***The Last Man, Book 5 (Brian Vaughan). The fifth and final collection in the Last Man series.  7/26
  64. **Citadel (Stephen Hunter, 2016). A novella in the Bibliomysteries series. Set in France during WW2, with a British agent going behind the lines to recover a book. So so. Certainly not up to normal Stephen Hunter calibre. 7/28
  65. **Pronghorns of the Third Reich (C. J. Box). Another novella in the Bibliomysteries series. 7/29
  66. ****Unbelievable (Katy Tur, 2017). NBC reporter Katy Tur tells the story of the 2016 president campaign, during which she covered Donald Trump. A fun read. 8/4
  67. *****Calico Joe (John Grisham, 2012). A wonderful story about a fictitious rookie phenom, the pitcher who ended his career, and the pitcher’s son, who tells the story. 8/6
  68. ***Hap and Leonard (Joe Lansdale, 2016). Novellas and short stories involving Hap and Leonard. 8/7
  69. ****The Soul of America (John Meacham, 2017). Meacham looks at how presidents, from Lincoln to LBJ, responded to the crises of the moment. 8/13
  70. ***The Life of Bishop David Edwards (Lewis Davis). Biography of David Edwards, UB bishop for 27 years until his death in 1876. 8/14
  71. ***Fatemarked (David Estes, 2017). The first in a fantasy series. Pretty good, but I don’t think I’ll continue. There is no music, a la Tolkien, in the prose. 8/17
  72. ****The Burning Hills (Louis L’Mour, 1956). A short book involving a group of ranchhands chasing one man through the southern Arizona desert. Quite good. 8/18
  73. ****Taggart (Louis L’Mour, 1959). The title character, being chased by a bounty hunter, ends up with a man, his wife, and sister who are running a gold mine in a very secluded place in southern Arizona. Some Indian fighting. 8/19
  74. ***Family Values (Frank Miller). The fifth Sin City book. Kind of features Mijo. 8/22
  75. ****Mistborn: the Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson, 2010). First in the Mistborn trilogy, a fantasy series. Trying to overthrow a 1000-year emperor. 9/2
  76. ****Mistborn: the Well of Ascension (Brandon Sanderson, 2010). Second in the Mistborn trilogy. Facing new threats. 9/17
  77. ****The Midnight Hour (Lee Child, 2017). Jack Reacher, browsing in a pawn shop, find the ring of a West Point graduate, a woman’s ring. He sets out to find her. 9/21
  78. ****G-Man (Stephen Hunter, 2017). Bob Swagger sets out to learn the story of his grandfather, an Arkansas sheriff from the 1920s and 1930s who became involved in the FBI’s 1934 battles with the John Dillinger gang. 9/24
  79. **Transmission (Morgan Rice, 2018). The first of a trilogy about what is leading up to an alien invasion. A boy with a brain disorder of some kind can understand transmissions coming from a distant star system. I got bored. Won’t read any more. 9/25
  80. **The Black Company (Glen Cook, 1992). The first of a trilogy about what a mercenary force serving a witch queen. Told by the company’s historian/doctor. A bit confusing sometimes, the way he writes. I may or may not read more. 10/4
  81. ****Dirty Money (Richard Stark). The final Parker novel. Seems to have been designed to be the last one. Ties up some loose ends, and harks back to early novels in the series. 10/13
  82. *Red River Revenge (Robert Vaughn). A really terrible Western. 10/16
  83. ****Trophy Hunt (C. J. Box). The fourth Joe Pickett novel. Cows, and then two humans, are being killed and mutilated. Really good story. 10/21
  84. ****The Broken Sword (Poul Anderson, 1953). A wonderful fantasy set in Britain, with elves and trolls fighting it out, beyond the view of mortal men. Published the same year as the Lord of the Rings. Loved this book. 10/25
  85. *****The Winter King (Bernard Cornwell). The first book in Cornwell’s trilogy about King Arthur. 11/4
  86. ***Dark Days (Arthur Bishop). The 8th book in the Survivalist series. Sort of gives the series a new start. 11/5
  87. ****Freedom Lost (Arthur Bishop). The 9th Survivalist book. 11/7
  88. ****The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (David Lagercrantz, 2017). Another outstanding Lisbeth Salander book. Would be the 5th in the series, the second by Lagercrantz. 11/9
  89. ****Black Hat Jack (Joe Lansdale, 2012). A short western with lots of Indian fighting. Set in Texas in 1774. Very good and fun. 11/9
  90. *****The People vs. Alex Cross (Richard Patterson, 2017). Another superb Alex Cross book with a lot of different plotlines–including going on trial for a double murder, and blonde girls being abducted. 11/11
  91. ***Underground to Palestine (I.F. Stone, 1956). Reporting 1946-1956 about the birth of Israel. 11/13
  92. ****Ironside (Robert Knott). The first book by Knott in Robert Parker’s Hitch and Cole western series. He does a good job with the characters. I’ll read more. 11/14
  93. *****Enemy of God (Bernard Cornwell). The second part of Cornwell’s amazing trilogy about King Arthur. 11/20
  94. *****Excalibur (Bernard Cornwell). The conclusion of Cornwell’s trilogy about King Arthur. This is an incredible series. 11/28
  95. ****Sackett’s Land (LouisL’Amour). The first Sackett novel. It involves Barnabas Sackett, a peasant in England who gets in trouble with a royal jerk, and ends up trying to escape to the New World. 11/30
  96. ****To the Far Blue Mountains (Louis L’Amour). The second Sackett novel. It again stars Barnabas Sackett, and the first half takes place mostly in England–not my favorite part. But then he makes it to the New World, along with a rag-tag group of former pirates, and begins a life there. Marries, has kids. 12/2
  97. **The Religious Instruction of the Negroes (Charles Colcock Jones). A Presbyterian pastor in Georgia makes the argument for providing Christian education to black slaves. But in no way advocates freeing them. 12/3
  98. ****All These Condemned (John MacDonald). A wealthy woman throws a party at her mansion, and then gets killed. Each chapter gives recollections of a different person attending the party. Very good. 12/9
  99. ***Hell and Back (Frank Millar). A Sin City book. A different character than I’ve seen. 12/10
  100. ***Booze, Broads, and Bullets (Frank Miller). The final Sin City book. It’s a collection of different stories. 12/12
  101. ****Midnight Sun (Jo Nesbo, 2016). A stand-alone, about a mob “fixer” on the run in the far northern part of Norway. Loved it. Actually read earlier in the year. 12/?
  102. ****Paradise Valley (CJ Box, 2017). The fourth book in the Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell series. Kind of brings the original story line to a close. Excellent. 12/16
  103. **Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates). About living as a black  American, and about a lot of black grievances. A bit too artsy for me. 12/15
  104. ***D-Day Through German Eyes (Holger Eckhertz, 2016). The story of one German soldier from each of the five major beaches on which the Allies landed on D-Day. Fascinating. 12/15
  105. ****Light it Up (Nick Petrie, 2018). The fourth Peter Ash book, another winner. A company that transports money for marijuana growers is being targeted, and Ash is in the middle of it. 12/22
  106. **Blood of Elves (Andrzej Sakpowski). The first of the Witcher books. Not impressed. 12/23
  107. ****Hero of Ages (Brandon Sanderson). The final book in Sanderson’s “Mistborn” series. Very strong ending to the series. 12/31
Share Button