Finally, the last of the books of 2021. Final tally: 22 books and 14 comics
Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton
Pelton on one of the inspirations of the book: "When I met my first security contractor, who was working on a CIA-paid covert hunt for bin Laden in the border region of Afghanistan, I recognized we could be on the cusp of a dramatic shift in the practice of modern warfare, or perhaps a return to a bygone era of privateers and bounty hunters."
At the Triple Canopy security contractor training course: "Before the course ends for the day, the instructor restates one last time that they actually get paid to run away, that their job is not to engage the enemy but to get [the VIP] off the X [point of contact]."
Part of a Blackwater contract on which the company cannot be held accountable: "The list of potential threats is impressive: being shot, permanently maimed, and/or killed by firearms or munitions, falling aircraft or helicopters, sniper fire, ... truck or car bombs, ... civil uprising, terrorist activity, ... inhalation or contact with biological or chemical contaminants (whether airborne or not) ..."
Robert Young Pelton starts the book with a brief history of the United States governments use of hired foreign mercenaries to fight wars and provide security in-country wherever wars are being fought from as far back as the Vietnam era. Moving into the era of the War on Terror, we see security companies start popping up as the US government puts out contracts to assist with protecting everything from government officials to food supply trucks. He'll speak with government officials and scholars about the growing role of armed private citizens not under the control or rule of any government working in warzones. He provides interviews with the heads of some of these companies such as Blackwater and even visits the state-side training facilities that prospective contractors prove themselves for a chance to be hired. Pelton visits security conventions and even rides with a Blackwater team for a brief stint. In the end, Pelton provides modern day examples of mercenaries hired from companies still in business today that were used to stage coups to topple governments.
I want to say it's a rare non-fiction book for me to read, but I think the last book I finished in September was also non-fiction so I guess not. I was actually looking at the comic art panels of local comic artists at The Arts at Mark's Garage back in ... August, I think when I saw that there was a small book section off to the side. Figuring I should pick-up something to drop a couple dollars as a donation, this one stood out to me so I bought it. Why a fascination with mercenaries (or contractors as they're called)? I mean, if you've ever heard me talk about visiting museums or been to one with me, you know that I'll always visit whatever wing is showing off weapons and my fascination with the things we use to kill each other. And, based on the exchange from The Magnificent Seven (the original one with Yul Brynner) when the farmers are attempting to buy guns, Brynner's character tells them to buy men instead since men are cheaper, or something like that. As interesting as the book was though, I did start to lose interest toward the end even though that was the section that dealt with modern day uses of mercenaries and even overthrows of legitimate governments.
61 Hours by Lee Child
"'Crystal meth is not a joke. No inhibitions.'
'That just makes us even.'
'Users don't feel pain.'
'They don't need to feel pain. All they need to feel is conscious or unconscious.'"
A bus crash in a snowstorm strands Jack Reacher in a small town with a looming threat. In the nearby prison, the biker awaits trial as his gang on the outside look to execute the only witness willing to testify. Miles away, a mysterious figure sets-up another lucrative deal to increase his wealth further. Not one to sit idly-by, Reacher finds himself assisting local police in protecting the witness and helping to search for clues.
Another Jack Reacher novel. After the last chunk of books, it was good to read one of these stories again. If there's one thing I really love about the Jack Reacher series is that they are great palette cleansers. Too many fantasy books at once? Mix in a Reacher novel for a quick bite of real world before jumping back in. Finished a heavy-themed book? Throw in a Reacher novel for some nice and easy reading. The stories are easy to follow, there's no research needed (you don't even need to read them in order if you don't want to), there's no heavy or complicated themes to contemplate. I mean, I could tell you the plot of every single Reacher story before opening the book: shit happens and Reacher solves it, usually with the bad guys in body-bags. It's a Jack Reacher novel, so of course, it has all the familiar trappings of a Jack Reacher novel. A mystery easy to follow, even solve as long as you're paying attention. Reacher making friends with the local folks. Uneven odds which are eventually overcome using Reacher's strength and determination and wit. Explanations on Reacher's romanticized drifter lifestyle. All of it very familiar and easily digestible. I really don't know what I'm going to do once I catch up with all the books, I guess I should start exploring other types of books like this, though I've still got time, 12 more novels still to go.
Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman
"There are things in this book, as in life, that might upset you. There is death and pain in here, tears and discomfort, violence of all kinds, cruelty, even abuse. There is kindness, too, I hope, sometimes. Even a handful of happy endings. (Few stories end unhappily for all participants, after all.)
A collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman. One of the good things about this particular collection is that I know that I enjoy Gaiman's writing. Buying a short story collection of multiple contributing writers is typically a crap shoot if I'm going to read it all the way through, or just stop when I get to a particular story I don't like, yes, even knowing that the one story doesn't say anything about the stories that follow it. If you're a fan of Gaiman's magical realism style of stories, then I'd recommend picking up this book. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to provide synopsis of any of the stories in the book).
