The Naked Sun (1957)

Author: Isaac Asimov | Page Count: 208

'Perhaps it was annoyance that caused him to forget.  It was Daneel who annoyed him, he thought, with his unemotional approach to problems.  Or perhaps it was himself, with his emotional approach.'

The sequel to Asimov's The Caves of Steel (1954) is the second full length novel in his Robot Series. It once again pairs up the Earth-born Detective Elijah Baley (now a C- 6) with the Spacer Robot Danell Olivaw.

It begins with a brief journey to help the reader recall what happened one year before. It doesn't recount all the events of the previous novel, it just helps set the scene and reminds us of the working relationship between the two men.

Elijah, who's spent his entire life in the vast underground cities of Earth, has to venture to one of the Outer Worlds, Solaria, to investigate a murder. Why do the usually self-sufficient and technologically superior Spacers need terrestrial assistance to investigate a murder on their private soil? No human has set foot on Solaria in over a thousand years. And why did they choose him, speicifically?

In the previous novel it was Danell who was the outsider; now it's Elijah, and he's way out of his comfort zone. He's forced to use his talents to uncover the murderer, while simultaneously struggling with fears about the environment.

The difference between the two cultures seems staggering at first, and any hope of finding the killer impossible, but Lije knows there's more at stake than just his own reputation: he's a representative of Earth, and he's determined to show the arrogant Spacers that Earthmen aren't as stunted as they seem to think, even if that means pushing a few angry buttons.

The story moves along at a steady pace, in a typical mystery novel way. The ending makes it clear that everything up to that point was merely to facilitate what Asimov wanted to say from the beginning, but by using the unique characteristics of Bailey and R. Daneel he was able to better achieve that goal, and in true sci-fi style he manages to both look to the future while referencing the present and the past.

3½ long-distance relationships out of 5

Death in Five Boxes (1938)

Author: John Dickson Carr | Page Count: 310

"After inspecting the wreckage, he sat down on the running-board of the car, picked up a banana, peeled it, and malevolently began to eat it."

Death in Five Boxes is the seventh of Carr's Sir Henry Merrivale stories, and although it's one of the weakest, it still has some lovely riddles. It's an entertaining, borderline comical murder mystery with a cast of characters who almost feel like they've come out of a board game. In fact, there's much that feels game like about this tale. Characters bounce theories off each other like players trying their hardest to put together a solution to a complicated brainteaser.

The appeal of Carr's mysteries lies largely in his impossible crimes and intricate puzzles, and unfortunately, this might be this tale's biggest flaw. The main trick is a great one, but it's so good that it's been lifted and reused time and time again. The minor mysteries aren't as satisfying to solve, and one solution in particular feels rather cheap. Still, the mystery itself is fairly solid, and an intrepid detective should be able to solve it before Merrivale makes his grand reveal.

This is a story only for mystery die hards. The writing and characters are nothing special, and there's not much to recommend aside from the thrill of puzzle solving. Still, it's a quick read, and if you'd like to work your way up to the best Carr has to offer, it's not a bad read.

 2 suspicious uncles chucking flowerpots at constables out of 5.

Frozen Heat (2012)

Author: Richard Castle | Page Count: 313

Just like back then, dazed, empty, and terribly alone, she watched a forensics team work that same apartment from the same perspective. Surrounded by broken glass and toppled furnishings, Nikki felt as shaken as any earthquake could cause her to feel, making the very ground under her feet suspect and untrustworthy.

The book series is following the same ramping up of the TV series as the plot is now getting more involved in a central plot rather than stand alone mysteries and the stakes are getting bigger. Detective Nikki Heat shows up to her latest crime scene of a murdered woman shoved into a suitcase and left in the back of a refrigerator truck, but is unaware of how this case will possibly upend her life and perspective just like the earthquakes that are shaking up New York.

This 4th book in the series feels both the same and different from the others. It still reads like an unused script from the show, but less so and doesn't follow the same pattern as the others. The characters are starting to feel like regular characters rather than the parodies of the TV counterparts that they actually are. Whether because it is written better or because this far into the series I have just come to accept it is debatable, but it doesn't change the fact that this installment felt much more enthralling and engaging than the others. The writing is still crisp with an effective mix of drama and snarky comedy. Just like the show it is tied into. Effective cross media stuff.

4 Assaulting your boss always nets a dream vacation out of 5

A Darker Magic (1987)

Author: Michael Bedard | Page Count: 184

He sat up on the bed and suddenly caught sight of his reflection in the dresser mirror in front of him.
And then an incredible thing happened. It was as if the image rippled suddenly, like a piece of painted scenery in a play. And when it settled again he found himself staring at a totally different room. It was barren and devastated. Hunks of plaster dangled from the wall, leaving the lathing gaping through like bone. The walls were covered in crayon scrawl.
He swung around... The room was as it had been before.

