Red Menace’s Reading Room: 2024 Audiobook Recap

Culture, Gun Nerd Stuff 19 Minutes

Well, another year in the books (get it? Get it?), listened to almost the same number of books as last year, and stayed well ahead of my “one book per week” goal. Found some cool new authors in 2024 and I’m looking forward to reading more of them in 2025. Oh, and before I do my Hall of Fame for this year: GO READ REPLAY BY KEN GRIMWOOD. Don’t look it up, don’t read the dust cover, just read the book and thank me later.

TLDR Hall of Fame:  The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty, Who Can Hold the Sea by James D. Hornfischer, Punk’s War by Ward Carroll, Replay by Ken Grimwood, Chickenhawk by Robert Mason, The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling, Callahan Chronicals by Spider Robinson, American Desperado by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright, Saturn Run by John Sandford.

  1. A Clean Kill in Tokyo by Barry Eisler – I wasn’t expecting much from this book. That title put me in mind of a cheap airport thriller novel. It was a little more nuanced than that which I liked. Good plot, good characters, would recommend. 8/10
  1. Bomber Mafia by Malcom Gladwell – A fairly cursory story of the development of American strategic bomber doctrine in the lead up to World War 2, and the realities that doctrine ran into over Germany. Quite well written, the audiobook included audio of interviews with historians which I thought was a nice touch. 8/10
  1. The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty – The seventh and most recent release in the “Sean Duffy” detective series. Andrian McKinty is a fantastic noir writer, and the setting of 1980’s Belfast is just perfect. Really good mystery as well, which you can put together on your own if you’re paying attention. My biggest problem is I’ll have to wait at least two years for another installment. 10/10
  1. All the Pieces Matter by Jonathan Abrams – An oral history of The Wire, probably one of the best television shows as yet created. It was very interesting hearing about how the show came to exist, the detail and mindset that went into the writing. Some of the interviews with the actors were interesting, but once they get into “developing their characters” I kind of check out. Also it gets very preachy at the end which was annoying. 7/10
  1. What If? by Stephen E. Ambrose – This was more a collection of essays than a single cohesive book. And while the description for the book calls it “reimagining the 20th Century” which sounds neat but unfortunately it focuses mainly on World War I, World War II, and a little bit about the Cold War. The takes are interesting enough, especially some of the WWI hypotheticals, but the downside is some of the most interesting sections are very brief essays that don’t flesh out the worlds they create. 8/10
  1. The Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White – An autobiography tracking the author’s life and career through fine dining in the UK. I really enjoyed this one, unlike Kitchen Confidential it didn’t dwell so much on White’s philosophy behind working in the kitchen, it simply presented how harsh it is. The author also comes to some very self-reflective conclusions that were refreshing. 9/10
  1. Who Can Hold the Sea by James D. Hornfischer – A very detailed examination of the U.S. Navy’s development from 1945 through 1960. I learned a lot from this book, not just about the development of weapon systems but also the political decisions behind different acquisitions. I think it dwelt on the ground war Korea just a little too much. I was really sad to hear that the author passed away just after this book was published. I would’ve loved another installment covering 1960-1980. 10/10 
  1. Gangland by Chuck Hogan – This was a very serviceable crime novel by the author of The Town (more correctly Prince of Thieves the novel on which the movie The Town is based). I really liked this one, it has all the parts you need for a good gangster story, conflicted criminals, dirty cops, unhinged crime bosses. There was a little more “pride” content than I would’ve liked but it wasn’t too overdone and was integral to the story. 9/10 
  1. Canberra Boys by Andrew Brookes – This is the last in a loose series of “Boys” books covering different British military aircraft from the Cold War. They are all incredibly interesting and this one was no different. The Canberra is an absolutely iconic airplane and this was a great look at its development and service life. It’s full of a great mix of amusing anecdotes, interesting combat stories, and sheds light on British defense acquisition short sightedness. It did however, completely gloss over Rhodesian and South African use of the Canberra. Imagine writing an entire book about the Canberra and not even mentioning Green Leader. 8/10
  1. Punk’s War by Ward Carroll – This book was absolutely phenomenal. Everything about it is perfect. The dialogue, the characters, the pacing, the conflicts it’s all exceptional. The author was an F-14 Tomcat RIO in the eighties and nineties, and his first hand knowledge of the subject really shines through in the book. There are two more books in this series and I cannot wait to get to them. 10/10
