The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Ectoplasmic Man
-
Daniel Stashower
From
Goodreads:
When Harry Houdini is
framed and jailed for espionage, Sherlock Holmes vows to clear his name,
with the two joining forces to take on blackmailers who have targeted
the Prince of Wales.
It’s a case that requires all of their
skills — both mental and physical. Can the daring duo solve what people
are calling “The Crime of the Century”?
After reading the Peerless Peer I became interested in the other books in the series. Each book is written by a different author and although I've been enjoying a lot of books by Jose Farmer this year I actually preferred this to the Peerless Peer. I enjoyed the banter between Sherlock and Houdini and the premise itself.
The Beasts of Tarzan - Edgar Rice Burroughs
From Goodreads:
As THE BEASTS OF TARZAN
begins, Tarzan -- as Lord Greystoke -- is settled in civilized London.
But two of his enemies, Nikolas Rokoff and henchman Alexis Paulvitch,
are on his trail. The pair abducts Jane -- and Tarzan's son, Jack.
Tarzan himself is stranded on a desert island, but with the help of
Sheeta the panther and Akut the great ape he makes it back to the
mainland. There he meets Mugambi, the giant chief of the Wagambi tribe,
who becomes Tarzan's lifelong friend and ally.
I've been wanting to read the next Tarzan book for months. I really enjoyed the first two and although I'd heard that they get progressively worse I wanted to try them for myself. This one was a little silly in parts and extremely unbelievable but I still enjoyed it. It was a guilty pleasure and one I'll be indulging in again when I read the next one.
The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury
From Goodreads:
Only his second collection,
it is a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy,
and horror. In an ingenious framework to open and close the book,
Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the
Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of
exotic tattoos. The illustrations are themselves magically alive,
and each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein
rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Zero
Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our
own children. Even though most were written in the 1940s and 1950s,
these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years
from now.
I must confess that I'd never read any Ray Bradbury before this. I've wanted to for a while and this challenge seemed like as good a time as any. I'm so, so glad I did. The writing is amazing. I was hooked. Although I didn't like all of the stories the writing and the imagery it creates kept me reading and enjoying them. I can't wait to try some more of his writing.
So, three shorter books this week after the mammoth read of last week. I seemed to stray toward the classics and all three of my reads have left me wanting to find and devour more of the same. At this point in my challenge I'm on 36/50. It feels pretty good that I've only got 14 books left to go. As always you can find me on Goodreads to see what I'm currently or what's up next. You can also catch up on past weeks here.
