Very Quick Review: THE LAST ENFORCER by Charles Oakley, w. Frank Isola (Gallery)

September 11, 2021 Civilian Reader Uncategorized Basketball, Biography, Charles Oakley, Frank Isola, Gallery Books, Knicks, Memoir, Michael Jordan, NBA, Non-Fiction, Raptors, Simon & Schuster, Sports

An interesting, albeit limited memoir

A memoir from Charles Oakley — one of the toughest and most loyal players in NBA history — featuring unfiltered stories about the journey that basketball has taken him on and his relationships with Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, James Dolan, Donald Trump, George Floyd, and so many others.

If you ask a New York Knicks fan about Charles Oakley, you better prepare to hear the love and a favorite story or two. But his individual stats weren’t remarkable, and while he helped power the Knicks to ten consecutive playoffs, he never won a championship. So why does he hold such a special place in the minds, hearts, and memories of NBA players and fans?

Because over the course of nineteen years in the league, Oakley was at the center of more unbelievable encounters than Forrest Gump, and nearly as many fights as Mike Tyson. He was the friend you wish you had, and the enemy you wish you’d never made. If any opposing player was crazy enough to start a fight with him, or God forbid one of his teammates, Oakley would end it.

“I can’t remember every rebound I grabbed but I do have a story — the true story — of just about every punch and slap on my resume,” he says.

In The Last Enforcer, Oakley shares one incredible story after the next — all in his signature, unfiltered style — about his life in the paint and beyond, fighting for rebounds and respect. You’ll look back on the era of the 1990s NBA, when tough guys with rugged attitudes, unflinching loyalty, and hard-nosed work ethics were just as important as three-point sharpshooters. You’ll feel like you were on the court, in the room, can’t believe what you just saw, and need to tell everyone you know about it.

I was looking forward to reading this memoir. Like many people, Michael Jordan’s prime years with the Chicago Bulls was my introduction to basketball. Oakley was one of Jordan’s earlier teammates, and is one of his closest friends, but was traded away to the Knicks just before the Bulls embarked on their epic six-championships run. This is his story, complete with honest, blunt appraisals of his teammates, the League (now and then), and more. It’s got plenty of interesting insights and illuminating stories. But in many ways, it also comes across as rather one-note. Continue reading →

Excerpt: THINGS HALF IN SHADOW by Alan Finn (Gallery Books)

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014 Civilian Reader Excerpt Alan Finn, Gallery Books, Historical, Romance, Simon & Schuster, Supernatural, Things Half In Shadow, Thriller

Today, we have an excerpt from Alan Finn‘s Things Half in Shadow, a historical and supernatural thriller. Published by Gallery Books in the US today, here is the synopsis:

Postbellum America makes for a haunting backdrop in this historical and supernatural tale of moonlit cemeteries, masked balls, cunning mediums, and terrifying secrets waiting to be unearthed by an intrepid crime reporter.

The year is 1869, and the Civil War haunts the city of Philadelphia like a stubborn ghost. Mothers in black continue to mourn their lost sons. Photographs of the dead adorn dim sitting rooms. Maimed and broken men roam the streets. One of those men is Edward Clark, who is still tormented by what he saw during the war. Also constantly in his thoughts is another, more distant tragedy — the murder of his mother at the hands of his father, the famed magician Magellan Holmes… a crime that Edward witnessed when he was only ten.

Now a crime reporter for one of the city’s largest newspapers, Edward is asked to use his knowledge of illusions and visual trickery to expose the influx of mediums that descended on Philadelphia in the wake of the war. His first target is Mrs. Lucy Collins, a young widow who uses old-fashioned sleight of hand to prey on grieving families. Soon, Edward and Lucy become entwined in the murder of Lenora Grimes Pastor, the city’s most highly regarded — and by all accounts, legitimate — medium, who dies mid-séance. With their reputations and livelihoods at risk, Edward and Lucy set out to find the real killer, and in the process unearth a terrifying hive of secrets that reaches well beyond Mrs. Pastor.

Blending historical detail with flights of fancy, Things Half in Shadow is a riveting thriller where Medium and The Sixth Sense meet The Alienist — and where nothing is quite as it seems…
Continue reading →

Review: THE FIRE SERMON by Francesca Haig (Gallery/Voyager)

December 10, 2014December 8, 2014 Civilian Reader Review Dystopia, Francesca Haig, Gallery Books, Sci-Fi, The Fire Sermon, Voyager

Much-hyped debut fails to sizzle

Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha — physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega—burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world’s sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other.

Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side-by-side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights.

This novel has been enjoying quite some hype on social media, and the premise does sound like an interesting take on the post-apocalyptic dystopia genre. Dreamworks has already acquired film rights for the novel (which is the first in a trilogy), and the Guardians of the Galaxy co-screenwriter has been hired to write the adaptation. It has been described as a “Potential Heir to the Hunger Games“. This had all the makings of an enjoyable, thought-provoking read, one that would rise about the masses of other dystopian novels that are hitting shelves on a monthly basis. I decided to read it early (I received an eARC via the US publisher and NetGalley). Sad to say, I was thoroughly disappointed.

[Minor spoilers ahead. Some not so minor, perhaps.] Continue reading →

New Books (November #2)

November 23, 2014August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Black Library, Brandon Sanderson, Chris Evans, David Baldacci, Del Rey, Elizabeth Bear, Gallery Books, Gav Thorpe, Harper Collins, James Enge, James M. Hough, Jesse Kellerman, Joe Haldeman, John French, John Love, Jonathan Kellerman, Michel Faber, Olivier Truc, Open Road, Poul Anderson, Tor

Featuring: Poul Anderson, David Baldacci, Elizabeth Bear, James Enge, Chris Evans, Michel Faber, John French, Joe Haldeman, James M. Hough, Jonathan & Jesse Kellerman, John Love, Brandon Sanderson, Gav Thorpe, Olivier Truc Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE GREAT ZOO OF CHINA by Matthew Reilly

October 30, 2014 Civilian Reader Upcoming Action, Adventure, Fiction, Gallery Books, Great Zoo of China, Macmillan Australia, Matthew Reilly, Orion, Thriller

I’m a fan of Matthew Reilly‘s novels, but for some reason I’ve allowed his most recent books to fall by the way-side. I thoroughly enjoyed his Jack West Trilogy and also the first few Scarecrow novels. I have, but have not yet read, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and The Tournament. His next title sounds pretty interesting, too:

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years.

They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.

Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.

A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.

The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong…

Matthew Reilly‘s The Great Zoo of China is due to be published on November 10th 2014 by Macmillan in Australia, January 2015 by Gallery Books in the US, and February 2015 by Orion in the UK. (Cover above are in that order.) With any luck, I’ll be able to catch up before this novel is released.

Here’s a video of Reilly talking about the book: