walt-longmire

As The Crow Flies

Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 19:26 on 23 March 2015, kitt created this:

Walt Longmire, Book 8

Okay, book eight of the Longmire series. While I thought I might be growing tired of reading these straight through, I was mistaken. The books are entertaining reads. The wit is great, though less of it in this one. The plot was clever in that the original murder was, then wasn't, then maybe was, a murder.

And gosh golly a crap tonne of people die in this series. Upside, at least this wasn't actually IN Longmire's county. That's the only upside.

This book has the introduction of another strong female lead, which is amusing in some sense, not so amusing in another. That "another" being the case where, well, in future books there are sure to be annoying tug-o-wars over Longmire, full of discomfort.

This book also reminds us of previous foreshadowing of not-so-great-things happening to Cady, also in future books.

Fortunately, those are in future books. This one was totally entertaining, and, for once, Walt didn't freeze something off or collect another crazy injury. Yay!

Recommended.

Unrelated to the book, HEY! Look! I'm in the second half of my goal of reading 52 books this year, and it's only week 13th, still the first quarter of the year. Yay!

Hell is Empty

Book Notes Posted by kitt at 09:33 on 4 March 2015

Walt Longmire, Book 7

Of surprise to no one, including me, I enjoyed this book. I am very much enjoying Johnson's writing style, complete with historical references, literary quotes, and quick-witted responses.

This book was a bit different, in that the bad guys, well, were all bad guys. The actual deaths in this book were, well, righteous deaths, in self defense and by someone with intent to kill. There's one very major plot device that was entertainingly obvious, but acceptable, in the book. When I became aware of it early on, watching for the device to repeat itself made its appearance that more entertaining.

In this book, Walt nearly freezes to death. Again. You'd think that after nearly freezing to death saving the Cheyenne Nation the year before, he'd be less likely to put himself in the situation to do so again. But that's the thing about fictional characters: they can be larger than life, and survive.

And sometimes, you need someone larger than life to inspire you to do better in yours.

This, as all of the Longmire books, is highly recommended.

Related, at the end of the book is a list of character inspired books to read. I am uncertain if I'll read them all, but it's an interesting list:

Junkyard Dogs

Book Notes Posted by kitt at 21:09 on 25 February 2015

Walt Longmire, Book 6

This is one of the shorter Walt Longmire books so far. It was also different, in that the BIG CRIME (yes, still a murder) doesn't happen at the beginning of the book. The introduction by Johnson gave away some of the plot, which was a little disappointing, but the book was still a fun read.

One of the things I like about Johnson's writing is that he doesn't make Longmire out to be some super human who can take four bullets to the chest then stand up and beat the crap out of the bad guy. The injuries Longmire has sustained over the previous 5 books are a factor, and he keeps being beat up. Of course, Longmire still finds the bad guy, but he's moving far more slowly than before.

I also like how Johnson makes references to history in a passing way, like to the 6000 torches from Rome to Capua. The casual references amuse me, often having me off to figure out what they refer to. I'm enjoying it.

This book, and the series, is recommended.

The Dark Horse

Book Notes Written with a loving hand by kitt some time around 09:48 on 19 February 2015

Walt Longmire, Book 5

You must enjoy the book THIS MUCH to continue reading. Fortunately for this one, not a problem. The mystery is good. There was one part that took a little more suspension of disbelief than normal, but, hey, let's go for it. I have to say, I'm a bit delighted that the bad guy is not a bad cop.

Recommended.

Another Man's Moccasins

Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 15:15 on 17 February 2015, kitt created this:

Walt Longmire, Book 4

Yep, still enjoying the Longmire books. Would be rather hard not to enjoy them, with the wit of the characters. In this one, the dead body comes from OUTSIDE of Wyoming, so whoo! not another person dying in the county. Who would have thought so many people could die in such a small place anyway?

The format of this one is a little different, in that it has a number of flashbacks to Vietnam (the reference of which is coincidental to Bosch, who was also in Vietnam, but with a much different experience), and an intertwined storyline. Two mysteries for the price of one!

The ending was satisfying. I'll keep reading this series and recommending it.

Kindness Goes Unpunished

Book Notes kitt decided around 21:36 on 13 February 2015 to publish this:

Walt Longmire, Book 3

Completely unsurprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Given the number of deaths in the last two books, I was seriously concerned where Johnson was going to go with this book. There are only so many murders that can happen in a small population space before people begin fleeing, moving out, going to safer places. The previous two books had six murders in total. If this book had had another one, well, okay, I'd still suspend disbelief, but I'd become very frustrated with the triteness of it.

Fortunately, not the case. Unfortunately, Walt's daughter is injured when he and Henry are visiting in Philadelphia. And what do you know, MORE PEOPLE DIE. Kinda the point, though.

I'm finding these books addicting. I've been reading them as I walk and run on the treadmill, which means I've been walking a lot more than I had last month. Between Longmire and Bosch, I am having a delightful time reading through the series.

This book is, as expected, recommended. As of this writing, I am, of course reading the next one.

Death Without Company

Book Notes kitt decided around 17:40 on 9 February 2015 to publish this:

Walt Longmire, Book 2

Okay, book two of the Walk Longmire series, and it was as delightfully entertaining as the first one. I am thoroughly enjoying these books. In this book, there were three murders. Coupled with the three deaths in the previous book, you would totally expect anyone in the area to hightail it out of there for safer grounds. And a joke is even made about Longmire retiring and fast, before there are any more. The characters are fun to read about, the banter witty and the Gavriel-Kay style of not telling the reader everything going on, but letting said reader read between the lines to understand, all totally enchant me with these books.

You can read about the plot elsewhere, or just pick it up and start reading it. I liked these first two books enough to keep reading, and maybe seek them out in hardcover, if they've been published in that form.

I may have also actively stayed up until after midnight finishing this book, which I haven't done since Harry Dresden or Harry Potter. So...

Recommended.

The Cold Dish

Book Notes Instead of being asleep at 14:22 on 2 February 2015, kitt created this:

I think that Book Riot might be the death of me. I have to admit that "death by books" wouldn't necessarily be the worst way to go, though perhaps being pummeled to death by books might be. In this particular case, the article Five Female Characters Who Are Way More Awesome in Books started off with Katee Sackhoff as Victoria Moretti in Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series. Katee Sackhoff. Starbuck. Sackhoff. In another tough-as-nails role? Yeah, sign me up.

And, holy moly, this book is fun. I came for the character and stayed for the wit. Johnson's writing style is as fun as Butcher's style in the Dresden series. Johnson also has the writing style of showing, not telling. I am a huge fan of this style, and consider it a sign of a better writer. The book is written in first person, and done well. We aren't privy to thoughts of the other characters, but are shown small details, sometimes in odd places, just as we all do in real life.

The book is set in Small Town, Wyoming. I haven't looked up the town or county to see if they actually exist. An unpleasant young-ish man is murdered. While the sheriff (who we follow in the first person) is solving his murder, one of the victim's fellow miscreants is also murdered. The sheriff is now taxed with protecting the victims' other fellow miscreants, while now solving two murders, which are linked. We learn of the sheriff's history in this book, the first of a currently-11 book series, which isn't unusual for a first book.

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