A horror story about an odd teenage boy with an affinity for magic tricks and the 3 protagonists who cross paths with him and investigate his mysterious nature like why no one can seem to ever find him and what his possible connections are to an incident in an abandoned train depot decades earlier that has haunted the older schoolteacher ever since.

The tale is pretty standard stuff and really just a step above a cruddy campfire scary story, but Bedard is at least competent in his writing and does a decent job of giving world building detail to make the stock story interesting and the characters fleshed out enough to at least see it through to the end. If you are inclined to like such horror stories this might be up your alley. There are better options surely, but genuinely decent passages like the quote above put it above lesser choices. Plus it was clearly written for  a younger audience so I can't bash it for not being to my taste and it is pretty decent for being his first novel.

2½ stabbing disembodied heads magic tricks... for kids! out of 5

The Caves of Steel (1954)

Author: Isaac Asimov | Page Count: 224

"Even as a youngster, though, I could not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presented danger, the solution was ignorance."

The Caves of Steel was the first full novel in what would come to be known as Asimov's Robot Series. Some people include I, Robot (1950) in the series despite the contradictions between the two works. I adore I, Robot, but the bridge narrative structure keeps it from being perfect. The Caves of Steel has no such handicap, nor does it rely so heavily on direct speech for exposition, meaning it flows much more organically. The pace is also improved.

The caves of the title are huge interconnected steel domes that house an ever-expanding human population. In contrast, the outer planets are populated by Spacers, people descended from colonists that left Earth centuries before. Whilst the Spacers embraced robots, the Earth people didn't. Resentment of Spacers runs deep, even in those whose job dictates that they should remain impartial.

When a Spacer is killed, Detective Lije Baley is tasked with finding the killer. Baley is an Earth-man. When he’s partnered with a Spacer, the Robot Danell Olivaw, more than one of his prejudices get put to the ultimate test. I'm guessing that Asimov must've really liked R. Danell, evidenced by his using the character in subsequent novels much more frequently than any of his other returning characters.

The world in Caves of Steel is beautifully fleshed out, with consequences that are far reaching. There are of course sci-fi concepts, but if you strip them away you'll find another of those puzzles that Asimov was so very good at. He doesn't use wild technology as a crutch, meaning resolution isn't reliant on some impossible science. Beneath the sheen it's a fully developed and deeply compelling detective novel that just happens to be set in the future.

5 diplomatic incidents out of 5

Heat Rises (2011)

Author: Richard Castle | Page Count: 305

"I catch an STD down here, I'll sue till I own the damn city."

Detective Heat starts in the freezing cold investigating the seemingly out of place death of a church pastor in a sex dungeon. What is at first possibly not even a murder will spiral into many conflicts, both political and mortal, that will push Nikki to her physical and mental limits and strain not just her, but her relationships with all those around her including would-be boyfriend Jameson Rook and her beloved police force.

The 3rd book in the Nikki Heat detective series starts off following the formula of the last books, but whether it is actually written better or I've just come to accept it, it felt quite different and less like reading a script from its tie-in show. The mystery was kicked up a notch and was actually mildly surprising, though at times felt less like nuanced mystery and more like just piling on with multiple scenarios playing out hoping the reader will just be overwhelmed with possibilities. This is tempered by the still likeable and relate-able characters. As they should be as they are just mirror images of the swell TV counterparts. Nikki Heat herself is also more interesting as the ordeal will actually force her into vulnerability which has been minimal in previous volumes even if it's clearly just paralleling the TV season on which it is based. But that is part of the joke, I suppose. Very Funny, Mr. Castle.

3½ Good People Have Good Sex out of 5

The Devotion of Suspect X (2005)

Author: Keigo Higashino | Page Count: 298 Pages

Sometimes, all you had to do was exist in order to be someone's saviour.

I love the mystery genre in theory, but I'm frequently disappointed by mystery novels when I actually sit down to read them. So many books are all about the detective and don't bother doing much to create a compelling mystery. Others don't create a mystery that's solvable, and leave you frustrated when you see the solution you never could have come to on your own.

The Devotion of Suspect X frames its mystery in an unconventional way, and succeeds in every way most mysteries fail. You know who was murdered and how from the opening chapter, and you're left to figure out the cover-up with clues perfectly hidden out of site. The book is full of interesting characters, but the mystery itself is always the primary focus, and the ultimate solution is as satisfying as it is painful. I didn't manage to figure it out, but could instantly see how the answers had been hinted at throughout - exactly how a reader should feel when a mystery is solved.

