Book Log 2010 #30: The Cavalier of the Apocalypse by Susanne Alleyn

As best as I can tell, Susanne Alleyn likes to work out of sequence. This is the third book in her historical mystery series, which is set in revolutionary France and features writer-turned-detective Aristide Ravel, but is chronologically the first. The first and second released books are third and fourth chronologically, while her upcoming book, the fourth in the series, happens second. This bothers me more than it should, as I like to read series in order.

But as much as it may bother me, I wills say I enjoyed this book quite a bit. We're introduced to Ravel as a potential suspect in what appear to be Masonically-tinged killings. Ravel has to work to clear his name, and in the process teams up with a police inspector who will become his partner in future books. And while I'm not particularly interested in the French Revolution, it's a smart period to set a mystery series, what with the increased violence and all.

Solid start to a series, certainly enough to have me continue along.

Book Log 2010 #29: The Daughters of Cain by Colin Dexter

Very good, as usual. I do think, on re-reading all of these, that I like the later books in the series a bit more than the earlier ones. I think it's having a fully developed Morse-Lewis relationship. Not sure.

Book Log 2010 #28:Salt by Mark Kurlansky

I'm a little torn about this book, as it's interesting and well written. It just may be a little too well written, as it takes great pains to present the story of salt from a large variety of historical and cultural viewpoints. It gets a little exhausting, and reminds me that one of the things I liked about Cod was its brevity. Granted, that was likely partly be necessity (I'm assuming there's not a lot of cod-related source material out there), but I thought the shorter length gave the story more impact.

Anyway, worth reading, certainly.

Book Log 2010 #27: The Essential Engineer by Henry Petroski

I've usually enjoyed Henry Petroski's writings on engineering and how it influences everyday life - The Evolution of Useful Things and The Pencil are classic examples of his ability to write about engineering in an engaging and accessible manner - so I was very interested in this, his newest book, as it promised (via its subtitle) to explain "[w]hy science alone will not solve our globabl problems."

Suffice it to say I'm still not sure that was every really explained. Petroski spends much of the book talking about the interaction between science and engineering, how each discipline relates to the other, and how science often builds off of engineering rather than vice versa.

From there I expected a discourse on various major problems and the ways engineering could address them where science cannot. And that kind of happened, but never very clearly, and not to the point I expected given the title. Disappointing.

Book log 2010 #26: The Dogs of Rome by Conor Fitzgerald

Very engaging debut novel featuring Alec Blume, an expatriate American working as an Italian police inspector who gets called in to solve the killing of an anti-dog fighting activist whose wife is a prominent politician and whose girlfriend is the daughter of a high-ranking mafioso.

The book does a nice job of displaying the nuance necessary to actually bring someone to justice, as Blume has to balance the political influence, institutional corruption and personal agendas that come out most strongly in a high profile case. Throw in issues related to a new love interest (who may have her own agenda) and potential links back to the killings of Blume's own parents, and you have the makings of an enjoyably complex mystery.

The one annoyance I had is that the cover touts this as "An Alec Blume Mystery," which made me think this was a later entry in a series rather than the first book. Not a huge thing, obviously.

Book Log 2010 #25: The Yugo by Jason Vuic

While the Yugo went down in history as potentially the worst car ever sold in the US (the guys on Car Talk dubbed it the worst car of the past millenium), this book gives much more of the detail surrounding its creation and failure, giving depth to a vehicle that is, to most people, merely a punch line (as witnessed by the Yugo jokes that start every chapter).

Beyond the car, we also get a good picture of the man who brought it to promenance, Malcolm Bricklin, a serial entrepreneur who was at both his best and worst when it came to car companies. He was great at launches, but never was able to develop and nurture his launch into a going concern. This had its most comical result with the Yugo, an underpowered and sub-standard vehicle produced by a facility that would never be able to produce a car that could compete in the US.

In addition to that, Vuic points out that the 1980s wasn't the best time to launch a small car, given the focus on personal excess and the fading memories of the oil crunches of the previous decade. I'm not sure that's fully correct - Hyundai first launched in the US at about the same time, with a small car of low price and marginal quality - but the shoddy standards of the Yugo certainly didn't help it fight off whatever social standards were in place at the time.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and would certainly recommend it, especially for children of the '80s and anyone interested in cars.