BOOK REVIEW - "FRACTURED, FRAGMENT 01" (DARK TRENCH SHADOW SERIES, BOOK 3 OF 4) BY KERRY NIETZ

 What is the greatest danger facing Threadbare the debugger? Anti-tech terrorists threatening to destroy the status quo? A sadistic representative determined to enforce the status quo? Or his girl-friend Damali, which is the opposite of a debugger's status quo?

After a multi-year break working on other series and a stand-alone, Kerry Nietz returns with book 3 of his Dark Trench Shadow Series with "Fractured, Fragment One." At the time of review, "Fractured, Fragment Two" is published and available. In his acknowledgements, Nietz mentioned that when he was writing the latest installment of the Dark Trench Shadow Series it was getting to long for one book, so he divided it up into two parts.

Nietz's first novel was "A Star Curiously Singing," the beginning of the  three part DarkTrench Saga. Later, he introduced the DarkTrench Shadow series, which starts at the same point of time the earlier series did, but took a divergent route with some of the same characters, and ends before DarkTrench Saga does. If you haven't read any of his Dark Trench books, my suggestion would be to read the first two DarkTrench novels ("A Star Curiously Singing" and "The Superlative Stream," and then read the DarkTrench Shadow Series ("Frayed," Fraught," and "Fractured" both Fragment 1 and Fragment 2), and then conclude with "Freeheads," the last of the DarkTrench Saga.

For those unfamiliar, the DarkTrench stories fall into the distopian category, a world where the planet is under Sharia Law and a part of the populace are debuggers, with head implants. The books are full of plot twists, as well as interesting characters.

I highly recommend all of Nietz's books. I've read 14 of his novels (I'll be starting Fractured, Fragment 2 in a couple of days), his autobiographic "Fox Tales," and "Just Dumb Enough," a collaboration by the March Lords, including Nietz. 

OF MOST READ AUTHORS AND LOOKING AHEAD TO MY FAVORITES LISTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR

Favorite novels, each representing a different author. Not all the authors mentioned below are repre-sented here, nor are all the authors of above books mentioned below. List of titles and authors below.

 It's been a couple of years since I updated my list of most read fiction authors. Well, I found the list I started two years ago (which is one reason I didn't update it), so I'll do that.Allow me, though, to mention one of my favorite lists and how it's progressing. I'm speaking of my favorite songs list, which was the top 15 (in my opinion) the first year I did it ('22), and 20 each the following three years. Both last year and now this year, I have been setting aside new songs I like, and then trim it down. As of this moment, do you know how many songs are on that list? 22. So it will be a fun challenge putting it together. (BTW, I mentioned that I'm going to start cutting off the entries the beginning of December.)

Back to the novels. I currently have 36 authors on that list, and there's a few that I haven't tracked yet. But in the past two years, you know how many I have read books by? Twelve. True, I may have read multiple books by some authors - one jumped up nine spots, for example. But several seem to have hit a spot and stayed there. 

One factor is that I read a lot of Love Inspired Suspense, or more accurately, a few of the authors. This includes the multi-author K-9 series, so there's a group of authors who are basically guaranteed moving up a spot each year. One author, though, who moved up for the first time... oh, you'll hear about it soon. 

I'm debating raising the minimum on the lists from 5 to 10. Currently, I have 26 authors that have passed the 5 mark. But I only have 10 over 10, so I'll keep up what I'm doing. (In perspective, ten years ago, there were only 9 that hit the minimum of 5 and 5 of those had at least 10.) If there's much movement, I might raise it next year. We'll see.

One last comment. You may have noticed that I seem to read more women writers than men. True. Out of the 36 writers on my list, the ladies outnumber the gentlemen by 2 to 1 (24 compared to 12). But I learned in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Fiction" by Ron Benrey that the vast majority of writers and readers of Christian Fiction are female.  

Okay, now with the list. I debated started at the top, because there are more suprises at the bottom, but I'll make it a countdown nontheless. So, you ready?

Tied for 22nd, 5 novels read: Maggie Black, Valarie Hansen, Dana Mentink, Frank Peretti, and Amy Wallace. The last two mentioned have been there a while, but Dana joined this group last year and Maggie and Valarie this year.

Tied for 17th, 6 novels read: Jackie Castle, Julianna Deering, Sandra Orchard, Ellery Queen, and Laura Scott. Laura is new to this spot, the others have been there awhile.

Tied for 14th, 7 novels read: John Otte, Janet Sketchley, and Jill Williamson. All these haven't moved.

Tied for 11th, 8 novels read: Sharon Dunn, Stephen King, and Terri Reed. This summer will mark the 40th year since I've read any King. 

10th, 11 novels read: Ian Fleming. The last Fleming novel I read was probably in '76 or so, until last year when I read "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." 

9th, 13 novels read: James Blish. I read a couple of his short stories a couple of years ago, but no new complete books, which consists of the first Star Trek novel and 12 collections of TOS novelizations.

Tied for 7th, 14 novels read: Kerry Nietz and Randy Singer. This tie will be broken this year.

Tied for 5th, 15 novels read: Allistair MacLean and Jessica Patch. MacLean, Blish, and Singer have all been in this 13-15 territory, with MacLean being the first to hit 15 in 2017. 

