usnmm2 50 book challenge for 2010

My, how time does fly. Can't believe this will be my fourth year of this challenge. Anyway Here's the first one for 2010.

#1. The Battle at the Moons of Hell (Helfort's War: Book I) by Graham Sharp Paul
#2. Germinal by Emile Zola
#3. Orcs: First Blood by Stan Nicholls
#4. It Was The Day of The Robot by Frank Bellknap Long
#5. Star Soldiers by Andre Norton
#6. Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein (re-read) B&N Nook
#7. The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling (B7N Nook)
#8. Stand Into Danger by Alexander Kent
#9 Ramage Dudley Pope (Read-read)
#10 Convoy by Dudley Pope
#11 Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke:Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyers (Vol. 1) edited by Bob Cohen and Terry Miller
#12 The Helmsman (Questar Science Fiction) by Bill Baldwin
#13 With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (Classics of Naval Literature) by E. B. Sledge
#14 Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century by Harry Turtledove
#15 To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
#16 Agincourt: A Novel by Bernard Cornwell
#17 The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1
by Bernard Cornwell
#18 2169481::Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor
#19 768231::Crush Depth by Joe Buff
#20 2518133::World Without End by Ken Follett
#21 The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Chronicles Series #2) by Bernard Cornwell
#22 9362437::Victorious (The Lost Fleet, Book 6 of 6) by Jack Campbell
#22 2798054::Semper Mars: Book One of the Heritage Trilogy
by Ian Douglas
#23 2798051::Luna Marine (The Heritage Trilogy, Book 2) by Ian Douglas
#24 2798053::Europa Strike: Book Three of the Heritage Trilogy
#25 9582862::The Serialist: A Novel by David Gordon
#26 1598125::Last Space Ship by Murray Leinster
#27 9818405::Distant Thunders: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson
#28 4992540::Space Captain Smith By Toby Frost
#29 33670::The Horizon by Douglas Reeman
#30 860899::A Tournament of Murders: The Franklin's Tale of Mystery and Murder As He Goes on Pilgrimage from London to Canterbury by P.C. Doherty's
#31 9503185::Earth Strike: Star Carrier: Book One
#32 "The Horizon" by Douglas Reeman
#33 5321468::The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
#34 4883220::The Lost Temple by Tom Harper
#35 9963101::True Colours (The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series) by Alaric Bond
#36 451002::Under the Eagle: by Simon Scarrow
#37 203502::The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie Jr.
#38 450970::The Eagle's Conquest by Simon Scarrow
#39 18721::Glory Road by R.A. Heinlien (re-read)
#40 J.O.B. by Heinlein (re-read)
#41 17501::Have Spacesuit Will Travel by Heinlein (re-Read)
#42 242359::The Dwarves by Markus Heitz
#43 22247::The Book by M. Clifford
#44 451002::Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow
#45 450970::The Eagle's Conquest by Simon Scrarrow
#46 451003::When the Eagle Hunts by Simon Scarrow
#47 2956367::The Sea Devil's Fo'C'Sle by Lowell Thomas

#1. The Battle at the Moons of Hell (Helfort's War: Book I) by Graham Sharp Paul. Not a bad read . A little above the standard military Sci-Fi stuff. Have the Second book to read also.

Started #2 germinal by Emile Zola

#3. Orcs: First Blood (Omnibus) by Stan Nicholls (contains first three books in series)

From the back cover;

"Wall to wall action with undercurrents of dark humor ... The heros are Orcs..."

I'm not normally a big fan of fantasy, but one will catch my eye once and awhile. So when I read that quote from the back cover I figured "What the Hey! Give it a try: Orcs finally get their revenge on JRR Tolkien"

Finished the first books in the "Orcs" omnibus, Bodyguard of Lightning by Stan Nicholls. Was well written but couldn,t get into or feel for the characters. All they did was go from one battle to the next. There were hints of some sort of change or them making other choices but that never happened.
Well I will see what happens in the next book. But for now I'm going with an old science fiction book It Was The Day of The Robot by Frank Bellknap Long taht has been lurking on my shelf for a while.

Bought the Nook the Barnes and Nobles E-reader, so have a few more books going at the same time;

#6. Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein (re-read) B&N Nook
#7. The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling (B&N Nook)

I have never read anything by Heinlein, although I think my kids have. What do you think would be a good first book to read by him?
--BJ

Much of Heinlein's fiction is starting to show it's age (but is still good) but a good place to start would be his novels;
Double Star (an out of work actor gets the job to double for a kidnaped politician),
Have Spacesuit Will Travel (a boy wins a space suit and adventure),
The Rolling Stones, (Just a fun romp through the solar system).
For short stories collections The Green Hills of Earth (the book that introduced me to Heinlein) and Past Through Tomorrow, (His future histories stories).

