Philosophy Blog

Review: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade

2026-05-16T14:39:00.556-05:00

Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Inquisitor: The Rise of the Red Blade sets for itself a difficult task: portraying the fall to the dark side of the protagonist: the author must keep us connected to the main character, Iskat, as she turns from a Jedi into an Inquisitor. On the whole, Delilah Dawson accomplishes this: though the Iskat’s rationalizations for her evil become more twisted and disconnected from reality as she descends into the dark side, there is a sympathy that remains(and possibly a spark of light). She does not start out as an evil monster, she is misguided, confused, and insecure. She is tempted by the power and façade of agency/freedom that dark side offers her. The reader knows she is wrong and has become evil; but Iskat rationalizes it all to herself: the Jedi are the ones, she tells herself, who lied and betrayed her and the Republic. But that’s all a cover for her own revenge and her growing sadistic pleasure she takes in torturing and killing Jedi.

The exploration of the psychology of the Jedi who fall to the dark side is fascinating: the complex ways we make small choices that lead us down paths of wrongdoing and evil. Iskat is not fully honest with herself; and the Jedi, in well-meaning ways, are not completely honest with her either. She doesn’t take responsibility for her own situation and shortcomings; and the Jedi, again in well-meaning ways, facilitate this. All together these small evasions of reality lead her down her path. It is not inevitable not her destiny; it is her choices. She has many opportunities to avoid this fate; but she chooses to stay on the course she is on. She grows to accept and own this path; she comes to relish it.

That said, the epilogue undoes a lot of this. The book would have been better and far more interesting if it had just stopped before the epilogue. It was largely unnecessary and gives the character some small bit of a redemption that she has not really earned. The mutual love and connection between Iskat and Tualon provides some basis for this, but it is just not developed enough to make it earned.

On the whole, it’s an interesting and engaging read. The narrator is good and the sound effects and music add context and color without being overbearing.

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Review: A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age

2026-05-14T16:33:26.102-05:00

A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age by Steven Nadler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Steven Nadler is one of the foremost Spinoza scholars – certainly in terms of presenting Spinoza to an audience beyond academia. I’ve gained much by reading Nadler’s expositions, interpretations, and analyses of Spinoza’s work. In A Book Forged in Hell, Nadler takes us into the Theological-Political Treatise. One of things Nadler does so well is situate Spinoza in his own time and the history of philosophy: and here we see how Spinoza’s radical treatise on religion, the state, and freedom of thought fits within the social, religious, political, and philosophical milieu of his own time. While in many ways the most radical, Nadler shows us that Spinoza is not an isolated thinker in terms of the kind of critique and philosophy he is putting out there. What makes Spinoza unique was his bringing together the threads that others were pulling on into a single, integrated work that would resound through the ages.

Nadler is more focused on the intellectual and cultural history of the moment (and how that moment responded to Spinoza), but he does discuss the ideas of the work and how Spinoza’s discussion in the TPT fit within his broader philosophical project. That said, do not expect a chapter-by-chapter breakdown or a fully worked out extraction of the arguments.

A worthwhile read for those interested in Spinoza or the Enlightenment roots of political and intellectual liberty.

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Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2026-05-03T19:27:27.369-05:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The full cast performances of the Harry Potter series just gets better and better. OoP takes the series to the next level; and hearing it play out with the full cast gives it a deeper emotional resonance than I even remember from when I first read it.

The voice actors are all great. No one can replace the Alan Rickman, but even the actor for Snape has grown on me.

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Review: Suspect

2026-04-30T17:06:44.589-05:00

Suspect by Robert Crais
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the Cole/Pike novel, The Promise, prior to this and was introduced to Scott and Maggie there. Getting their backstories here was great fun.

Maggie is amazing, and the parts from her POV help make her a real and substantial character. I am not sure how a whole novel that way would go for a dog's POV, but it'd be an interesting attempt!

Scott is a kind of a dope at times. He makes some bad decisions and things could have gone much worse for everyone. The plot itself is a bit far-fetched, and never really engaged me. But Scott's relationship with and rehabilitation through and with Maggie was what made the story. The moments between them were the best parts of the book.

The Cole/Pike novels are better; but I would read more Scott and Maggie -- if only for Maggie!