In 4th place with 19 novels read is Jodie Bailey. I discovered her in 2019, and she's been racing up the list.

3rd place? Nancy Mehl, with 21 novels read. 

And in 1st place? Agatha Christie, with 23 novels read. She has been towards the top for decades, hitting first place around 2011, where she sat at the pinnacle...

Except she's currently in a tie for 1st place. Dame Agatha is sharing the spot with another mystery author: Donna Fletcher Crow has reached the same goal. Now the question is if Donna's going to continue being at the top, or if I'll go on a Christie reading binge, as has happened a few times in my life.

Let me close by giving you the list of the novels on my shelf above, left to write:

• "The Clocks" by Agatha Christie. 
• "Where Eagles Dare" by Allistair MacLean. 
• "Ransomed Dreams" by Amy Wallace.
• "An Unholy Communion" by Donna Fletcher Crow.
• "Missing Mabel" by Nancy Mehl.
• "Undercover Colorado Conspiracy" by Jodie Bailey.
• "Dangerous Obsession" by Jessica R. Patch.
• "The Judge" (formerly titled "The Cross-Examination of Oliver Finney") by Randy Singer.
• "Judge" by R. J. Larson (pen-name for Kacy Barnett-Gramckow)
• "Amish Vampires in Space" by Kerry Nietz.
• "Numb" by John Otte (pronounced Ah-tee).
• "The Methuselah Project" by Rick Barry.
• "Daughter of Light" by Morgan L. Busse (pronounced Bus-see).
• "Ablaze" by Jackie Castle.
• "Burn" by J.M. Hackman.
• "The New Recruit" by Jill Williamson.
• "Heaven's Prey" by Janet Sketchley.
• "Big Bluff" by Jackie Zack.
• "Seeking the Truth" by Terri Reed..
• "Wilderness Defender" by Maggie K. Black. 

You know, I might do a series of my favorite authors, and maybe follow that with my favorite musicians. If I'm really bored, I might go to favorite actors/actresses, favorite athletes, and favorite politicians... okay, I won't go that far.

'25 SUMMER READING LIST, #2 - "THE BENEDICT OPTION" BY ROD DREHER

I was about to write that there are few books that really inspire me, and the fact that I had no problem coming up with 25 books for this summer reading list probably means I'm easier to impress than I think (or that there are more really inspirational books than I think). Either way, "The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation" by Rod Dreher is on that list.

Allow me to confess that Dreher is more Catholic/Orthodox than I am, and several of the ideas fit that line of thinking. However, I agree with his main thought that Christians need to strengthen community with fellow believers, both by forming communities and by encouraging others.

There are not as many community-building books in this summer reading list as there are apologetics (like yesterday's book). However, I remember being in a Facebook group discussing this book and Dreher's follow-up "Live Not By Lies" and reading a question about if we're reading any other books on community. At that time, I was finishing Leah Libresco's "Building the Benedict Option..." Check. I also started reading Rosaria Butterfield's "The Gospel Comes With a House Key..." Check. Then, in fiction, I was reading "Amish Werewolves of Space..." well, at first I thought "Two out of three aren't bad" until I reread the cover and read the first chapter and realized it was three of three. (Kerry Nietz' Terror in Plain Space trilogy all have strong themes on community, on our responsibilities to community, and that our community might be bigger than we think. 

You know, maybe I ought to reread this one.
 

BOOK REVIEW - "RHATS FREE" (MUTO CHRONICLES BOOK 3) BY KERRY NIETZ.

 

Can Frohic, as active captain of the Presage, direct the Presage safely home, with:

1. Shikastra (ugly lizardlike creatures with personalities uglier than they look) on the ship with a bracelet to shock implants that Frohic, ship's captain Abs, and another member were installed  with?
2. Three members of the crew (including captain Abs) missing in action, though more likely dead?
3. Giant space squids that feed on energy outside the ship?

"Rhats Free" by Kerry Nietz is the third in the Takamo Universe's Muto Chronicles, following "Rhats" and "Rhats Too," and the series gets better with each installment. (A muto or rhat is a human size rat.) I love adventure stories with two friends working together (in this series, Frohic and Abs). The twists keep coming, as well as excellent character development.

Besides outerspace action and a tongue implanted firmly in cheek, this series looks at issue. For example, in this book is the query on what freedom - if it truly exists - looks like. But then, what would you expect from the author of "Amish Vampires in Space?"

So far, this is my favorite novel I've read this year, and I highly recommend it.

Allow me to add one comment. When Becky saw the cover of this book (the Best cover of this series, in my opinion), she commented about the pictured characters,  "They look harmless. Except for the guns."

FAVORITE FICTION - 2024

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

My annual favorite lists start today with fiction, followed by songs with non-fiction the day after that. I'll call today's list a top ten, though I'm combining two books from the same series as one of the ten. 

I'll wait to next year to recalculate the novelists I read the most of, but I've read 3 novels by one author, which puts them in a tie with James Blish in 6th place at 13. 

