Slay Ride by Dick Francis (1973)
When a champion jockey disappears–right before a big race and the birth of his child–Investigator David Cleveland bets on foul play.
One of his earliest books. This lacks the drive and intensity of later and better written stories. It has the feel of an Agatha Christie mystery. But not a lot of interesting plot.
The latest StoryBundle “Undercover Aliens” features:
Kelvoo’s Testimonial by Phil Bailey
Eclipsing the Aurora by Peter J. Foote
Welcome to the Occupied States of America by Peter Cawdron
The World in My Hands by Nick Snape
Return of the Martians by Mark Hood
The Gunn Files Book 1: Culture Shock by M.G. Herron
Shadows of Divinity by Luke Mitchell
Invasion by Joshua James
Alien People by John Coon
Shadows of the Past by Eric Goebelbecker
Sleepers by Darcy Pattison
Contact Us by Al Macy
Not a lot to choose from this year, but the best were
Morgan Rice’s Kings & Sorcerers
David Wood’s Destination Series: Rio, Luxor & Sofia
| Aliens: Music of the Spears Yvonne Navarro (1996) |
The premise here is that sone ultra rich psychotic wants to record the sound of an Alien in pain. So what could be a short, simple story gets drawn out into an 83k novel that just goes on and on.
It took months to read this,
Maurice Gough Gee
(22 August 1931 – 12 June 2025)
New Zealand novelist.
The Doomsday Brunette
Nuclear Bombshell #2
By John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem
The sequel to The Plutonium Blonde.
It’s the same stuff as the previous one. Witty dialogue, danger, last second saves and destruction. Unfortunately nothing new. And with all in invulnerability going around, nobody really suffers and it looses aby sense in tension.
Destination: Luxor:
A Dane Maddock Adventure
by Dane Maddock Destination Adventure
By Sean Ellis & David Wood
A Pharaoh’s curse reaches up from the grave.
Dane and Bones have traveled to Luxor, Egypt, and the historic Valley of the Kings to explore a sunken subterranean passage that just might/will lead to the undiscovered tomb of a forgotten Pharaoh. But someone else has beaten them to it.
Another highly improbable story, this time with the guys playing around with balloons in the final confrontation.
The Plutonium Blonde
Nuclear Bombshell #1
John Zakour (2001)
Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last private detective on Earth. The year is 2057 and the world is now a safe place.
One small problem… removing a female android intent on causing chaos.
It’s good to get back to a first person, fast paced action story. At the end of almost every chapter, our hero faces death. But still, the story must go on until the final confrontation.
Destination Rio
David Wood & Sean Ellis
A madman seeks to unleash the power of the Demon Core and only Dane and Bones stand in his way!
Only Dane Maddock can save the Pope by grabbing him and parachuting out of a moving train !!
Night of the Bold
Kings And Sorcerers #6
By Morgan Rice
In the finale, Kyra must find a way to free herself from Marda and return to Escalon with the Staff of Truth. If she does, awaiting her will be the most epic battle of her life, as she will need to face off against Ra’s armies, a nation of trolls, and a flock of dragons. If her powers, and the weapon, are strong enough, her mother awaits her, ready to reveal the secrets of her destiny, and of her birth.