My personal favorites The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (about a revalution helped by a computer)
and Starship Troopers (nothing like the movie)

I would stay away for his later work from The Number of the Beast and later. They can be a little strange without a good grounding in his works. and need to be read in total. In fact if I had come across Heinlein at this point I might not have liked him as much as I do now.

Anyway If you have question feel free to ask.

Thanks!
--BJ

ETA I went to the B&N and got Starship Troopers. They did not have any of the other titles. Thanks for the recommendations. :)

Finshed Space Cadet (Re-read) and The Man Who Would Be King (has been on my radar for many years) Both excellent reads.

Started Stand Into Danger by Alexander Kent. An age of sail book. Have read a few of the others in this series and have enjoyed them. I like the character of Richard Bolitho better than Hornblower. You aways know that Hornblower will succeed. But poor old Richard there is aways the feeling that he might not make it. Adds a level of tension to the books. Anyway looking forward to reading it.

Stand Into Danger (3 Stars) Young newly appointed Third Lt Richard Bolitho faces the hazards of conspiracy, treason and piracy. Learns, that it's a long way from the Midshipmen's berth to the responsibilities of a Kings Officer.

On a roll so next up is Ramage by Dudley Pope Technically it's a re-read but its been a while and I want to tackle the rest of the series.

Ramage was on par for "age of sail" type of book. Looking forward to reading more books from the series.

Next up is Convoy also by Dudley Pope

Convoy by Dudley Pope. (3 stars)
Dudley Pope in more known for his Lord Ramage series of books and his very readable Naval history books.
This one is from his Ned Yorke series which span over two hundred years of history.
As you can tell from the title, book deals with the Battle of the Atlantic, (convoys and U-boats).
The basic premise of the book is that the u-boats are some how entering the convoys defenses and sinking large numbers of ships in two or three nights. The Admiralty sets up a special group to figure out how they are doing this.
The action is well written, the love interest not over done or too sappy or graphic.
All in all a very good read.

Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke:Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyers (Vol. 1) edited by Bob Cohen and Terry Miller

A great book! For anyone who has been in the Navy. Those of you who haven't might find the stories quaint and totally unbelievable. But for those of us who were there will Swear on a stack of bibles that every word is true. It had me laughing out load. I also have Vol. II that I'm going to bump it up on my very tall next to read pile.

A little plug here. The royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to the Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society, in the name of Lance Corporal Shane Lee Goldman.

I added this one to my wishlist.
--BJ

#12 The Helmsman (Questar Science Fiction) by Bill Baldwin

Slightly above the standard Military Sci-Fi. A good way to run away from the world for awhile. Will try and write a fuller review later.

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

Bernard Cornwell delivers an excellent retelling of Henry V 's fight with the French in the 15th century.

Germinal by Emile Zola (5 stars)

It is 1868. Étienne Lantier, an out of work vagabond, finds work in the coal mines in northern France. He eventually leads the starving coal miners on strike.
Zola gives us a tragic love story, full of political and personal betrayal, along with a host of memorable characters that chronicle their desperate need.

I am about halfway through Scurvy Dogs, Volume 1, and I decided that I had to go ahead and get volume 2. I especially loved the story about lowering the mast 15 feet.
--BJ

billiejean,

Glad you are enjoying the book. And that one about the bridge being to low is a classic. Right up there with buckets of steam and left handed monkey wrenches. (And we snipes were a scary bunch).

Started Crush Depth by Joe Buff a tale of a future war.

Finished The Last Kingdom by Berbard Cornwell was a good read. (It's the first in a five book series also read Steven Saylor's Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, was a little disapointed in that one.

Crush Depth by Joe Buff
Fairly standard Techno thriller in the vain of David Poyer's 'Dan Lenson Novels' The Circle, The Med etc. or
Patrick Robinson's 'Arnold Morgan' series Nimitz Class, Kilo Class etc.. If you are a fan of these authors or Clancy or Larry Bond, Dan Brown you won't be disappointed.

Got two in the pipeline now;
World Without End by Ken Follett and The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Chronicles Series #2) by Bernard Cornwell

Are you familiar with the Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History?
--BJ

I've heard of it, but never have seen or read it.

Thanks!
--BJ

3: Perhaps you should try GRUNTS! by Mary Gentle. Its a funny, irreverent take on the Final Battle between Good and Evil. I laughed myself sick reading it.

Cable99,

Hi. Welcome to Library Thing.
Thanks for the recommendation. Looks interesting.

Got my pre-ordered copy of Victorious (The Lost Fleet, Book 6 of 6) by Jack Campbell. So everything else is on hold for a few days. Was a little disapionted in book 5 so will see if book six redeems the series any.

Victorious (The Lost Fleet, Book 6 of 6) 2 stars

This book was predictable and long winded. At times I was getting frutrated with the long convaluted conversations about what was happening and what might be happening and why it was happening (I guess I've read to many of these type of books. I know what happening.)
One of the things that attracted me to this series of books was it was supposed to be a six book series (meaning there would be and end). But the author is going to do two spin off series. One about the fall of the syndac. worlds and to continue with the story of "Black Jack" Geary.