Once again, I'll put them in alphabetic order by name. I don't want the author who's in tenth place disappointed they didn't end up higher, but I figured the real reason is that it puts all on the list on a level plane for potential readers. So here goes:

1. "BLOWN COVER" by Jodie Bailey. A non-K-9 book from Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense. I've lost track on how many books are in this series she's written. This is one of two stories where the male character has amnesia for most of the book. 

2. "COLD THREAT"/"COLD VENGEANCE" (Ryland & St. Clair, books 2 and 3) by Nancy Mehl. These are the second and third of the Ryland & St. Clair trilogy. This series is one that I thought got better as it got further along. 

3. "ICE LAKE" (A Katy Russell Mystery, Book 1) by Jackie Zack. Cozy mysteries are my comfort food, and this one fit the need. Looking forward to the rest of the series. 

4. "K-9 NATIONAL PARK DEFENDERS" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 9) by Katie Lee and Sharee Stover. This is a two novella conclusion of the Pacific Northwest K-9 unit. Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense has an annual multi-author K-9 series, with the main continuing stories resolved in book 8, but includes a two novella Christmas wrap up. This is the first of the concluding novellas I've read, and it won't be the last. By the way, this is the fifth of those series I've read, and is definitely my favorite.

5. "OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN PURSUIT" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 4) by Jodie Bailey. Yep, the second Jodie Bailey book I've mentioned, as well as the second Pacific Northwest K-9 story. 

6. "RHATALOO" (a Takamo Universe Novel) by Kerry Nietz. This is a prequel to his Muto Chronicles ("Rhats," "Rhats Too," and "Rhats Free" are all out). This story has the man-sized rats landing on a primitive earth in the days of Napolean. 

7. "SECRET SABOTAGE" by Terri Reed. Like "Blown Cover," this is a Love Inspired Suspense story where the male lead has amnesia through most of the book. I'll let something slip here: those were my two favorites of the year. 

8. "SCENT OF TRUTH" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 2) by Valerie Hansen. In this book, the heroine is trying to solve killings and bad behavior from someone who looks just like her.

9. "THREAT DETECTION" (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, Book 5) by Sharon Dunn. You might look at the list, and realize I have 4 books from this series on my list, just less than half. Well, I actually have the first book on last year's list, meaning over half the books have the "honor" of being one of my favorites!

10. "WITNESS IN PERIL" by Jodie Bailey. The third Jodie Bailey book on the list. It takes place at the Grand Canyon, helping me feel homesick. 

Have you read any of these books? Any that you want to add to your list to read?

Tomorrow, I'll be looking at my favorite songs.

 

2024 INTERVIEW WITH KERRY NIETZ

 

Since I started this blog, I've only had one repeat interviewee, that being Donna Fletcher Crow. Well, now Kerry Nietz has become the second. I have interviewed him a couple of other times when I was a contributor on a couple of other blog pages.

JR:  Welcome back to the blog, Kerry. It’s been almost four years since I interviewed you last. To put it in perspective, it was about 6 months into COVID. Anything you’d like to update us about from that time?

KN: Great to be back, Jeffrey. Hard to believe it has been that long. Much has changed since we last talked, not the least of which is that society has pretty much returned to normal. No more masks or quarantines. No more infection counts. 

My family marked a couple milestones since then too. My wife and I celebrated our 20-year anniversary a couple years ago. I now have a child in college and two more in high school. We also took one epic cross-country family trip since then. 

I became a 3D printing enthusiast during that time too. Even printed myself a full set of Halo armor to wear at a writers’ conference. (Realm Makers.) That armor now serves as a cool office decoration.

JR: I remember a line from Steve Taylor’s song “Am I In Sync?” about a scientist who “lost his mind to renegade mice.” For some reason, that makes me think of your Takamo universe series known as The Muto Chronicles, consisting of "Rhats!" (2018), "Rhats Too!" (2019), "Rhataloo" (2021), and "Rhats Free"! (2024). What’s a muto, and would you like to tell us about the series?

KN: Mutos are man-sized space-faring rodents. They hail from a portion of the Takamo Universe called the Rhatsibahn Empire. They’re typically scoundrels and lackeys (think Star Trek’s Ferengi) but occasionally a nobler character emerges. My stories follow a couple of those honorable types.

JR: Hearing about the Takamo Universe makes me hungry, though it might be that I confuse it with the Indianapolis pizza chain Jokamo’s. For those like me who forgot your explanation four years ago, what is the Takamo Universe? Are mutos a regular part of that realm, or are they your unique contribution to this literary world?

KN: Takamo started as a turn-based mail-in computer game (meaning the computer ran the numbers and gave the results) back in the eighties. It was crafted by a handful of college students and grew to have over 10,000 participants. Along the way, an encyclopedia’s worth of lore developed. 

Mutos have been part of the mythos since the beginning. In fact, "Rhataloo" is based on established Takamo canon, though I added a fair deal to the story. The other Muto Chronicle plots are mostly my creation. Randall Ritnour, the driving force behind Takamo today, suggested places for my rhats to visit, what they might be searching for, and who they might encounter. I took it from there. 

JR: You had at least one non-muto book since I last interviewed you, a novel that captured my imagination: "Lost Bits." Could you tell us about the story, and did I miss any others I might have missed?

