Recent books -- Reacher, Van Eekhout, Deadline, Sandford, Dance with Dragons, 7th Sigma

* “Worth Dying For”:amazon by Lee Childs. Latest Reacher tale, he is in fine form cleaning up a Nebraska county. Like most Reacher fans, I am unenthused with “Cruise as Reacher”:http://screenrant.com/tom-cruise-jack-reacher-one-shot-sandy-123854/ but glad that the books are getting to the screen. 4 stars on Amazon. “3.93 on Goodreads”:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8357992-worth-dying-for, this is a good Reacher tale. * “The Boy at the End of the World”:amazon by Greg Van Eekhout. Good tale of a lone boy in a post-apocalyptic world. A very quick read, a young-adult title. 4.5 stars on Amazon, “4.35 on Goodreads”:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9580832-the-boy-at-the-end-of-the-world, those are some high marks. I might not go quite that far but it is a solid book. * “Deadline”:amazon by Mira Grant. Not quite the emotional kick of the first in the series about post-zombie-apocalypse America, but still quite good as the conspiracy deepens. Looking forward very much to the final book. “4.36 stars on Goodreads”:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8429687-deadline, 4.5 on Amazon, this is quite a good series. * “Buried Prey”:amazon by John Sandford. Nth in a series about a Minneapolis detective. Nicely done, the relationships between police and press are distinctive. I’d read more in the series. 4.5 stars on Amazon, “4.08 on Goodreads”:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9440448-buried-prey, clearly a good series. * “A Dance With Dragons”:amazon by George R R Martin. This book has generated lots of complaining about its perceived failure to advance main plot lines, and expansion of character set. I prefer to embrace the messiness and incompleteness of the author’s world. This series is not going to be tied up neatly with a bow, there is no happy reunion party in the Shire awaiting us. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and await the next with great anticipation. And looking forward to season 2 on HBO! “4.18 stars on Goodreads”:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2782553-a-dance-with-dragons, just 3 on Amazon, I am a 4-star. * “7th Sigma”:amazon by Steven Gould. A retelling of Kim in a near future American Southwest ravaged by rogue nanotechnology. Fun tho characterization is pretty thin. “3.36 on goodreads”:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10136180-7th-sigma, 4.5 stars on Amazon (tho very thinly reviewed).