Pennyworth Books

In this latest novel by prizewinning author Ron Rash, the title character relocates with her unscrupulous husband to the mountains of North Carolina to make her fortune in the lumber trade. Rash spins his story like a tall tale, in which the fantastic characters are grounded only by their connection to the harsh realities of the wilderness. Once in North Carolina, Serena quickly establishes her authority with their business partners and with the men in the camp. She shoots bear, tracks panther, and trains an eagle to rid the camp of poisonous snakes.

Her resourceful mind and survival skills lead her to save the life of Galloway the most dangerous man in the camp, who in turn becomes her loyal henchman. Together they terrorize all opposing forces including the woman who had a child out of wedlock with Serena’s husband. Serena’s uncompromising attitude and demand for unquestioning loyalty lead to retaliation…

It’s Friday night and you’re about to relax with the third novel of Max Barry, Company. When you first pick it up, you think you’re about to embark on a literary journey, involving yet another story about seemingly worthless individuals. You’re expecting a comedy, reminiscent of Barry’s earlier comedic works, Syrup and Jennifer Government, as well as the television show, The Office, and expect to find between the pages a bittersweet tale of the mere cogs of the machine. You know, the ones chained to their desks, the victims of the corporate dictatorship who are just trying to find some sort of self worth in their mundane and listless existence. Consider yourself warned, reader, you are mistaken. Instead, you will find that the novel is a bizarre mix of workplace satire and an Orwell-esque Big Brother mass conspiracy.

Zephyr Holdings is much like any other large company – “bereft of any…

I just finished reading “The Gemini Man” and found it a good read. With the tag line on the cover of “He was trained to be our deadliest weapon. Now he’s our worst nightmare….” I expected more action. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this novel. It is the first book of Steinberg’s I’ve read, and I’ll read more from him.

I liked the premise, and I liked the main character, however, like other people here have pointed out, I would have enjoyed knowing more about the main character and what he was thinking and what was driving him toward the actions he took. But maybe Steinberg wanted us to fill in those gaps ourselves, after all, this was more psychological than action oriented.

While I did enjoy this book, one thing bothered me. Steinberg, not once, but twice in the text, used the old myth of driving nose bones up into the brain. The…