KN: Sure. "Lost Bits" grew out of an everyday occurrence at home. While searching for something, I happened to open one of our upstairs cupboards and discovered a stack of dusty, forgotten eReaders that my kids had either worn out or outgrown. 

I felt a touch of melancholy. “How sad. These machines that were an integral part of our life are now discarded.” I moved from that to “What if that happened to a robot?” So, I started writing about what might happen if a robot woke up in a junkyard and decided to look for his human family. Along the way he befriends other technological misfits. I think of it as a robot-centric "Homeward Bound." 

As for missed books: Aside from "Lost Bits," I’ve released a short story anthology entitled "Digital Dreams and Other Distractions," another rhats book ("Rhats Free!"), and I contributed an anecdote to a non-fiction book called "My First Novel: And What Became of It."

JR: One of my favorite writers is the late, great Allistair MacLean, and I figured one reason why: his heroes knew the importance of teamwork and each one had one or more others working with him. Should that friend not make it, the hero recruits a replacement. I find the same thing in your stories (Threadbare and Bullhammer, Frohic and Abs, 404 and Sam). Am I the first to notice this? Was this a theme you consciously had in mind, or did these just develop as you wrote?

KN: I rarely go into my stories with the characters fully figured out. I’ll have a few strong ideas about the main character, but the characters he meets along the way spring up from the narrative. 

Subconsciously, I’m sure I’m resurrecting and reimagining people from my past. I’ve been fortunate to have many longstanding friends, some of whom I’ve known since early childhood. Aspects of their personalities show up in my characters often. 

JR: Thank you for your time. And could you believe I wrote an interview without mentioning a certain book? What projects are you working on? Will there be a “Rhats Fore!”? (Sorry, couldn’t resist. Yeah, right.) Anything else you’d like to say? And how can we keep up with you on-line?

KN: Yes, how did you avoid mentioning Amish Vampires in Space? It remains my most talked about novel. You can reach me via my webpage, Facebook, and X.com.

I’m currently working on another story in the DarkTrench Shadow series, which currently includes the novels "Frayed" and "Fraught." It is turning out longer than I originally expected, but I hope to finish it in the early fall and move it toward publication from there. 

After that? Not sure. I have a few non-fiction ideas and another fiction idea or two I’m kicking around. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another rhats book in the future. My youngest son and father are fans of that series now, so I need to give them something new to read. 

I think I’d call it Rhats More!, though.     

BOOK REVIEW - "RHATALOO" (A TAKAMO UNIVERSE NOVEL, MUTO CHRONICLES) BY KERRY NIETZ

Why and how is spaceship run by human size rats (aka rhats or mutos) landing in Napolean era France looking for cheese (and wine)? Can the Granum's executive officer Cedric explain a messed up mission satisfactorily to muto bureaucrats without him and his captain's tails getting docked? Can mutos survive in a world run by "umans?" 

"Rhataloo" is technically a prequel to the Muto Chronicles ("Rhats!," "Rhats Too!," and "Rhats Free!"). I am not sure how
"Rhataloo" compares timeline wise with either the later Chronicles or how the Takamo Universe relates to ours (in other words, are rhats travelling space before our 1800's, or is this a parallel universe where their Napolean showed up centuries after ours), but author Kerry Nietz has created an enjoyable series. (What would you expect from the author of 
"Amish Vampires in Space?")

The story has a lot of plot twists and entertaining moments, jumping from the current debriefing with the powerful bean-counters and Sedric's recollection of what had happened previously. The characters are creative and fun as well.

I'm looking forward to reading the next Rhats installment, and for that matter anything else by Kerry Nietz.

 

JEFF'S FAVORITE NOVEL LIST FOR 2023

Episode 1830 by Adele Kindt

Raise your hands if you've been anticipating my annual fiction (and non-fiction) book lists! 

This year, I haven't read as many novels as I have recent years. Thus, it's easier to make this a top ten list, in comparison to the top twenty songs I shared yesterday. 

Part with less novels read - I only read more than one book from the same author this year, that being Donna Fletcher Crow. I used to do that deliberately when I read less novels. This time it was not planned. Thus, I had several novelists move up one slot each on my all time reading list, but it didn't have a lot of effect. Jessica Patch moved into a tie with Steven King for 10th place with 8 each. John Otte and Janet Sketchley moved into a tie with Jill Williamson for 12th place at 7 each. Donna Fletcher Crow gained a little breathing room for second place (21), and putting her only two from the seemingly unpassable Dame Agatha Christy. 

