The Irish Tempest--Not Very Exciting Until the Last 50 Pages

The Irish Tempest by Elizabeth J. Sparrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although the title is The Irish Tempest, it is not clear if it is meant to refer to the spoiled, headstrong Lacey, who irritated me completely, or to the Irish attempt to gain independence from Britain. If the latter, there was certainly very little about the Troubles. Although the bulk of the book revolves around the relationship between Lacey and Court, the relationship between their two families was rather murky. This earlier section is sweet and pastoral, it is repetitious and doesn't really explore the Raj in India and Irish soldiers in a British Army, nor does it spend much time on World War I and any impact it may have had on Ireland or the families of the story.
Lacey's relationship with Ran and Court's with Katherine are strange undeveloped plot lines. Some characters are not mentioned for so long in the narrative, that I forgot how they fit in the story. I finished reading the book, because it was pleasant enough reading. It finally picked up speed and became interesting at the end when the RIC and British started to truly go at a war to decide Ireland's fate. The story ends at the point where Britain is trying to get either Collins or de Valera to take a deal and the family has suffered loss of family members and possessions and appear to be leaving for America. There is to be a sequel. I hope there is more depth to the story and less scope in time.

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Kinky--An Irish Country Girl

An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although I started this series with a giveaway ages ago for a book midway through, and loved it, the series really is far more enjoyable starting at the beginning. The story of the main character, Dr Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly and the village of Ballybucklebo with its various inhabitants, human and otherwise is simply a delight and builds from the first onward. This fourth book is a bit of departure, in that it focuses on the life of Dr O'Reilly's housekeeper, Kinky. Patrick Taylor, himself a doctor who hails from Ireland, brings the reader into Irish life of the 60's and medical life with ease. So, it comes as no surprise that he is able to keep this story closely aligned with the book that came before, which ends as Dr O'Reilly, his lady friend, Kitty and his assistant, Dr Laverty, return home to the Christmas dinner that Kinky is preparing throughout this book as she goes back in time to her days as a mid-teen girl in a family of two sisters and two brothers. We see Maureen O'Halloran, as a student and progressive young woman, who wishes to finish her education and become a teacher. She wants to marry but is in no hurry and hopes that when she does she will be able to continue teaching. We are transported back to the late 20's to a farm in Cork, where Irish folklore and belief in fairies is alive and well. Kinky tells the local children a story of the Saint Stephen's Day Ghost. When the children leave, we find that Maureen's sister was in love with Connor MacTaggart who crossed the dark fairies and was never allowed to rest--playing ghostly pipes and appearing to Maureen as a filmy spectre, unseen by the rest of the family, but her Ma. We meet Paudeen Kinkade the man Kinky met and married and we learn how it is that she now is widowed all these years later and working as a housekeeper, far from her ould home in Cork.
After this story, though Kinky is the nickname given her by Paudeen, in my mind's eye there will always be a shadow of Maureen OHalloran lurking behind Kinky in future visits to Ballybucklebo.

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Tune In: The Young Beatles!!

Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years by Mark Lewisohn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a delightful book, if very lengthy. Not a complaint at all since the writing is delightful and if you are, as I am, a devotee of the Beatles and their music, the length will not be a drawback to reading this book. Each of the four young men who were to become international stars, as well as some of the other musicians who fleetingly performed with them, either in groups that were the precursors of the final four or in other configurations, are followed from their earliest school days to the lip of fame in Germany as well as Liverpool. Since I am a contemporary of Paul, John, Ringo and George, I found myself thinking back to where I was and what I was doing as they were growing up in grimy Liverpool and stretching their wings into the exciting world of Rock and Roll. Weren't we all running home after school with the newest 45 and sitting on the floors of our bedrooms and playing the newest Holly or Elvis etc record over and over again? For some, it was too get down the chords on a guitar, for others it was too get down the lyrics to sing at the top of one's lungs. We all know the public Beatles and even some of the background of these men. Here we are invited into their homes and introduced to their family members. We are transported to the halls of their schools and the streets and buses of their youth. We stand by John's side as he meets Paul, through a mutual friend and then with Paul and John as Paul brings along the unbelievably young, George, to be accepted by John as lead guitar. We learn of Ringo's success as a drummer with another local band and his addition to a group that badly needs something besides a guitar. We are privy to the formation of lyrics and music of rejected songs and those that became hits. All in all, though we fans thought we knew those cute boys who changed our musical taste forever, we hardly knew them at all!
I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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A Laborious Slog--The Typewriter's Tale

The Typewriter's Tale by Michiel Heyns


It was just too hard to really get the rhythm of this book. Run on sentences almost too hard to follow and characters not at all appealing. After about a week of seriously trying to make progress, it was just not worth the effort. Unless one is an absolute lover of the convoluted writing of the 19th century liberally sprinkled with polysyllabic words, this is not the book for you.
This is a review of an ARC provided by BookBrowse in exchange for an honest review.

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Loyalty in Death--Written 16 Years Ago--Could Have Been Yesterday!! :(

Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Futuristic New York, Detective Dallas and husband, Roarke continue to involve the reader in the grisly crimes of the gritty streets. Peabody's brother comes to town and we learn a bit about her background through his inadvertent involvement in the most recent crime spree. This book hits very close to home with the intentional bombings of New York landmarks . Pthe olice anxiously attempt to identify the bombers through high tech use of computers, especially Roarke's illegal non-traceable ones capable of hacking through any " walls" and passwords to get Dallas and her crew the information she needs to determine the next target before the perps blow it up. The book was written before the Twin Towers were destroyed and so, sadly, they are possible sites to defend. The story keeps your heart racing and the mystery of who is holding the city for ransom is satisfactorily secret practically to the last bloody scene, in which Dallas and Roarke are seconds away from annihilation. One of the best of the series.

