Monthly Archives: August 2022

transfer of power

Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp #3) by Vince Flynn

This post may contain spoilers.

I’ve only just found out that this is the third in a series of novels on the same character. Mitch Rapp is a CIA agent but not fully employed by the CIA – kind of a sub contracted agent. Not much of his back story is given and it now seems that there is more detail in the previous books.

The concept was quite good. Rapp is on the trail of a very intelligent and ruthless Middle Eastern terrorist who then takes over the White House taking hundreds of staff hostage and with the President holed up in an underground bunker. The terrorist has the White House locked down and booby trapped while he provides a list of demands to give him time to break into the bunker and take the President hostage also.

All communications with the White House are blocked so with the President unable to perform his duties the office is transferred to the inept Vice President and his manipulative political aide who handle the negotiations terribly.

Rapp is sent in to try and restore communications and gather intelligence. He is accompanied by an ex-military civilian who has an in depth knowledge of the building and they rescue a young female journalist who is being raped by one of the terrorists. The three of them then work to free the President and prepare the outside forces to rescue the hostages.

Overall it wasn’t a bad book. It started very well and finished well but got bogged down badly in the middle. There wasn’t enough material to keep the interest levels high while inside the White House with all the focus on Rapp and his small team. I also found the characters of the VP and his aide quite unbelievable in their behaviours and how they interacted with the military, FBI and CIA heads as they worked on the solution. My biggest struggle though was with the female journalist. I found the scenario in which she was rescued far too contrived especially as the rest of the terrorists simply gave up on finding her. Her further involvement in the operation was a bit ridiculous.

It’s more likely a 3.5 star rating for this book but if you are interested I would likely recommend going back to the first book in the series and starting there. It will probably fill in the back story at least.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

More on Goodreads and Amazon.

Header image by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

soviet comeback

More on Goodreads and Amazon.

Header image by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

failure is an option

1 Reply

“Failure is an Option” written and read by Matt Whyman

This post may contain spoilers.

Unlike many other books of this type that I’ve read or listened to previously, this is written by someone who is already an accomplished author and this is obvious from very early in the book. What is also obvious is that he’s a very, very good author. To make it even better he has a fantastic personal story to tell.

The book is built around the fact that he is taking part in the 2021 edition of “The Dragon’s Back Race” which dubs itself as “the world’s toughest mountain race“. This is a multi-day ultra distance mountain run along the spine of Wales but the author’s story doesn’t start there. He takes us right back to the humble beginning of his running journey when he started accompanying his Dad on his local post-work runs as a young child. This progressed through solo running, school cross country to Parkrun, the London Marathon and eventually ultra running races of 100+ miles culminating in the Dragon’s Back Race.

I loved his humble and self-deprecating analysis of his running journey. He is very much an average person and an average runner. He has very little knowledge of training programs, sports nutrition or cross training and makes every possible mistake along the way. However, his love of running shines through in every word as he learns from every mistake and gradually gains the knowledge to make success more likely.

He also has many challenges in his personal life. He deals with a period of depression and alcohol misuse as well as physical issues caused by an accident. He’s a father and husband and has familial responsibilities that he has to fit around his love of running and describes all his struggles to do both in a way that will probably connect with everyone that reads or listens to his story.

One of the warmest aspects of this story is his very obvious love for his wife and children. He’s besotted with them all and they are all a source of incredible pride for him. Overall he’s an ordinary Dad that does extraordinary things without the arrogance and selfishness you would normally expect. This book was an absolute joy to listen to and I know very little about running and especially ultra running.

There is a very surreal anecdote in this book that is so bizarre that even the author struggles to believe it. I won’t spoil it here as it is too wonderful to take it away from anyone else but as well as having an almost life changing impact on the author it shows the reader an inkling of the kind of warm, caring and special person the man he met actually was. On its own this little piece of the story makes the whole book worthwhile.

This is the third and final audiobook I’ve listened to that came from recommendations on Splodz Blogz weekly blog Episode 110. All of them have been great but I think this is my favourite of the three.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

hike: baby bluestacks

2 Replies

On Sunday last week I was supposed to be walking with the Club but due to the yellow weather warning for thunderstorms the walk leader decided to cancel the evening before. I thought this was a bit over cautious but then I’ve never had to take responsibly for a group in the hills.

With a close eye on the forecast I was able to see on Sunday morning that the Bluestack Mountains weren’t going to be at any risk until late Sunday evening so I made the decision to head out, properly equipped in case the weather did turn nasty of course.

I followed a walk from Mountainviews.ie by Gerry McVeigh who has a great YouTube channel also. It was 11km (that somehow turned out to be 12.5km?) and took in 4 summits, all slightly over 400m, on the less trodden section of the range. It was an intensely warm and humid day with hard ground for walking that really took it out of me but it was also a lovely walk and very satisfying to complete. It’s also given me a real confidence boost for the higher Bluestacks.

Unsurprisingly there’s a video on my channel if you are interested in seeing how it went.

Header image by Pixabay from Pexels

song of the week 31: breed

1 Reply

“Breed” by Nirvana

Genre: Grunge/Punk Rock
Single Release Date: Album only September 1991
Album: “Nevermind“

One of few fast and frenetic tracks on Nevermind this creates a jolt of energy when listening to the album in sequence. Although “Smells Like Teen Spirit” gets the attention from this album this is equally as good. It was originally titled “Immodium” for an album that never happened and then re-recorded and renamed for Nevermind.