As usual, I will give them in alphabetic order. Will this tradition change? Well, if you read yesterday's blog, you'll notice a slight variation: I did identify my favorite song for the year. Let me know if you like that change. But I'll go back to the typical approach of making it straight alphabetic order by author for this year. So here's my top ten:

1. Deadly Burden (Green Dory Inn Mystery Book 4) by Janet Sketchley. Each story gets better! This one has a Christmas theme. Book Review Link
2. Explosive Revenge (Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit, Book 7) by Maggie K. Black. For those unfamiliar, Love Inspired Suspense (Harlequin) has an annual 8 part K-9 series, each novel written by a different author. Book Review Link
3. George Bronson Private Eye by Hal Ames. A fun mystery story by a good friend. The review will be posted January 11.
4. Lost Bits by Kerry Nietz. An excellent dystopian sci fi story by one of my favorite authors. Book Review Link
5. The Refiner Of The Realm: Of Queens and Clerics (The Celtic Cross Book 3) by Donna Fletcher Crow. Book Review Link(includes a bonus review of Crow's An All Consuming Fire - The Monastery Murders Book 5)
6. Shielding the Baby (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit Book 1) by Laura Scott. This is the fourth K-9 Series first book I've read, and it definitely is the best. There are 7 more books in the series, so while you find some loose ends resolved, there are others that aren't. But this was an exciting book with plenty of turns. The review will be posted January 18.
7. Theme Park Abduction by Patsy Conway. This is a Love Inspired Suspense novel, though not part of a K-9 series. Book Review Link
8. A Tincture Of Murder (Lord Danvers Investigates, Book 4) by Donna Fletcher Crow. This series, based in the 19th century, tells a mystery while including a real crime from that era. Book Review Link
9. 12 Days... by Heidi Glick. This is a Christmas time suspense novella. Book Review Link
10. Undercover Assignment (Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit Book 4) by Dana Mentink. Even though it's set in New Mexico and my old stomping grounds is Arizona, this story makes me homesick. Book Review Link

 

BOOK REVIEW - LOST BITS BY KERRY NIETZ

 How did K-404 end up in this pile of discarded technology? Why is there a disconnect of years in his memory? And can he protect his friends, humans that distrust him, and himself from annihilation?

If you enjoy dystopian science fiction and you have yet to discover Kerry Nietz, shame on you. And "Lost Bits" is the place to start. Those who are familiar with the Dark Trench Saga, the Peril in Plain Space trilogy, "Mask," and his "Rhats!" additions to the Takomo Universe, you enjoy his creative new novel.

I'm not a super geek, but this book has some inside jokes I got. For example, you'll notice that on the title has a zero and a one in the title, the two numbers of the binary system. Likewise, each chapter is designated by the typical arabic numbers (such as 21) and the binary counterpart (0001 0101). Not to mention the dreaded 404 code when something's not found. But you'd expect no less from the computer programmer who wrote of his experiences with Fox Software in his autobiographical "Fox Tales."

One thing I enjoy about Nietz is that he deals with community and friendship. I enjoy his friendships of ThreadBare and BullHammer in the Dark Trench Shadow series and with Frolic and Abs in the Rhats books. Here, we find 404 befriended by Sam, Wes, Blue, Fuzzy, and Radial. 

As usual for a book by Kerry Nietz, I highly recommend this story.

 

LOOKING BACK AT '22 - FAVORITE NOVELS (PART 3 OF 6)

Thanks to Nancy Mehl for sharing this.

 

I always wonder which is the attraction that the drums are rolling for me to announce: my fiction list, or my non-fiction list? If you want to tell me your favorite, please let me know! But in ignorance, I'll assume you're more excited about which non-fiction books influenced me this year, and start with fiction.

Last September, I did a blog giving the list of fiction authors I've read the most by. If there's any movement that might be of interest, I'll update it. And there has this year!

RANK    AUTHOR           #OF BOOKS    PREV. RANK

    1         Agatha Christie               23                    1

    2        Donna Fletcher Crow    19                    2 (Tie)

    3        Nancy Mehl                     17                    2 (Tie)

    4        Allistair MacLean            15                    2 (Tie) 

    5        Randy Singer                     14                    5

    6        James Blish                         13                    6

    7        Kerry Nietz                        11                     8

    8        Ian Fleming                        10                    7

    9        Jodie Bailey                          9                    16 (Tie)

   10        Stephen King                       8                     9

The top 6 didn't really change excepting the tie for second no longer being a tie. But Kerry Nietz has moved ahead of Ian Fleming. Also, Jodie Bailey has joined the list, jumping from a tie for 16th to 9th place. Impressive, but not quite as much as it sounds - when I made my list last year, I had read five books by her, and I read a 6th one last year and 3 this year. The reason she jumped as high was because of a 5 way tie for 11th at 6 books each.

I consider having read 5 novels by an author a milestone. Sharon Dunn made that mark, and Jessica Patch flew past it, moving from me having read three up to seven, putting her in a tie for 11th with Jill Williamson (10th place last year, with 7 read).

Other stats - I read 26 novels by 17 authors: 15 were women, and 6 were by authors I had not previously read.

One other point. I've read three stories that are top notch stories. I gave the authors five star reviews. Yet I did not enjoy them for various reasons - One was too melancholy, one was too creepy, and one was a little too weird. Yet I'm continuing in the series of one, am seriously considering the same in the second, and while giving up on the third series, I'm still reading a lot by the author.

Going to this list - I'll be listing my 12 favorites, and as usual, it's in alphabetic order by title. If I have read more than one in a series during a year, I might combine all from that series or count them as separate, depending on several factors, such as if I like one noticeably more or less than the others, or if it's a series with different authors. 

1. Bitter Truth (A Green Dory Mystery Book 3) by Janet Sketchley. I had been looking forward to this book, and it was worth the wait. This mystery kept you guessing, leading to the surprising (and bitter) truth.
   