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Review: Robert B. Parker's Buried Secrets

2026-04-27T19:01:44.599-05:00

Robert B. Parker's Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Farnsworth takes the helm on the Jesse Stone series. He does a very good job; much better than Lupica. Hard to pin point why; but the story just flows better. It feels less like someone doing a Parker imitation; I think Lupica was always reaching for trying to sound just like Parker and to emulate(unsuccessfully) his wit. Farnsworth doesn't try to do that and so it feels more authentic.

The plot is fairly straightforward but engaging. Some of the set up for the plot points could have been a little better, but they end up working well enough. The main focus here -- unlike the last few books -- is on Stone and the bad guys. Molly and Suit are there but the story doesn't go through them. James Naughton continues to be the perfect narrator for the Stone series.

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Review: Hour Game

2026-04-19T00:01:14.510-05:00

Hour Game by David Baldacci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The former secret service agents, King and Maxwell, have teamed up to run a private detective agency. After a murdered woman is found, there is soon another murder and things just continue. After realizing they have serial killer on the loose, King and Maxwell get deputized and help the authorities find the killer. King eventually pieces it all together, but not after a lot of people get killed.

I like the characters and Baldacci builds the mystery and suspense well. Like the Split Second, though, things get complicated; there are a lot of characters and plot pieces to keep track of. Annoyingly, a lot of King's detecting takes place off screen, so it is hard to put things together yourself.

Still, it's a fast-paced, well-told story with interesting characters.

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Review: Pale Gray for Guilt

2026-04-17T13:05:12.166-05:00

Pale Gray for Guilt by John D. MacDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

McGee doesn't have a client here; in some ways he is his own client -- and his own salvage job. Things got a little convoluted with the scheme they ran. The middle part dragged a bit and was a little longer than it needed to be. The last third really picked up though and it got more interesting. I found the exploration and development of McGee through his relationship with Puss and Meyer to be intriguing and well done.

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Review: Robert B. Parker's Fallout

2026-04-05T23:32:03.611-05:00

Robert B. Parker's Fallout by Mike Lupica
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is in so many ways great to be able to read the continuations of the characters Robert Parker created. The continuations are, nonetheless, mixed. Lupica's Stone is enjoyable, the stories move quickly and Lupica colors within the lines of the original stories. He doesn't really push things or the characters (that can be good and bad). It's a pastiche that reminds you of the things you loved about the original. His novels are a bit like an episode of a long running, loved tv show. You enjoy the show and characters, even if the episode is not that original or in itself that compelling.

As I've listened to the Lupica Stone novels, I've mentioned the things I don't like. Lupica's Stone is too Sunny obsessed; he's more passive in the driving of the plot; the language, humor is at times not quite right; too many he says, Molly said; and Lupica relies too much on the stock characters from the Spenser-verse. (On that latter point, the narrator, who is overall very good didn't get the voices right for Tony Marcus and Spike).

This story was a bit too convoluted and bit all over the place -- at least for the first half. The second half is much better and the ways turn out was much more compelling than I was expecting. Some of it was foreseeable, but Lupica threw just enough surprises in there to keep it interesting.

This is the last Stone novel by Lupica since he moved on to the Spenser novels. I am interested in seeing (or rather hearing) where Farnsworth takes Jesse Stone. I have, as you might guess, my concerns about Lupica writing Spenser. I'll try to keep an open mind.

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Review: Project Hail Mary

2026-04-04T14:35:14.280-05:00

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was surprisingly really good! My contrarian instincts kicked in with the movie coming out and all the hype I was hearing, so I didn't expect too much. But I was quickly sucked in and really enjoyed it. I laughed out loud at several points, it is genuinely funny at points. The character development and story telling is well done; there are a few surprises and I really didn't know how the book would end. The sciences part were really interesting and thought-provoking. Interesting philosophical, moral, and scientific questions are raised. I've heard speculation about a sequel; and while I'd love me some more Rocky and to know more about how things turned out on Earth; I'm not sure a sequel would work. But Weir seems like a talented writer, so maybe.