  1. Black and White by Ben English – The subtext to this book is “Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol” and I would say that is very accurate. Although the stories are very interesting and the author has a great writing style, it really is more a collection of anecdotes than a single linear narrative. This doesn’t take much away from the book, apart from a little trouble keeping names straight. 9/10
  1. Punk’s Wing by Ward Carroll – I jumped over about 80 other books to listen to this sequel. While maybe not quite as good as the first it was still fantastic and managed to make peacetime training interesting. Definitely going to finish this trilogy after the next nonfiction book. 9/10 
  1. Kretschmer by Lawerence Paterson – A biographical examination of the highest scoring U boat captain of World War 2. The book does a great job detailing Kretchmer’s entire career. As interesting as the Battle of the Atlantic sections were, the part I found most intriguing was the time Kretchmer spent as a POW in Canada. Riots, illegal prisoner tribunals, and even legitimate escape attempts. Biggest downside of the book was the narrator, he sounded like a poorly made text to speech AI. 8/10 
  1. Punk’s Fight by Ward Carroll – The final part of the Punk trilogy. Like the other two books this one was fantastically written with great characters and a perfectly paced plot. I would have really liked to see this series continue, but coming up on 20 years since this book was finished that seems unlikely. I guess a trilogy shouldn’t have more than 3 parts. 9/10 
  1. James May’s 20th Century by James May – A very insightful and typically James May look at some of the most important inventions of the 20th Century. May talks about cars, airplanes, modern medicine, and the internet. Really interesting overall, I never knew the voice of Tigger invented an artificial heart. 8/10 
  1. Replay by Ken Grimwood – I had this book spoiled for me when I was 12 or 13 and I still loved it. I’m not going to explain or spoil anything, I’ll simply say read it. Don’t read any reviews, don’t read the dust cover, just read the book. Good call Dad. 10/10
  1. No Beast So Fierce by Dane Huckelbridge – This is the story of the Champawat Man Eater, a tiger that killed more than 400 people in its lifetime. The book goes into a lot of detail on tiger biology and behavior, history and culture of Nepal and India, and tiger hunting through the centuries. It nevers go too hard into “man bad” which was nice. 8/10
  1. Voyage by Stephen Baxter – An alternate history story of what NASA might have looked like if JFK hadn’t been assassinated. The story is told out of order, with constant flashbacks which was strange at first but eventually I really liked it. I don’t think it would’ve worked as well if it was just a linear story. 9/10 
  1. Da Nang Diary by Tom Yarborough – A memoir of an Air Force Forward Air Controller during the later stages of the Vietnam war. The book documents the author’s arrival in Vietnam, first missions, and eventually transferring to “Prairie Fire” missions in support of SOG teams in Laos and Cambodia. The book started pretty heavy, but about halfway through the author started to include more amusing and lighthearted stories. Very good overall. 8/10 
  1. Moonseed by Stephen Baxter – I thought that this was going to be a direct sequel to Voyage but it was not. While Voyage was more alternate history/ historical fiction, Moonseed is much more classic Sci-Fi. The best way I can describe it is sort of like the thinking man’s Armageddon (the 1998 movie with Bruce Willis). 9/10
  1. Kangaroo Squadron by Bruce Gamble – A very interesting book about the first bomber squadron to deploy to Australia in the first months of World War II. This book was very interesting, although I’ve read books about the South West Pacific before, they pretty much glossed over the story of the first 8 months of the war. Lots of interesting stories, and a stark look at what a travesty the first six months or so of WWII was for the Americans. 8/10
  1. Operation Red Dawn and the Siege of Europe by James Rosone – This is the third out of four books detailing World War III involving the US and EU versus Russia, China, and a United Islamic Republic. I liked the first two books pretty well, even if most of the plot points are a little silly (in the first book the US and Canada have an “anschluss” and Canada joins the USA). There’s a lot of soft sci-fi and ignoring modern military principles, but I think the most outlandish part of the book is the IDF agreeing to send 800,000 troops to help fight in Europe after the Islamic Republic is defeated. 6/10
  1. Smuggler by Roger Reaves – A memoir of one of the most prolific drug smugglers of the 20th Century. This book is written and read by the author which I usually prefer. I like Mr. Reaves’ delivery and his good ole boy Georgia accent, but his writing is a little long-winded. It’s almost a third of the way into the book before he smuggles anything (the book is a little over 24 hours long mind you), there are just so many details and anecdotes that could have been left out. There are some great stories of his growing up in rural Georgia in the 50’s and 60’s, but there’s way too much of it and it goes on for far too long. Once the smuggling does start it’s hard to understand how we lost/are losing the war on drugs, almost everyone of his trips involves some debacle, incompetent partners, or an arrest and imprisonment. Fairly enjoyable overall though, and like I said is helped a great deal by the author’s delivery. 7/10 