2. Captured at Chrstmas Jodie Bailey. Perfect story for me to have read at Christmas time (never mind it was released in '21 and it's the last full novel I read in '22). Did I ever tell you Jodie Bailey is one of my favorite authors? If you read this book, you won't blame me.
   
3. Cold Case Takedown (Cold Case Investigators Part 1) by Jessica Patch. Great blend of mystery and suspense in uncovering this cold case involving high school football and how football can almost become a religion. Jessica does a great job of having characters stand out, and heroine Georgia Maxwell is one of my favorite Love Inspired Suspense leads.
   
4.  Dead Fall (Quantico Files Book 2) by Nancy Mehl. As usual, this was a top-notch thriller, but it definitely is my favorite of her series. Partly due to Kaley Quinn of Mehl's previous series being part of the cast, partly due to one of the best villians I've read. Note - if you haven't read this, I'd advise reading the three books of Kaley Quinn Profiler and the first book of this series first.
5. Deadly Cargo (Alaska K-9 Unit, Vol. 5) by Jodie Bailey. This was the 7th book I've read by Jodie Bailey, and the first that was part of a K-9 series. I definitely enjoyed the romance between bush pilot Jessica Jefferson and State Trooper Will Stryker. This book also had a good mystery going as to who is causing all the trouble.
6. Exposing a Killer by Laurie Alice Eakes. When I read the plot for this story, I had an image of what to expect, dealing with rival detectives. This novel did not meet the image, but it was just as enjoyable. This is a Love Inspired Suspense, by the way.
   
7. Rhats! and Rhats Too! (The Muto Chronicles vol. 1 and 2) by Kerry Nietz. Are you familiar with the Takomo Universe stories? I'm not really familiar with it, and the first book I read in this universe (by a different author) failed to grab me. But these stories (involving mutos, which resemble human sized rats) are very enjoyable. I especially enjoy the development of the friendship between the narrator, a muto named Frohlic, and Abs, a fellow muto he meets on a space scavenging trip.
   
8. To Dust You Shall Return (Lord Danvers Investigates, Book 3) by Donna Fletcher Crow. This series looks at true crimes from the Victorian era, with some comic relief by the Dowager Duchess. The crime story definitely was a top-notch mystery. I'm looking forward to catching up with this series next year.
   
9. Under Surveilance by Jodie Bailey. This book has characters from previous stories by Bailey, but there is no need to read them in order. Bailey has earned a place among my favorite authors (did you notice this is the third Bailey book on this list?). Great plot, great characters, and a very strong faith story, which is the norm for Bailey.
   
10. Wilderness Defender (Alaska K-9 Unit, Vol. 2) by Maggie K. Black. I've mentioned favorite heroes and heroines, but who is my favorite dog of the year? Hands down, Stormie the Irish wolf hound, who can take on a threatening thug or cuddle up with a calico kitten. Add to that a story about poachers trying to capture blue bear cubs, and definitely an exciting story.
11. Wolf Soldier (Lightraider Academy Vol. 1) by James R. Hannibal. This book is based on a role playing game designed to be a discipleship tool. Definitely an exciting fantasy story.
    
12. Yuletide Cold Case Cover-up (Cold Case Investigators, part 3) by Jessica Patch. This is an exciting conclusion to the series, and one that also includes one of my favorite heroines, Poppy Holliday. Excellent mystery as she tries to discover, with her partner Rhett Wallace's help, who killed her sister.

Well, tomorrow, I'll be looking at non-fiction!

 

LOOKING BACK AT '22 (PART 1 OF 6)

Remember this photo? Remember who this band is? And can you guess who is not part of the band?

 

Another year over with! (Almost!) So let me end the year with 8 consecutive blogs, starting yesterday.

Today's blog will have three parts:

1. I will look at my next to the last blog of last year and compare my goals with reality.
2. I will give hopefully brief opinions (anybody really expect that?) on this past year.
3. I'll give you an outline for the week of blogs.

A year ago, I told you my reading goals (a duplicate of my goal for '21): Reading one non-fiction and two fiction books a month (respectively 12 and 24) during the year. The goals were met and exceeded: 19 non-fiction and 27 fiction (not counting 3 graphic superhero novels).

On the non-fiction end, I planned on reading four more 9-Marks books: Done! I mentioned the New Studies In Biblical Theology series: I read four of those. I did reread three books: Graham Benyon's bio on Isaac Watts, Todd Nettleton's 40-day devotional When Faith is Forbidden and Todd Miles fun apologetics book Superheroes Can't Save You. 

As far as fiction, I mentioned reading more Love Inspired Supspense each year, reading 9, 11, and 18 the previous three years. Last year, I'm down for 17, one less than last year. As expected, I read books by Donna Fletcher Crow (3), Nancy Mehl (2), Kerry Nietz (2), and Janet Sketchley.

