Florida Road Trip

Just got back from visiting some friends in Panama City. I'm not much of a long distance driver but I found that Books on tape and a cool GPS device for the laptop makes it much more bearable.

Delorme GPS Street Atlas is a must have tool. Got in a major traffic jam that basically turned I75 into a parking lot. Took the next exit and based on the GPS indicator I was able to find an alternative path using what can be best described as private driveways. But after waiving at several home owners staring at the fool going through their private drive, made it back to I75 and past the blockage.

Books on Tape

Prey - Michael Crichton: Not only did I enjoy this Techno Thriller, but the family also enjoyed it as well. This was my first Michael Crichton and was not disappointed. Not without its faults, for example most of the interesting early sections of the book are forgotten.

Tom Clancy's Net Force - State of War: To use the correct review terminology, this was a stinker. From what I understand, this is not a true Tom Clancy effort. Maybe I missed something by starting in the middle of the series with State of War, which is apparently #7 in the line.

I thought the following review from NM was appropriate:

The first three or four Clancy novels (Sum of all Fears is the best - it totally predicted 9/11) were OK. If the reader happens to be a military jock sniffer, they are more than OK. Even in the first novels, though, Clancy shows some traits that are grating:

1) lots o' typos, grammar blunders, etc.;

2) an obsession with drinking;

3) gratuitous, non-helpful military detail;

4) plot development that belonged more properly in fairy tales.

In his later works, these traits came to the fore and his better parts (good pacing and foreshadowing) dropped behind. I can no longer bear to read his stuff.