  1. A Failed State by Andrew E. Coussens – I learned from the afterword that this novel is based very closely on the author’s real life, and I think that improved my opinion of it a little. The writing is pretty good, some of the dialogue is a little stilted but not bad. The combat scenes were interesting and clearly crafted by someone who has been there. Overall it felt a bit rushed, like this was the first quarter of a novel. I understand that this is meant to be a trilogy so maybe the subsequent parts will flesh things out a little. 7/10 
  1. Chickenhawk by Robert Mason – This is a memoir of a Vietnam Huey pilot. Really really well written, I laughed right out loud at several parts. The author has a much more relaxed and informal writing style than many other authors and it works really well. I really enjoyed this one. 10/10
  1. Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White – A very enjoyable novel set mostly in part of Florida where I grew up. I like that the author used the old Forsyth/MacLean-esque trick of creating a fictional central American country for the plot to center around. Looking forward to reading more from this series. 8/10 
  1. Memories of Miami Vice by Robert Fetner – A memoir of an actual Miami Vice cop in the early 80’s. Lots of cool stories both about his time as a patrol officer, and as an undercover Vice detective. I guess my only complaint about this book is how short it was, but then again the author was only a police officer for four years so there’s not a whole lot more to draw on. 8/10 
  1. Titan by Stephen Baxter – The third and final installment in the “NASA” trilogy, this book is centered around the discovery of possible life on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. This book was written in the mid 90’s, but set in the early 2000’s. The Author’s predictions of early 21st century technology are amusing, also he very nearly predicted the space shuttle Columbia disaster. 9/10 
  1. The Yank by John Crawley – A memoir by an Irish American who joined the US Marines, specifically to learn as much as he could and take that expertise back to Ireland and join the IRA. This book was very interesting in a number of ways, the mentality of the IRA leadership when presented with ideas from a professional soldier, the means by which the IRA acquired weapons especially in the US, and the insight into the political side of the Troubles and the Good Friday agreement. Lots of information I’d never heard and never considered before. 9/10 
  1. The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling – Set in a world where most of Europe and the East Coast of the US were destroyed by meteor strikes in the 1870’s and now India is the seat of the British Empire. The world building, as is typical for Mr. Stirling, is fantastic, with technology stagnating around roughly Victorian-era level, and very different cultures for the empires and countries that survived “The Fall.” I would have liked it if the British had stayed more British instead of becoming as Indian as they did in the book, but it still works very well overall. 10/10 
  1. Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer – Another WWII memoir written by an Alsatian Frenchman who joined the Wehrmacht at 17. Absolutely brutal descriptions of what life was like on the Eastern Front, and how terrible the conditions were. There were also some really moving insights the author added with the benefit of hindsight. This was a long book, but I really enjoyed it. 9/10 
  1. City in Ruins by Don Winslow – The third and final installment of the “Danny Ryan” trilogy, this was another great gangster novel. Great setting, lots of twists, and some great characters. It tied all the different story threads together very neatly and had a great ending. 9/10 
  1. Hogs in the Sand by Buck Wyndham – A combat journal of an A-10 Warthog pilot during Desert Storm. Really good descriptions of day to day life on base, bureaucratic/logistical issues and hiccups, and combat missions. Enjoyed it overall, even if the author was a little bit of a simp for one of the squadrons maintenance officers. 9/10 
  1. Belfast Noir by Various Authors – A collection of short noir stories set in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They were all at least decent, with a couple of real standouts. Unfortunately, still not as good as Adrian McKinty’s “Sean Duffy” series, so my search goes on. 8/10 
  1. Surviving to Drive by Guenther Steiner – This book was basically Guenther Steiner’s personal diary for the 2022 Formula 1 season. He details the story of how Haas Formula 1 was formed, touches on some anecdotes from his time with Rally teams, and his takes on each qualifying session and race. The book is read by the author which I really like because Guenther is quite a unique gentleman. He doesn’t pull any punches with his language either. Very fun. 9/10 
  1. Post Captain by Patrick O’Brian – The second installment in the Aubrey and Maturin (of Master and Commander fame) series. Set in one of my favorite time periods, the Napoleonic Wars, this one is a little more focused on life ashore, but still gets very interesting naval battles as well. 9/10 