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Review: Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw

2026-03-29T23:35:00.625-05:00

Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw by Mike Lupica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lupica does a serviceable job of emulating Parker's style and carrying forward the series. But after seeing what Reed Farrel Coleman was able to with Jesse, Lupica's stories fall short. It's hard to pinpoint why, there isn't anything Lupica is doing that is really off, it's just not as good. Coleman pushed the characters, the story more. With Lupica, things feel a little flatter, a little rote. I do have a few issues though. One is something I've complained about with Lupica before: the 'he said'; "molly said", "she said" etc. It's too much. The context makes it perfectly clear who is talking: we don't need a XXX said after nearly every line of dialogue. This is especially bothersome on the audio. Second, there was way to much Stone pinning for Sunny here (especially with the way the book ends, which I'm not thrilled with). Bringing back Crow was interesting; and I always like Vinny (though Lupica's version wasn't a bit off for me). Tony Marcus might have been a bit of stretch though and not all that necessary for the story.

Nevertheless, for long-time fans of Parker/Stone this is an overall enjoyable entry.

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Review: The Tainted Cup

2026-03-29T22:10:23.528-05:00

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series has received such praise; and it absolutely lives up to the hype. Bennett has crafted an inventive and novel world; unique characters; and a complex mystery with some added political intrigue and the world-might-end-tomorrow tension. Operating in the fantasy and mystery genres, Bennett uses many of the standard tropes, but does so in creative and fun ways. The Holmes-Watson relationship is great, but it's not just that (not just Holmes-Watson in a fantasy world). The fantasy mainly is rooted in the setting and the 'technology' they use to run the world- and that part was fantastic, not at all your typical fantasy magical works. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

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Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2026-03-23T21:16:14.998-05:00

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goblet of Fire has long been one of my favorite of the Harry Potter series; and listening to the full-cast performance reminded me why. We get a bigger picture of Wizarding life. The relationships between Harry and his friends gets explored and enriched. The scenes of the return of Voldemort are done very well in the full-cast performance. The voice-actor for Voldemort is perfect. Really, all the voice actors are great; I've become accustomed to the Snape voice and though it is still not quite right, the actor overall does a good job.

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Review: Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American Jewish Life

2026-03-20T17:11:16.557-05:00

Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American Jewish Life by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mordecai Kaplan was incredibly prolific over his long life but is likely best known for his tome: Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life. And rightly so. This is a transformative work that was incredibly influential. While Reconstructionist Judaism as a Jewish denomination didn’t catch on in large numbers, so much of what Kaplan argues for here gets adopted or absorbed, to some degree or another, by other denominations, but in particularly Reform, that Kaplan’s vision might be even more successful than what we might think if we just count organized congregations.

The book was first published in 1934, with several reprintings. One of the striking things about the book is that it doesn’t usually feel that dated or that old. In the first part of the book, Kaplan examines and diagnoses many problems within the Jewish world. So much of this could have been about problems we still face today (problems arising from intermarriage, Jews feeling disengaged by the Jewish establishment, feeling torn between the needs of a modern world and the pull of one’s Jewish heritage). And so many of Kaplan’s answers are still relevant.

There is so much that Kaplan covers in this 500+ work, so I want to focus on some of the core themes.

The core theme is Judaism in the modern world: how can being Jewish be meaningful in the modern world where many of the traditional explanations, justifications, and approaches to Jewish practice and thought ring hollow. Kaplan sees two main organized responses: what he calls neo-Orthodoxy and Reform.

Neo-Orthodoxy retreats to, or more charitably, continues to find the traditional justifications normative. Kaplan regards this as untenable post-enlightenment. Kaplan’s view of God and theology is, or has been called, a kind of religious naturalism. He is not atheistic in the way that a Sam Harris or Rabbi Sherwin Wine (the founder of Humanistic Judaism) would be described. His view is more Spinoza-like: God is the way we understand the full-total of the powers and forces of the universe: “God is the life of the universe, immanent insofar as each part acts upon every other, and transcendent insofar as the whole acts upon each part” (316). Holiness, sacredness are the ways we experience the worthiness of life, the significance of the world.

