Category: General

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson

Not sure why this book is such a sensation; I found most of it pretty boring, and the author obviously enjoyed writing about the rape and murder of women WAY too much. I don’t think I care to read the other two books in the series, but maybe my mood will change after I get …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/11/08/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-by-stieg-larrson/

With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge

Reading this gut-wrenching memoir has definitely cured me of any desire to be a hero. E.B. Sledge writes graphically but unaffectedly of war and its horrors, and of the heroic young men who fought against the Japanese in the Second World War. The account is inspiring, of admiration if not exactly emulation. Particularly gruesome is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/10/19/with-the-old-breed-by-e-b-sledge/

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I had a hard time getting into this story, but halfway into it I couldn’t put it down. The main problem for me was the protagonist, who isn’t very likeable and isn’t someone I felt like rooting for. But once the Games begin the pages begin to turn very quickly. This is a gut-wrenching story …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/10/10/the-hunger-games-by-suzanne-collins/

Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King

I recently finished the Dark Tower series, which is mostly fantasy rather than horror, so I had forgotten how utterly creepy Stephen King’s imagination can be. I had been of the opinion that King peaked in the 80’s and had lost his touch since then, but this collection of stories has forced me to revise …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/09/28/nightmares-and-dreamscapes-by-stephen-king/

An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson

This book goes a long way toward dismissing the notion that America’s triumph in World War II was inevitable. Operation Torch in North Africa was full of mistakes and setbacks for the Allies, with generals blaming each other for failures and British and Americans viewing each other with contempt and mistrust. The French, contrary to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/09/04/an-army-at-dawn-by-rick-atkinson/

Dickens, Dali, and Others by George Orwell

Aside from a couple of masterpieces that everyone is familiar with, most of Orwell’s fiction is not very good. His essays, however, are nothing short of brilliant. Most of these were written shortly before, during, or shortly after World War II, and even though the subjects are mostly literary his arguments are quite political, in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/08/30/dickens-dali-and-others-by-george-orwell/

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The biography of Steve Jobs is a study in how a complete asshole can nevertheless be a powerful force for good in the world. It is also a study in successful executive management and business leadership. Jobs was not an engineer; he did not personally design or build any of the hardware or software at …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/06/19/steve-jobs-by-walter-isaacson/

Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez

This book offers a story relevant to current political issues as well as a peek into what the warfare of the future may look like. Americans are by now used to drone warfare; that is, drone warfare conducted by US. But what happens when the United States government is no longer the sole operator of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/06/18/kill-decision-by-daniel-suarez/

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This book is quite simply the most enthralling work of fiction that I have read in the last twenty years. The building of a cathedral in itself is not terribly interesting; what is interesting is the way in which individuals thrown upon their own resources struggle to survive in a harsh medieval world. And the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2013/03/11/the-pillars-of-the-earth-by-ken-follett/

Bag of Bones by Stephen King

This is the WORST Stephen King novel I have ever read. No zombies, no vampires, no demons, just a writer dealing with writer’s block. No doubt this is Stephen King’s worst nightmare, but it hardly makes for an interesting story for the general reader. There are some ghosts and haunting going on, but most of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2012/10/26/bag-of-bones-by-stephen-king/