Semper Mars: Book One of the Heritage Trilogy was a good read. So may as well keep it going with Luna Marine (The Heritage Trilogy, Book 2) by Ian Douglas

Europa Strike: Book Three of the Heritage Trilogy
First two were enjoyable, so here goes number three

Time to try and update a little.

Last Space Ship by Murray Leinster
From the start of the "golden age" of science fiction. The story has not held up and would only be of interest to the person who's interested in science fiction literary history (1 1/2 stars)

The Heritage Trilogy by Ian Douglas
Top notch military Sci-fi books. Full a action and he weaves in a lot of Marine Corp History on tradition. And shows it being added to as the nature of warfare changes. (2 1/2 to 3 stars for each).

Distant Thunders: Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

Have been bad about keeping this up to date.

A Tournament of Murders: The Franklin's Tale of Mystery and Murder As He Goes on Pilgrimage from London to Canterbury by P.C. Doherty's
A fairly good historical mystery. This one is the third in a series that the author has set on the pilgrimage to Canterbury with Chaucer and his rag tag set of pilgrims. Each person tells a different story every night. Such a simple and logical premise that I can't believe that someone else hasn't thought of it. anyway a light read good bedside reading.

Earth Strike: Star Carrier: Book One by Ian Douglas. I have been reading a lot of Military Sci-Fi this year so I may be just getting tired of it. But I found this one a little tedious. Although on the plus side it is the first book in his new series and gives a lot of back ground and technical info. I'm sure that his fans will not be disappointed.

I wishlisted A Tournament of Murders. Interesting premise. Did you read the first two books?
--BJ

No not yet. But have bought (2nd hand copies) four other in the series;

The Hangman's Hymn
A Haunt of Murder
A Tapestry of Murders
Ghostly Murders

I think that makes #2 to #6. Only have to find the first one now.

Thanks! I will watch for your reviews when you get to them.
--BJ

My reading has been all over the place this year. Have several books going and can't seem to finish them. But that usually happens to me in summer. Anyway! have added another to the finished pile.

"The Horizon" by Douglas Reeman

The third book in the Blackwood - Royal Marines saga, takes Jonathan Blackwood into WW1 (1914-1918). It's really two novellas in one book. The first, the Gallipoli campaign offers a horrifying initiation into war and the second half concerns the Naval Division in Flanders and trench warfare.

Fairly standard war story which I enjoyed reading. The interesting part was referring to the top edge of the trenches as the "horizon". Which brings to mind all the romantic illusions of adventure and travel as in ,
"..What's over the next horizon.."
Only in this case it's not adventure or riches, only death and mayhem.

Time for a no brainer, a little Indiana Jones type story. So next book up to bat is The Lost Temple by Tom Harper

The Lost Temple by Tom Harper: Not a bad read if you like Dan Brown type books.
This one uses The Iliad by Homer and the great myths of ancient Greece and Crete and clues from a note book of a dead archeologist to search for an unknown element (number 61). Throw in some Germans and Russian spies and you are all set. Good light reading for the bedside table. (2 to 2 1/2 stars)

Time to go back to my old stand by "Age of sail" genre with True Colours (The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series) by Alaric Bond. The first two books in the series were enjoyable, so I'll get it a go.

True Colours (The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series) by Alaric Bond. Still a good read even after three books. Looking forward to his next one. I would recommend it to all who enjoy this genre.

Under the Eagle: A Tale of Military Adventure and Reckless Heroism with the Roman Legions… by Simon Scarrow
A good read. A young boy is enlisted into the Roman Army and grows up quick and comes of age. Throw in some Empirial power struggles add some spy versus spy and you have a book to spend a few quite evenings in

#45 The Eagle's Conquest by Simon Scrarrow
This is book two in his Roman legion series. Not bad if you are into historical fiction. The conquest of Britian

#46 When The Eagle Hunts book three of the Roman Legion series.
Still fairly good, Have the next couple on my nook TBR pile.

#47 The Sea Devil's Fo'C'Sle by Lowell Thomas is next

I have been bad at keeping any of my posts or challanges up to date this year. Must try to coorest that for next years.
here's a quick up date ;

#48 The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte

#49 The Guernseyman (The Richard Delancey Novels No. 1)
by C. Northcote Parkinson

#50 The Eagle and the Wolves by Simon Scarrow
Series: Roman Legion (4)

#51 Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog (Penguin Classics) by Jerome K. Jerome

#52 Pot Luck by Emile Zola

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remind me, have you read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis yet? If you enjoyed the Jerome Jerome book, you should try to find it!

Yes I did and enjoyed it. I have the Doomsday Book on the TBR pile and her other two on my get to list.