'MaddAdams' by Margaret Atwood

MaddAdams, Margaret Atwood (4)

This book ended up being my favorite of the three in the series (‘Oryx and Crake’ and ‘The Year of the Flood’ being the first two). It was the most coherent and meaningful to me. ‘Oryx and Crake’ was the cryptic tale of a post apocalypse world in which a seemingly lone survivor describes his current situation with a slight reach back to the past. The second book, ‘The Year of the Flood’, takes us back to before the apocalypse and gives more explanation and introduces other survivors. In the last book more of the holes in the mystery are filled in as Toby, one of the remaining gardeners, tells stories to the Crakers (the engineered ‘people’ designed and built by Oryx and Crake) as they all try to survive in their current times amongst the odd new animals and other, more malevolent survivors. I appreciated how this book wrapped up the trilogy and gave back story to some of the main characters that were deeply involved in the apocalypse.

'Timeline' by Michael Crichton

Timeline, Michael Crichton (3)

All the Michael Crichton books I’ve read tend to mix science, mystery and lots of action- all good elements for a compelling book. ‘Timeline’ is no different, though I found it the weakest of the 4 or 5 others. In this book, the science is quantum physics and time travel; the mystery is wrapped around time travel with the action mostly happening in France during the 100 yrs war during the 1300’s. While some of the science is thought provoking, the action during the time in the past is mostly confusing and unbelievable. Not a bad book for a quick summer read, but I found myself scowling with questions more than I like for this type of book.

'Jackdaws' by Ken Follett

Jackdaws, Ken Follett (3.5)

This book joins two of Ken Follett’s strengths in writing: history and espionage. Years ago I enjoyed ‘Eye of the Needle’ and ‘Pillars of the Earth’, which managed to bring his books to an even larger audience. While this book is not as good as either of those, it was fun and compelling. ‘Jackdaws’ tells a fictional story based on a real group of heroes. Apparently in WWII, a group of British women, led by one particularly wily female agent, worked behind enemy lines in France to cause damage to the Nazi effort. Follett has written about fictional assignments and situations for these women. The tension of the story builds as the narration bounces from the female agent to the German Major trying to catch her. Given what I’ve read about real spy missions during WWII, some of the action seemed far-fetched and the characters came across as manufactured, but generally it was fun to read.

'The Third Man' by Graham Greene

The Third Man, Graham Greene (3.5)

Generally anyone who likes the movie ‘The Third Man’ will enjoy this very short book. In the preface, the author is clear that the idea for the movie came first and the book was his vehicle to flesh out the story. There are some differences between the two, but basically we follow a detective and dime store author in post WWII Austria as they deal with the death of Harry Lime, the author’s best friend and accused racketeer. Rollo (the author) doesn’t believe his friend was involved in anything untoward, but in reviewing his seemingly innocent death, he finds many inconsistencies. The biggest question is: who is the third man at the accident? Since this is basically a screenplay, I would suggest seeing the movie. Orson Wells is a terrific Harry Lime!

'Good Hunting, An American Spymaster's Story' by Jack Devine

Good Hunting, An American Spymaster’s Story, Jack Devine (3)

Jack Devine spent the majority of his career in the CIA, mostly in leadership roles. This is his memoir of those experiences. One of my criticisms of this book is that the writing is similar to those first two sentences; very straightforward, crisp and ‘telling’. Memoirs are likely harder to ‘show’, but it makes for a drier, more boring story. Mr. Devine has information and insights about several key CIA actions during the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. He claims responsibility for bringing the Stinger missiles to Afghanistan, which (he states) basically pushed the Russians back and eventually out of Afghanistan. He avows that the weapons we supplied to the mujahideens at that time never got into the wrong hands – a bit hard to believe given our history. I found some of his stories interesting and surprising, but they seemed to be missing emotion. The facts supported excitement, though the delivery was too dry. I agree with much of Mr. Devine’s assessments of the future and preferred role of the CIA and his finishing comments are thought provoking.

'Foreign Gods, Inc.' by Okey Ndibe

Foreign Gods, Inc., Okey Ndibe (3)

I was quite disappointed in this book. I had read a good review and popped it on my ‘to-read’ list. The story is of a Nigerian immigrant in NYC who desperately needs money. He concocts a scheme to return to his village and steal a war god icon to sell back in New York at the Foreign Gods, Inc. store. The protagonist is more of an anti-hero, you feel sorry for him, but he does little to redeem himself. While Mr. Ndibe has a unique voice and wove an interesting story of Nigerian folklore mixed with current culture, the book ended so abruptly I was shocked and felt the tale was entirely unresolved. I really missed the point of the story – maybe there was no point?