I had a goal to attend either the Kingdom Come Festival or the Pitt Fest this year, and get to hear Reclaim The Day. No, I didn't make it to either of those festivals, but I did get to Get To The Point Festival and got to hear Reclaim The Day there, as well as Inarticulate Bones which was also on my list. That concert also made me a confirmed Divine Martyr fan. I didn't make it to a NCFCA tourney last year, partly to signing up for a contest I thought was on-line and found out it was in person and had to cancel. 😭

How about the ministry opportunities Becky and I were talking about? Still talking about them. Any steps on publication? Only reading a book titled When God Calls A Writer. I also wrote the series I had planned to for the blog.

Speaking of this blog, I had great interviews again. I'm debating about mentioning any because they all were good. Four really stand out though: Libertarians Kerry Baldwin and Russell Brooksbank, author Carol Berubee, and singer/producer Jim Worthing (I really enjoy the interviews that get into theology). But I also invite you to look at the archives on the right to find any you've missed.

My thoughts of this year? It's been a sad year for several reasons. Several friends went home to be with the Lord. In a six week period, I was off work almost two weeks due to illness (one week with COVID, and most of another with flu/bronchitis). Missing some of my typical events like judging NCFCA contests or the live nativity scene at a nearby church. The political situation. But Becky and I are headed to our 40th Anniversary! I'm blessed at Northside Baptist, including a Bible study and a bi-monthly men's prayer breakfast.

How was that for brief?

What? This week's blogs? It started with part 25 of my hymn series yesterday, and will end Sunday (New Year's Day) with part 26. Today, I looked back at '22. Tuesday through Thursday will be respectively my favorite songs, fiction, and non-fiction books. Friday, I'll look ahead to '23, and I have a blog on my heart for New Year's Eve. 

P.S. In case you didn't remember, the band is Divine Martyr. Pictured right to left is drummer Mark McKowen, vocalist/celloist Olivia Guelle, guitarist Jason Hyde, bassist Woody Hughes, and non-band-member/DM fan/blog writer Jeff Reynolds.

BOOK REVIEW - RHATS TOO! (TAKAMO UNIVIERSE; THE MUTO CHRONICLES #2) BY KERRY NIETZ

 

Where did Frohlic's large family (all mutos have large families) disappear to? He barely survived his previous smuggling trip in space; did he really want to join his friend Abs for another one? Especially when facing ants and spiders that are bigger than you?

I absolutely loved Rhats Too!, the full length sequel to Kerry Nietz' novella surpisingly titled Rhats. In this edition, our muto (a cross between a human and a, believe it or not, rat) hero finds his family missing from his home, with a feisty, flirty female with a gun there instead. He also is invited by his friend Abs to join his crew another smuggling trip... along with the feisty, flirty female.

There is plenty of sci-fi action in this book, as well as surprises here and there. My favorite part is the friendship between Frohlic and Abs. 

If you like sci-fi, this is an excellent book to read. I highly recommend it.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

 

Okay, I've spent a few days looking back at 2021. What am I looking forward to the next year?

First off, since I'm a writer and do a lot of writing, I'll start off with what I'm looking forward to reading. As I did last year, I'll set the goal of reading one non-fiction and two fiction books a month.  

As far as non-fiction, I have a few on deck. Last year, I read three 9-Marks: Building A Healthy Church books, and I'm considering reading four more. I also discovered "New Studies in Biblical Theology," and I'm planning on reading more (though I'm not planning on reading all in the series, which is at 52 last time I checked). Plus, I might reread some books such as Discipled Warriors by Chuck Lawless and Superheroes Can't Save You by Todd Miles.

On the fiction end - am I through with my reading a lot of Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense? Probably not next year. I read 9 in '19 (only 3 before that), 11 in '20, and 18 in '21; I've got 21 on my docket for next year. Nancy Mehl and Donna Fletcher Crow are tied for second on my most-read-novelist list with 16 each, and the competition will occur next year, and there's an Agatha Christie book I plan to read, slightly increasing her lead at 23. Kerry Nietz has a couple of books I'm planning to read as well, and the long awaited third installment of Janet Sketchley's Green Dory Inn is due out. Of course, I'm hoping for something new by favorite authors like Randy Singer, John Otte, Julianna Deering, J.P. Leck, J.M. Hackman, and Allistair MacLean. (Okay, I don't expect a new MacLean book.)

Three of my favorite interviews this year were with Angie Leyda of Always 1 Ministries, which hosts the Kingdom Come and Pitt Fest music festivals Becca Sugg of the band Reclaim The Day, and Devin Cunningham.  Hopefully, I can get to one of those two festivals this year and be blessed with a RTD concert either at the festival or elsewhere. There's also the Indiana Gospel Music Festival which is different stylistically, where I can hear Cunningham again. Finally, I'm looking forward to judging NCFCA speech/debate contests, and hopefully live this year.

Finally, Becky and I are talking about various ministry opportunities we can get involved with, and I'm planning on taking the next step with what seems like the never ending road to publication. 

The one thing I haven't talked about are this blog. This will be the topic for New Year's Eve, which is also known as tomorrow. 

How about you? What do you plan to read this year? Is there anything on your to do list?

WHICH NOVELISTS HAVE I READ THE MOST NOVELS BY? AND IS THAT LIST CHANGING?

Courtesy of ereaderlove.com via Sharon Kirk Clifton

I have been comparing how my list of authors I've read the most have changed over the years. 