But he has far more scathing things to say about the Reform movement (at least the Reform movement in the early part of the 20th century). The Reform movement is also an attempt to deal with Judaism in the modern world. But Kaplan sees this movement as based on fatal mistaken premise: Judaism is just a religion. It is merely another confessional, monotheistic faith. In the most radical forms: Judaism comes to be, in my words, just a really weird form of Protestantism. Kaplan sees this premise as leading to (at his time) the Reform movement’s rejection of the important role of Jewish law, history, Talmudic study, connection to Israel as the ancestral Jewish homeland, etc. All that is left is some vague notion of monotheism and tikkun olam (social justice), none of it particularly rooted. (The contemporary Reform movement seems to have moved away from these rejections – I think in large part to Kaplan’s (and those influenced by him) criticisms.)

Instead, Kaplan proposes a different path. We need to reinterpret, reconstruct, Judaism and Jewish life by understanding the spiritual and real-world needs that the earlier forms of Judaism (Temple period, exile period, Rabbinical periods) were meant to meet; and reconstructing modern forms of Judaism to meet these needs. Kaplan sees human nature, and our needs as humans, as relatively stable: we share the same spiritual needs as our forebears. But our world, our environment is different and so the ways to meet and satisfy these needs has to be different. Kaplan argues that by doing this, we maintain continuity with our past and our traditions but are able to live vital, flourishing modern Jewish lives.

Another core idea in Kaplan is the idea of Judaism as a Civilization. Here Kaplan is grappling with one of the thorniest issues in understanding Judaism. It can’t just be a revealed religion or just a form of ethical monotheism. This strips Judaism of its uniqueness; its history, its language, literature, its folkways, etc. It fails to explain the connection Jews feel for each other and their historic connection to Eretz Israel. Nor it is an ethnicity or ‘race’: this fails to account for the vast diversity of Jews or the reality of conversion. Kaplan’s answer is to understand it as a civilization: a way of life for a connected people: “the social framework of national unity centering in a particular land, a continuing history, a living language and literature, religious folkways, mores, laws and art” (513). It’s more common in contemporary parlance to talk about this as ‘peoplehood.’ Jews are, as Dara Horn puts, “a joinable tribal group with a shared history, homeland, and culture.”

Much of the book is fleshing out these ideas. The first part diagnoses the problems facing the American Jewish world in the early 20th century and the various ways contemporaneous Jewish movements addressed these (or in Kaplan’s view fail to address these). The second half of the book is Kaplan’s articulation of how a reconstructed Judaism could work: how it would deal with the problems raised by modernity, but remain rooted in Israel, God, and Torah.

I found the book endless thought-provoking and intriguing. I certainly don’t agree with all of it; but there is a lot I do agree with: I can't accept orthodoxy or the traditional justifications, but I find Reform empty and bland. I wish more of his advice had been taken in a more widespread way by the American Jewish community: I think it would be more vital, more engaged, and more Jewish. I even looked up to see if there was Reconstructionist synagogue near me (there isn’t). (though I am not sure how much the contemporary movement is still aligned with Kaplan’s ideas in this book – some of what I’ve read about it makes me quite skeptical.)

Obviously, this is not a book for everyone; no casual read is this. It’s long, though not difficult. It gets into the weeds of things, some of which is no longer relevant. While there are some dated ideas and language, it doesn’t feel overall dated. The most dated elements are probably some of the more sociological frameworks that Kaplan relies on. But if you are keenly interested in the history of American Judaism and how one might understand Judaism in the modern world, I’d recommend diving into this.

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Review: The Radicalism of the American Revolution

2026-03-09T19:05:46.620-05:00

The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting – and all the better for that. I figured this would be more or less a blow-by-blow of the history of the revolution. But this far more than that: Wood is far more interested here in tracing the social, cultural, philosophical, and religious changes from the colonial era through the revolution into the early 19th century.

The overarching changes are from a monarchial, hierarchical society to the classical republican vision of the founders’ era that retained aristocratic elements but grounded these in liberty and virtue and ending with the broader democratic and egalitarian vision of the post-revolutionary period. The revolution, as Woods shows us, was not merely political; not merely a break between England ad the colonies over taxes; it ran far deeper into a rejection of the monarchial, hierarchical society of England (and Europe) – and this cultural break is what leads to need for the political break in 1776.

