1812: The Rivers of War is the first novel in an alternate history series that recasts the War of 1812 and later the Trail of Tears. Sam Houston, Andrew Jackson, and several Scots-Irish and Indian characters head off in a somewhat different direction than they did in our history.

Flint tells a rousing, en­ter­tain­ing story, with exciting battles and engaging characters. It’s a period of U.S. history that I knew little about, and I enjoyed the book.

Deucalion was once the first of Victor Franken­stein’s creations. In 200 years, the monster has grown wise and ethical. He learns that Victor also still lives—Vic­tor is creating a New Race in New Orleans, a race of su­per­hu­mans loyal to him, who will destroy ordinary humanity. Some of the New Race are not quite as loyal to “Father” as he thinks; some are veering far off their prescribed courses. Victor is the true monster here, the ultimate mad scientist.

The premise is in­ter­est­ing, but I …continue.

Sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Mikael Blomkvist’s Millennium magazine is about to publish an exposé of sex traf­fick­ing in Sweden, when the two re­searchers are gunned down. Lisabeth Salendar’s prints are on the gun and she im­me­di­ate­ly becomes the most wanted woman in Sweden—but it’s not so easy to catch her. We learn a great deal about Salander’s traumatic past by the end of the book.

While the book is en­thralling—I read it in less than a day—it’s not especially well-written. The plot is …continue.

Dr. Sara Linton and her husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, travel to a small Georgia town to find out why Jeffrey’s detective, Lena Adams, has been found beside a burnt-out car with a corpse. They uncover a lot of dirty secrets in Reese, including neo-Nazis and dru­grun­ning.

I found the plot gripping but also unpleasant. Slaughter seems to enjoy torturing her characters.

Badger Jenkins is a shy, unassuming NASCAR driver with chiseled cheekbones and a rabid fanbase. He’s recruited to drive for the first otherwise-all-female team. For several months, we follow Badger and several of the women who work in the crew or behind the scenes, as the team coalesces and the season progresses.

This is an en­ter­tain­ing and well-written look at NASCAR racing from the per­spec­tive of insiders. We learn a great deal about the sport and what it takes to run a NASCAR team. We also get to see Badger from …continue.

Every Man Dies Alone was published in German in 1947, and became a “surprise best­seller” after it was translated into English in 2009. It’s a novel of the little-known German resistance against the Nazis, loosely based on true events.

Otto and Anna Quangel are apolitical, middle-aged, working class Berliners, who become rad­i­cal­ized after the death of their son early in the War. Otto starts writing seditious postcards and dropping them in public buildings, hoping to foment unrest. The Gestapo grow furiouser as this goes on for two years, and several …continue.

Sequel to The Outlaw Demon Wails; best read in sequence.

Rachel Morgan’s life is com­pli­cat­ed. She’s in­ves­ti­gat­ing the murder of her boyfriend, the vampire Kisten. There’s a banshee on the rampage in Cincinatti and the human police want her help. And she’s being shunned by her fellow witches because she’s thought to consort with demons. And then there’s her personal life. That’s com­pli­cat­ed too.

En­ter­tain­ing, but far over the top.

Jana Matinova is a senior Slovak police officer following the trail of a master criminal across half of Europe. His old rivals think he’s dead and are squabbling over his legacy.

The book is more in­ter­est­ing in the long flashbacks to her early career under the Communists than in the fairly pre­pos­ter­ous present-day plot, which relies too heavily on co­in­ci­dences and clichés.

Quick, readable intro to Shake­speare’s life and plays, setting him in the context of the religious and political turmoils of the late Eliz­a­bethan and early Jacobean eras. You can’t do justice to Shake­speare in an hour, of course, Most useful if you didn’t already know anything about him or his work.

Pock Rafferty is a "rough travel" writer trying to form a family in Bangkok with ex-bar girl Rose and former street kid Miaow. When he is asked to look into the dis­ap­pear­ance of an Australian expat after the Tsunami, he finds both a sadistic child pornog­ra­ph­er and a Khmer Rouge torturer.

Hallinan clearly knows a lot about Thai culture and brings the seedy back streets of Bangkok to life. Rafferty is no hard-bitten Mar­lowesque cynic however. He is a soft-hearted would-be family man, trying to bridge the cultural and …continue.