There are two big flaws that keep me from giving this one a perfect score. The English translation is weak, so much so that I put this one down several times before I really got into it. The writing is so flat that if the plot doesn't capture you, you won't maintain interest. I don't think this is true of the original novel, which has won awards in its native Japan. My other issue is with the female characters - they're flat and underdeveloped, which isn't a big problem for the minor characters, but frustrating when it comes to the major ones. I never cared much about Yasuko or Misato, which is a shame. The book would have been much more intense if I had. But in spite of these flaws, this is an impressive book, and is a must-read for anyone who cares more for mysteries than detectives.

4 finger-printed bicycles out of 5

Heat Wave (2009)

Author: Richard Castle | Page Count: 198

 You radiate subtext.

A real estate tycoon falls to his death and it is up to homicide detective Nikki Heat and her ride along magazine writer Jameson Rook to solve the mystery involving thugs, accountants, thieves and spoiled rich people. It's a decent enough mystery, but it reads like a script of it's tie-in show, ABC's Castle. It carries all the same snappy banter and twists of any episode just with the names changed. That can be a strength though as it can give an extra layer into the character of Castle as this meta experiment gives his perspective of the relationship between Castle and Heat's inspiration, Detective Kate Beckett from the show or perhaps what he wishes it was as Heat is mostly congruous with Beckett with some added flare and sexuality.

Separated from the show it is an alright mystery, but like any tie-in should do, it enhances the show and becomes more when used the way it was intended. Everything is written in character right down to the dedication and acknowledgements. Even though it is ghostwritten, ABC is fully committed to the facade as no one outside the show knows who the writer is and the show's creator even lamenting in interviews that Richard Castle worked hard on it and people should stop trying to steal credit from him. Kudos for the commitment.

3½ meta author insertions? out of 5

Alone (2005)

Author: Lisa Gardner | Page Count: 448

Bobby Dodge is a Massachusetts State Police sniper called in for a domestic disturbance involving a man holding his family hostage. He watches the scene unfold through his scope and when the man seems to make a move toward the woman, Bobby blows his head apart. Everything is routine with investigators, press and lawyers... or so it seems. The man he just killed will forever change his life as he is caught up in the intrigue surrounding the woman he saved including political ties, family secrets and mysterious illnesses.

Lisa Gardner writes a lot of these types of novels and this one is actually a first in the D.D. Warren series, but it genuinely had me surprised with all its twists and turns. Whether she just wrote it well or because the novel is just saturated with twists that some are bound to work, I'm not sure. The prose is very well-paced and I even found myself getting wood from some of her sex scenes as she is good at giving detail without hampering what's going on. I feel like a middle aged woman in her target audience for liking the book as much as I did, but at least the subject matter makes it closer to stereotypical pulp mystery than cheesy romance. Saves some man points for enjoying it.

3½ Rich, White People problems can be really toxic out of 5

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson | Page Count: 114

“Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him.”

A literary essential about a lawyer, Mr. Utterson, trying to unravel the connection between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and the mysterious new benefactor of his will, Mr. Edward Hyde. Even though Jekyll urges him not to, Utterson persists in his investigation of Hyde. He discovers that those who know Hyde find him strangely repugnant even with no outward reason to think so, something Utterson agrees with upon meeting Hyde for the first time. Utterson must discover why Jekyll has allowed Hyde into his life and if he is connected to Jekyll’s increasingly odd behavior.

Robert Louis Stevenson writes a fascinating novella filled with mystery, allegory and a dash of science fiction. It can feel a bit simplistic and its themes are so overt they can barely be called subtext, but it is a quick and interesting read. An avid reader can probably finish it in a day. Still, it is a prototypical science fiction and a Victorian classic.

3½ Freshman year reading assignments out of 5

The Dain Curse (1929)

Author: Dashiell Hammett | Page Count: 240 Pages

"You're old enough to know that everybody except very crazy people and very stupid people suspect themselves now and then- or whenever they happen to think about it- of not being exactly sane. Evidence of goofiness is easily found: the more you dig into yourself, the more you turn up. Nobody's mind could stand the sort of examination you've been giving yours. Going around trying to prove yourself cuckoo! It's a wonder you haven't driven yourself nuts."

The Dain Curse is one of Dashiell Hammett's weaker books, but it's still a pretty great story in its own right. The Continental Op is one of my favorite Hammett characters, and he's used very effectively here, paired up with the quintessential troubled dame with legs that just won't quit. Gabrielle Leggett isn't the easiest character to like for a good chunk of the book, but Hammett does a terrific job developing her over the course of the novel, and she and the Op have some wonderful moments together.

The book is violent, sometimes brutally so, but there's a sweetness to it in spite of that that makes it very charming. Even though Hammett is willing to take the characters to dark places, he doesn't come at them from a cynical point of view. The mystery itself is never as interesting as the characters who are a part of it, but it has a delightfully satisfying and interesting conclusion. If you like detective novels, then any Hammett is worth reading, even if it's not his best stuff.

3.5 ghost biting detectives out of 5.