NOTE - I did not say my favorite authors. I may have read more novels by an author I really like than one I absolutely love, for various reasons - primarily, because the one I like has written more novels than the one I love.

Let me start with 1978, when I left Cottonwood and started Bible College. At that point, the novelists I read the most looked like this:

1. James Blish - 11 books. 
2. Ian Fleming - 10.
3. Agatha Christie - 5.
4. Ellery Queen - 5.
5. John R. Cooper - 4. 

What did that list tell about me? Well, for one, I got in binges. My interest in Baseball got me hooked on John R. Cooper's Mel Martin YA series. After seeing James Bond movies, I read Ian Fleming. Following the '74 version of "Murder On The Orient Express," I started reading Agatha Christie (and Ellery Queen benefitted from that interest in mysteries). Most of the books I've read by Blish were his novelizations of the episodes of Star Trek The Original Series; the only Blish novel I read was titled "Spock Must Die" (the first ST novel).

Now, let me fast forward twenty plus years to '00. This period of time had two phases - a lot of novels read between '81 and '86, and not much reading done afterwards. Here's what my list looked like at that point:

1. James Blish - 13.
   
2. Agatha Christie - 12
3. Ian Fleming - 10
4. Stephen King - 8
5. Allistair MacLean - 7

I debated on leaving it with the top 5, or including those who I've read more than five novels by, and I decided at this phase to do the former. I did read a 6th Ellery Queen novel, which left him in 6th place.  You'll notice Agatha Christie jumped up on the list, as well as the entrance of Stephen King and Allistair MacLean. 

I previously mentioned comparing the lists of '86 and '00 (which is the one I'm using). There are only two differences. First, in '86 MacLean would have been tied for fifth with Queen at six novels apiece. A co-worker brought in an audio version of a MacLean novel, and I'm counting that on my list. The other was that in '00, my two favorite authors would be MacLean and Frank Peretti, who was lower on the list because I didn't read as many of his novels.

Three items of note took place by '10: I started reading more books (fiction and non-fiction), I started writing my novel, and I discovered Amazon and learned of new authors that way. As a result, here's how the list changed:

1. James Blish -13
2. Agatha Christie - 12
3. Allistair MacLean - 11
4. Ian Fleming - 10
5. Stephen King - 8
6. Randy Singer - 8

You may notice that the top five names were the same, with MacLean jumping up two spots from 5th to 3rd. Likewise, you'll see that MacLean was the only one of the five to increase, giving you a hint that some writers I used to read a lot of I wasn't reading as much. (One of them would have a resurgance - you can guess which one if you wish.)

But then in sixth place (technically, tied for fifth) is a new name. Randy Singer took over Peretti's place as my favorite author (MacLean remained in second). I also started reading more books by women. Amy Wallace had a trilogy I absolutely loved.

I mentioned I had wrote my novel. You may know that I attempted to self-publish and the company went belly-up in spectacular fashion (it's collapse was on the front page of the Indianapolis Star and reported on the TV broadcasts). This led me to get involved with the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), which not only helped in my writing but also got me hooked on more authors. 

In 2013, I took part of a challenge from author Janalyn Voigt, set a goal to read 20 books (both fiction and non-fiction) and succeeded. The next year, I went on a rampage and read 29 novels (not counting non-fiction books). I haven't matched that since, though I do read about 25 novels a year. 

Previously, I've done looks at every ten years - this time, I'll only move ahead five years to 2015. And presto:

1. Agatha Christie 17
2. James Blish 13
3. Allistair MacLean 13
4. Randy Singer 13
5. Ian Fleming 10

Not very over-whelming, is it? True, Agatha Christie and Randy Singer added five books each to their total. 

However, I've been adding other authors to the list. At that time, I considered five novels to be the Hall of Fame pre-requisite. At 2015, besides Stephen King and Ellery Queen were Frank Peretti and Amy Wallace. But other authors were knocking at the door, with Donna Fletcher Crow, Julianna Deering (aka DeAnna Dodson), and Nancy Mehl joining in the list. 

So let me expand past the top five on the list at this moment in 2021:

1. Agatha Christie - 23
2. Donna Fletcher Crow - 15
3. Allistair MacLean - 15
4. Nancy Mehl - 15
5. Randy Singer - 14
6. James Blish - 13
7. Ian Fleming - 10
8. Kerry Nietz - 9
9. Stephen King - 8
10. Jill Williamson - 7

Tied for 11th place at 6 each: Jackie Castle, Julianna Deering, Sandra Orchard, John Otte, and Ellery Queen.

Tied for 16th place at 5 each: Jodie Bailey, Frank Peretti, and Amy Wallace.  

Again, does this mean that Agatha Christie is my favorite author? No. I could pick on several authors on this list (and some not on the list, such as J.P. Leck), but I'll choose John Otte. I like John Otte better than Agatha Christie. But John Otte's bibliography is half of the Miss Marple series, which is a third of the Hercule Poirot collection. (And yes, Christie has a lot of stories that are neither Marple or Poirot.) Otte needs to go on a tear for me to read as many of his books to catch up with Dame Agatha.

Which authors have you read the most by? Are the authors you read the most by the same as your favorite authors?