Woods also details the economic and commercial changes that paralleled but also both a result of and a driver of these social and cultural changes. The flattening of society was part of what allowed people to seek out entrepreneurial opportunities and the wealth created by these success of these opportunities lead to more flattening.

There is less (than I would I like) on the philosophical shifts from the enlightenment philosophy that influenced the founders to the post-enlightenment/romantic ideals that help shape the post-revolutionary period of the early 19th century. The strain of anti-intellectualism that took root continues to this day.

The disillusionment of the founding generation in the success of the revolution is surprising: both in terms of the disillusion itself, but also that much of the disillusionment comes from the success, not the failure of the revolution. That is, that the liberty, pursuit of happiness, and equality they fought for succeeded so well, that it even came for their classical republican aristocratic notions that the founders thought was needed to ground that liberty. They saw this, as Woods tells it, as portending the downfall of the republic. Fortunately, they seem to have been wrong (or a few centuries too early).

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Review: The Burning Room

2026-02-24T19:52:54.700-06:00

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harry has a new partner. Like Harry, she is driven by a tragedy from her youth. Together they are able to work and solve two different cases -- though not entirely with satisfaction. Maddie shows up here and there, and continues to work towards being a cop herself. Like all Bosch novels, Bosch has to push against misguided bureaucracies and striving politicians.

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Review: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

2026-02-05T22:11:07.318-06:00

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy a few years ago and was blown away by it. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is her debut novel and the first book in her series, The Inheritance Trilogy. That it is a debut novel shows a bit, especially already having read her later, more developed and more perfected work. It was actually interesting to see similar themes and ideas from the later series get played with in Kingdoms. It would be inaccurate and short-selling this book to say it was just a first pass with these themes, but Jemisin is definitely exploring similar ideas but without as much skill and depth as she is able to bring to Broken Earth.

Like in the Broken Earth trilogy, the theme of power and who controls that power are central. The Fifth Season (Book 1 of Broken Earth) begins with the end of world, but eschatological themes run throughout The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms as well.

Nevertheless, I loved this book. I really love the way the story is told. At first, it can be confusing, even disorientating because the narrative perspective is not entirely clear. But there is a good reason for that and it soon makes sense.

It is a such a creative and novel world. While there are echoes of different mythologies from the real world, these are remixed and reimagined in new and inventive ways. The cosmology, if you will, are intriguing. And Jemisin doesn’t go overboard. As with The Fifth Season , the world building is subtle and piece meal. You got what you need for the story while knowing there is so much more.

The ending had a few great twists and was satisfying. Tied things up nicely, maybe a bit too neat, but overall it worked. I’m excited to see where the next books go.

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Review: Along Came a Spider

2026-02-01T21:54:59.942-06:00

Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the book launched that James Patterson and his best-selling Alex Cross series. As the mystery-detective is one of my favorite genres, I figured it was about time I read a Patterson novel. While I enjoyed the book overall, it is a bit of a mess. There are a lot of plot holes and confusing aspects of the characters. The dialog felt stilted at times and there were odd jumps in the story. The mystery itself was interesting – though not completely unpredictable, there were enough red herrings and twists to keep you on your toes. The sex scenes were a bit much and superfluous.

Frankly, as popular as Patterson is, I was a bit surprised the writing was not better (Connelly, for example, is far better). But this is a debut novel, so I suspect (hope) that some of this gets cleaned up as Patterson develops his style.

Cross seems like an interesting character, especially for the mystery genre. His psychologist background gives his perspective a different twist than your standard cop or private eye protagonist. I am curious to see how Patterson develops him more. That said, I’m not jumping into the next book anytime soon, but it is a series I will return to.

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Review: The Hallmarked Man

2026-01-16T15:53:31.426-06:00

The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am torn about what I think of this book. I love the characters. Strike and Robin are both great characters: complex emotionally and intellectually, not stereotypical, have good moral centers without being overly idealized caricatures. I enjoy ever moment these two are investigating. The writing is always great: the building of tension, the dialogue, the care of character development for minor characters, the avoidance of tropes. (And the audio narration is some of the best there is. Kudos to Robert Glenister)

But I had two main issues. First the core mystery was too convoluted. The cases are always complex and intricate – that’s what sustains the length of these novels. But there were too man moving pieces here and I sometimes got a bit lost about which case was which or the relevance of a particular witness.