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An Irish Country Christmas--Perfect For This or Any Time of Year

An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is Christmastime in little Ballybucklebo and the doctors, Fingal Flahertie O' Reilly and his young assistant, Barry Laverty find themselves in the thick of things as usual. A former classmate of O'Reilly's has set up a practice in town and employing less than scientifically proven practices causing stress to both of our heroes--first for the possibly harmful but definitely non-helpful methods but also, in Barry's case, worry that the small town cannot support three full time doctors. There are the usual sniffles and coughs of the winter season with which to deal but also a home delivery of a breech birth and the discovery that the local dressmaker is less a heartless employer than she presents herself. Then, too, there is the burning of put away Christmas money of the widow Eileen who struggles to put something by for the three children she wishes Santa to visit.
Other than the professional, we find our men in the throes of romantic quandaries as well. Barry's girl, Patricia, who has embarked on a three year course of study in far off Cambridge, England appears to be quite engrossed in her new studies, her new friends and the offerings of an academic town and its proximity to London, where even more cultural and social opportunities exist. She seems less than Barry would hope in keeping her promise to return to Ireland for Christmas. This worries Barry that there may be another man and he wonders if he should perhaps think about finding a new interest, such as the young teacher in town. He is heart-sore and anguished, believing Patricia is the one and she, perhaps, not feeling the same about him.
Fingal, on the other hand, long a widower, who is still deeply in love with Dierdre, finds himself wondering if he should take up the pretty clear offer of a second chance with Caitlin O'Halloran, the love of his student days. He'd been dating when he met Dierdre and she, Kitty, had never married. Now, she is back in his life and he is enjoying her company. Should he commit more deeply? Is it time to move on?
Lastly, there are all the community dos--the big pageant where the children reenact the Christmas story--I laughed out loud for several minutes as that rolled out before my mind's eye! O' Reilly plays Santa passing out gifts to each of Ballybucklebo's chisellers. ( My Dad used that term for us kids and I never understood it. I couldn't figure out how we had chiselled anything. Through these stories I realize it is an Irish expression for kids! He must have gotten it from his Irish born mother, who died before I was born.) And the marvelous Kinky, Mrs Kinkaid, provides some of the food on the baquet tables.
Not to be forgotten, there are the two more fancy gatherings--party at Ballybucklebo House, home of the local Marquis and the party at the Councillor's, Bertie and Flo Bishops. These on Christmas morning after roast goose and Midnight Mass the night before. All culminates with Christmas dinner at One Main, where Kinky presents a roast turkey, a roast ham and all the fixings. No wonder Fingal needed his Santa pants let out and Kinky tried, to no avail to put him on a diet before all the holiday feast began.
And so, the year of 1964 is coming to an end for our friends. The Canadians have a new flag--the maple leaf--I remember when that happened. Catholic Masses would soon be said in the vernacular--a decision I always hated-loving the elegance of the Latin Mass. What will 1965 bring for them? I cannot wait to see in the next installment of Patrick Taylor's wonderful series.

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Far Beyond Big Brother--Burning Bright

Burning Bright by Nicholas Petrie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The prologue of this book is twelve pages long. By the time I finished I knew I liked this girl, June Cassidy. She has grit and intelligence and is an independent competent woman. My kind of girl. Didn't know Peter Ash from Petrie's previous book, the Drifter, but again, as he escaped a bear by climbing a redwood sapling and then encountered June high in the canopy, it was all in for the quest.
Each chapter is written from the perspective of either one or the other of them and, in time, from the perspective of other characters. This is not to say the chapter is narrated by the character but rather that the character's background and action is revealed as the plot develops. It is clever and smooth and keeps widening the story.
Although Peter is suffering from PTSD and gets extremely claustrophobic and panicky when confined, even for a short time and although this condition definitely has an effect on the action, it is not the main theme of the story. The main theme is the development of an algorithm of artificial intelligence which is capable of growing and becoming ever more capable of making decisions and solving problems without any human involvement. Obviously, such a tool is extremely desirable to many entities, government, private entities without a clear description. Its creator is June's mother, who has died in a hit and run and whose home and office have both been cleared out by agents, who have also attempted to kidnap June. So she is on the run and Peter finds her in the redwood canopy after being confronted by a grizzly on a casual hike.
While this plot is engrossing and the pairing of these two in an attempt to sort out who is who and what is what and where is safe, it is the whole concept of such an algorithm that kept me reading. My parents were born in 1901 and 1903--they saw much in technological development in their lives. Except for nuclear power I cannot remember them ever expressing fear about any of the advances and even then they weren't paralyzed with fear and had no problem with nuclear energy. I was born in 1942 and nothing that I've experienced has caused me anything but wonder at the advancements. Taught science, including physics and chemistry for years, and remember the first time we had computers in the school--writing our own programs with flow charts and cassette tapes.
But, what that virtual highway, zoom,zoom ( remember that commercial? I had no idea what it meant at the time--I think it was Cysceo ?) would lead to was so beyond my comprehension, I was fascinated. But now, I feel fearful. I remember the Northeast blackout and understood the part computers played in it but never realized how much more powerful these things could become. That part of the book was like science fiction, only it is science but it isn't fiction! Where will it lead, I wonder?
This is a review of an uncorrected proof, provided me by Goodreads in a giveaway in exchange for a review.

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