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
"First thing Tyler yells is, 'The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club.'
'The second rule about fight club,' Tyler yells, 'is you don't talk about fight club.'"
An unnamed protagonists develops a friendship with a mysterious stranger who leads him from his boring white-collar life down a path of chaos ... Why am I even trying to terribly explain the plot? You've seen the movie, right? "Fight Club" with Edward Norton and Brad Pitt? It's basically the same with obviously a few differences, the biggest being the ending. Spoiler: in the book, Project Mayhem doesn't succeed in collapsing those towers. Nope, Tyler Durden mixes the napalm wrong and it doesn't explode. Also, the unnamed narrator ends up in a mental institute with hints that the operatives of Project Mayhem are still out there carrying on Tyler Durden's work while waiting for him to come back.
Some of my favorite parts of reading the book are the extra bits included by Palahniuk. That the story was put together as an experiment: Could you piece together a coherent story using only the main plot points and cutting out those boring transition movements? And the answer was yes, by using the main character's insomnia and the film reel analogy, Palahniuk could essentially skip to the next interesting point without wasting time with those inbetween parts.
Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
"But the Others weren't leaving Toland because of the humans; they were leaving to get out of the way of the fury that was coming."
The Elders, those terrifying Others that roam the wild country, have posed a question, "How much human should be kept?" Meg Corbyn and the other cassandra sangue see prophesies of death and destruction and extinction. On both sides of the Atlantik, the Humans First and Last movement prepares to strike against the Shifters in an effort to claim more for themselves, which unaware of the terror that lies outside their boundaries. Within the Lakeside Courtyard, the Others and the humans they work with prepare for a storm no one is sure they'll survive.
The fourth book of Bishop's "The Others" series, the storm that's been building for the last two books is finally about to hit! Unfortunately, it's been a while since I read the previous books so I'm not exactly sure what happened except that some character's died (though I don't remember who those characters were). Honestly, there's a lost of characters and some of them I couldn't figure out how much I'm actually supposed to care about, and I needed to piece them all in while reading to figure out why they're important again. The biggest appeal though, of this particular book is seeing The Others strike against the human population. It's got all the makings of a "You know what's coming and can't wait until it hits" moment.
Just some background information as well regarding this series since it has been a while since I've read them. This series imagines an alternate timeline of human and monster evolution and society than is usually seen in other stories. Humans first thrived in their birthplace but once they stepped outside of their natural boundaries, they discovered the planet's other children, the terra indigene. The Others aren't just limited to Shifters, creatures that can change their form such as were-creatures and vampires, but Elementals that can take on the aspect of their name such as Fire and Winter, and The Elders, giant creatures that can render themselves invisible. Only by bargaining and working together with the Others were humans able to gain more land and access to resources. When they crossed the ocean, they discovered The Others had already settled the rest of the planet. Having to bargain with the Others means that the humans can't typically overwhelm the Others with force as they might in other stories.
Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop
"'As long as we didn't interfere with the Others who were assigned to keep watch over our shenanigans, the rest of the terra indigene didn't step in. But that's no longer true. Humans did interfere with the terra indigene who were assigned to watch us. The Others were attached and some were killed, and that enraged the residents of the wild country - the terra indigene that every cop who ever did a tour of duty in the wild country prayed he would never see.'"
Having eliminated the Humans First and Last movement, the Elders now find themselves pondering a new question, how to tell the difference between good and bad humans. The Others living in the Lakeside Courtyard however are dealing with the aftermath of the Elders' destructive rage, most importantly, how to provide for their pack. Through it all, Meg and Simon circle around their growing relationship and the nature of a relationship between a human and an Other. Meanwhile, the arrival of Officer Montgomery's brother, Jimmy, puts everyone on edge, showing the Others a type of predator they were unprepared to encounter.
Honestly, this was my favorite book in the series. The last couple books were just lead-ups to an inevitable conclusion that the reader could see from the start. This book however, and the threat Jimmy brought to the Others and the Courtyard was subtle and unexpected, and that they were unprepared for it and couldn't silence the threat with a grand display brought a refreshing twist to the story.
Deadly Class written by Rick Remender, illustrated by Wes Craig
The new group of first-year students return back to King's Dominion from their vacation, along with Marcus and Maria (who everyone suspected was dead). New challenges emerge for the group with the introduction of Petra's death-cult leading father, and the ending of another year.
The Magicians: Alice's Story by Lev Grossman and Lilah Sturgis
This comic was simply a re-telling of the first book in "The Magicians" trilogy - The Magicians, just from Alice's point of view. I was hoping the story would go more into Alice's time as a niffin but, as she explains at the end of the comic, at that point she is no longer Alice. I liked the illustrations but it wasn't really worth spending the money on it. I am hoping that Grossman eventually publishes another book, even one not in The Magicians universe as I really did like his take on magic and how it might look in the real world.
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