Second, Strike and Robin. I love them as characters, I love them as detecting partners. As star-crossed lovers, they are annoying! There is a lot of internal monologue by each character making unwarranted assumptions about the motivations or thoughts of the other character that then predictably creates drama and misunderstanding between them. There were many times I wanted to reach through the book and slap the pair of them. This has always been a part of these novels, but the volume was turned way up here. Which in some ways that I can’t reveal without spoilers, makes some sense. But it had a tendency to overwhelm things.

This is the weakest, I think, of the Strike series. If I could it would be 3.5/5 not 4/5, but I still enjoyed the book even with these flaws. So 4/5 it is.

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Review: All I Did Was Shoot My Man

2026-01-05T20:07:26.530-06:00

All I Did Was Shoot My Man by Walter Mosley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a heaviness throughout this book. It is the weight of the past and the present and how the past is constantly there in the present. McGill is trying to fix his past, out run it, make amends for it, and yet it hangs there on him, pushing him down, tripping up his present. Many of the other characters are also weighed down by their past and how it is shaping their present. This heaviness of the past underlies a lot of the plot and character motives. Some of the characters are able, seemingly, to move into the future despite (or because) of their past, while this weight crushes others.

The relationship between fathers and sons is a theme in all the McGill books, and it is touched on here as well. McGill is seeing his sons in new ways here. I expect that with Twill now working with McGill, as well as another revelation (no spoilers); this theme will continue to be explored more deeply in the series.

Like the previous books in the series, the plot is not always clear; I often lost the flow of the underlying whodunit part of the story. That’s a weakness to the series, but the characters and dialogue are so captivating, and Mosely’s style and language is so beautiful, it doesn’t really bother me too much.

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Review: Tyrant's Throne

2025-12-22T19:18:18.866-06:00

Tyrant's Throne by Sebastien de Castell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book finishes the Greatcoats quartet. I really enjoyed this series. It hits many of the things that I love: snappy dialogue, swashbuckling heroics, characters with solid moral cores, creative world building, and exciting storytelling.

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Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2025-12-21T14:14:20.287-06:00

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful to be back at Hogwarts! The performances are great -- though Snape's voice is not quite right. Somehow just not slimy enough.

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Review: Split Second

2025-12-11T18:33:55.467-06:00

Split Second by David Baldacci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The plot was a bit convoluted and far fetched, but I like the characters of King and Maxwell. I think they work well together and make for good partners. Baldacci always does a good job of building suspense and keeping the reader engaged and wanting to know what is going to happen.

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Review: Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise

2025-12-06T13:41:11.053-06:00

Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise by Mike Lupica
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked want Coleman brought to the Stone series: he pushed Stone in new directions. Lupica picks this up, but just isn't quite as capable as Coleman. Lupica is good; and the story is enjoyable. He's not though really able to push Stone. He's taken what Parker and Coleman have done and can continue it, but not as likely to do much more. It's hard to pinpoint, but Coleman, like Parker, was able to balance the action, plot, and introspection. Lupica doesn't seem to hit this balance right. I noticed the same thing in his Sunny novels (which doesn't bode well for Spenser that he's recently taken over).

One thing that bugs me about Lupica's style is that there are far too many "he said" "she said" "Stone said, Molly said." Need some of that, but not after almost line of dialogue. On the audio, it's very distracting.

I liked having more Molly; there is a lot to develop with her the way Coleman expanded Suits.

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Review: Robert B. Parker's The Bitterest Pill

2025-12-04T22:27:43.430-06:00

Robert B. Parker's The Bitterest Pill by Reed Farrel Coleman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Coleman brings his noir-style Stone to its fullest expression in this one. There were some dark moments, some good twists, and red herrings. I really like Coleman's Stone. I wish he was continuing with the series, I would have like to see where he took it. He didn't try to imitate Parker's style but staying true to the core.

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Review: Robert B. Parker's Colorblind

2025-11-29T18:19:17.347-06:00

Robert B. Parker's Colorblind by Reed Farrel Coleman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really interesting Stone novel: several interesting, though not entirely surprising, twists here. Coleman continues to push the series in new directions and I like it.

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