Lyrics

I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care
I don’t care, I don’t care, care if it’s old
I don’t mind, I don’t mind, I don’t mind
I don’t mind, mind, don’t have a mind

Get away, get away, get away
Get away, away, away from your home
I’m afraid, I’m afraid, I’m afraid
I’m afraid, afraid, ghost

Even if you have, even if you need
I don’t mean to stare, we don’t have to breed
We could plant a house, we could build a tree
I don’t even care, we could have all three

She said, she said
She said, she said
She said, she said
She said, she said

I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care
I don’t care, care, care if it’s old
I don’t mind, I don’t mind, I don’t mind
I don’t mind, mind, don’t have a mind

Get away, get away, get away
Get away, away, away from your home
I’m afraid, I’m afraid, I’m afraid
I’m afraid, afraid, ghost

Even if you have, even if you need
I don’t mean to stare, we don’t have to breed
We can plant a house, we can build a tree
I don’t even care, we could have all three

She said, she said
She said, she said
She said, she said
She said, she said

Even if you have, even if you need
I don’t mean to stare, we don’t have to breed
We can plant a house, we can build a tree
I don’t even care, we could have all three

She said, she said
She said, she said
She said, she said
She said, she said
She said

Said, good

Click here for a playlist of all the songs in this series on Spotify

Header image from 8Tracks.com

rules of civility

2 Replies

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

This post may contain spoilers.

I was a bit reluctant to read this book as it’s about as far out of my usual genres as its possible to go and reading the summary it sounded horribly similar to The Great Gatsby that I was forced to read for my English Inter Cert and detested. However, I’d already read The Lincoln Highway and loved it so I was prepared to give this a go. Guess what, I loved this too!

Katey is the daughter of Russian immigrants who was born and raised in New York and from a very working class background. The preface starts in the late 60s with Katey happily married and living a wealthy and contented life. At an art exhibition she spots two photos of an old friend and lover taken in 1938 and 1939. She is catapulted back to her first meeting with “Tinker” Grey and the events of 1938 that changed her life at 25.

The story focuses very much on Katey’s perspective but also tells the story of the many people she meets and befriends throughout 1938, the sometimes frivolous behaviour of the late 30s and how the paths are set for the rest of their lives.

The quality of the writing is superb and it’s hard to believe this is the author’s first book. I was surprised, not only by how much I enjoyed it, but also by how emotionally invested in the characters I became. This is a book of both highs and lows but I finished it with a sadly sweet nostalgia for a life that wasn’t my own.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

More on Goodreads and Amazon.

Header image by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

cooking in the woods

3 Replies

With no plans and the start of a week long heat wave cranking up I was at a bit of a loose end on Sunday. Keen to get out and moving I decided to go for a long walk to the woods and cook my lunch.

To make things a little more interesting I decided to take my little twig stove, to light a real fire and cook over the flames.

The walk was along local country roads with hedgerows still in good colour but a real sense that autumn was coming with flowers past their best and berries starting to show.

The walk over was a very pleasant and warm 3k. Mostly downhill which obviously meant an uphill return! The woods were green and full of life but again some early adopters were starting to show signs of leaves turning.

I soon headed off track and into a heavily wooded area where I would have space to setup and be undisturbed. A lunch menu of smoked sausage, peppers, red onion and baked beans flavoured with a dash of sweet chilli sauce went down a treat with myself and Rosie also. A cup of tea to use the last of the coals before relaxing to enjoy the woods and let the fire burn out and cool down.

I went home a slightly different route which took me up the steep hill past Gleneely school before gradually descending and arriving home with 11k done and in a sweaty, sticky mess in the humid afternoon heat.

Having not done much walking since our holiday in June I definitely felt the hill in my glute muscles the following morning!

Video of my afternoon mini adventure at the YouTube link below

shadow’s edge

1 Reply

Shadow’s Edge (Night Angel #2) by Brent Weeks

This post may contain spoilers.

Kylar and Elene have escaped with Uly and are trying to set up a new life in a nearby country. Elene is trying to break Kylar away from his old murderous life as a “wetboy” assassin. Kylar is desperately trying to become a new person while dealing with the guilt of having killed his master, Durzo, and abandoned his best friend Logan. His inate skills are augmented by the magical ka’kari and he struggles to abandon his former ways for good.

The residents of the Warrens are struggling under the oppression of the conquering armies of Khalidor and revolution is brewing. Led by Kylar’s friends Jarl and Momma K they manage to consolidate their forces and raise an army to oppose the God King. However, they still need a champion and a leader to rally around.

Logan didn’t die in the first book but escaped into the dreaded prison known as the Maw and the Hole. He’s desperately clinging on to life among the dregs of society that have been reduced to worse than animals in a constant battle to survive.

Jarl comes to Kylar with the news that Logan still lives and now he must choose between his love for Elene and his debt to Logan.

Throw in the beautiful and ruthless assassin Vi, who has been offered freedom if she delivers Jarl and Kylar into the hands of the God King, and you have a complicated but gripping story of magic, evil, betrayal and love.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

More on Goodreads and Amazon.

Header image by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

shadows of sounds

More on Goodreads and Amazon.

Header image by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

song of the week 30: welcome home (sanitarium)

the idle cyclist

cycling less than i plan

Monthly Archives: August 2022

transfer of power

soviet comeback

failure is an option

hike: baby bluestacks

song of the week 31: breed

rules of civility

cooking in the woods

shadow’s edge

shadows of sounds

song of the week 30: welcome home (sanitarium)