  1. Rorke’s Drift by Adrian Greaves – This book could have been more accurately called The Anglo-Zulu War because it really does a good job of discussing the run up to, duration of, and consequences of, the Zulu war of 1879. Although most of the book was quite interesting with lots of good data and historical analysis, about 20% of it was essentially a book of Numbers section on the defenders of Rorke’s drift “So and so joined the regiment on this day, received these promotions and demotions, retired on this date after so many years of service.” Good info to be sure, but very dry. Luckily the rest of the book isn’t too hampered by this section. 8/10 
  1. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch – A novel set in Ireland after the vague and menacing National Alliance Party are voted into office. The NAP begins a crackdown on life in Ireland that includes the protagonist’s husband being arrested for being a trade unionist. I really liked this book, the author did a good job of maintaining “the party” as a faceless entity. Telling the entire story from the perspective of a university faculty mother gives it a very grounded feeling. I did also enjoy the idea that the boogeyman of the NAP is vaguely alluded to be right wing, as if the opposite isn’t happening all over Europe. 8/10 
  1. Tomcat Fury by Mike Guardia – A very concise, but still informative, combat history of the F-14 Tomcat. There’s a brief overview of the Tomcat’s development (which was incredibly rapid for a modern fighter), and details of the Tomcat’s combat service throughout the years. Interestingly, Iranian use of the Tomcat was included, and was more interesting than I would have guessed. Unfortunately for the author, and Tomcat fans in general, outside of the Iran Iraq war and the two Gulf of Sidra incidents, the Tomcat saw very little air to air combat, although its extensive ground attack service in the Balkans and Afghanistan is covered as well. 8/10 
  1. Enter Prehistoric by Eric Testerman – The sequel to West of Prehistoric which I listened to late last year. The sequel picks up pretty much right where the first one left off. Good adventure story and adds a lot to the lore of Prehistoria, very excited to continue this series. 9/10 
  1. Fires of Babylon by Mike Guardia – A brief but quite good account of Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Eastings. There’s a significant portion of the book dedicated to the personalities in Eagle Troop and the stories of how they came to be in the Army. The actual combat scenes were very well written and quite exciting especially for nonfiction. 8/10 
  1. The Great “What Ifs” of the American Civil War by Peter Tsouras – A collection of essays discussing different points of the Civil War and other possible scenarios. I think this book would be better if you already have a very strong understanding of the civil war and details surrounding it. Unfortunately, I do not but I was still able to enjoy it. I suppose my biggest complaint is that while possible alternate scenarios are discussed, the follow on effects of these changes aren’t really looked into, and that’s the most fun part of alternate history. 7/10 
  1. Taming Prehistoric by Erik Testerman – The Third entry in the “West of Prehistoric” series. Picks up right where the second book left off, and adds even more to the lore of Prehistoria. These are just excellent adventure novels, and I shoot through them so quickly. 9/10
  1. Foxbat Tales by Mike Guardia – Mr. Guardia is very good at these concise combat histories of combat aircraft. In addition to Tomcat Fury, which I listened to a couple books ago, he also wrote “Wings of Fire” about the combat history of the F-15 Eagle, which I listened to in 2022 before I started doing these lists. Anyway, Foxbat Tales was very interesting. Although the Foxbat didn’t see much combat with the Soviet Air Force, the export variants saw significant use in the Middle East and even India. 8/10
  1. Raiding Prehistoric by Erik Testerman – The fourth installment of the West of Prehistoric series. This installment didn’t massively expand the lore of Prehistoria, but it was still a solid, fun adventure novel, and tied up most of the plot threads that were started in the first book. Can’t wait to finish the series. 9/10 
  1. The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe – I wasn’t sure what to expect from a book by Mike Rowe. It turned out to be a series of anecdotes about famous people, cleverly disguised to keep the reader guessing about who exactly the story was referring to. These were alternated with stories from Mike Rowe’s life, and his many jobs in Television. Some of the most interesting segments were talking about Deadliest Catch, and Mike Rowe’s involvement with that series. 8/10 
  1. A Nation Interrupted by Kevin McDonald – An alternate history novel about what World War Two would look like if the Confederacy had been successful in their bid for secession. A lot of the history aspects are a little casual, and there are a fair few tropes throughout the book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 8/10
  1. Conquering Prehistoric by Erik Testerman – The most recent entry to the West of Prehistoric series. This book follows a different character’s (I won’t say who because spoilers) perspective for the first time. This book did add a lot to the lore of Prehistoria and I cannot wait for another installment. 9/10 
  1. Angels Three Six by Chuck Lehman – A memoir of a USAF interceptor pilot, detailing his time as an F-102 and F-106 pilot. From barnstorming herds of caribou in remote reaches of Canada, to being on 5 minute alert and airborne with a live atomic weapon during the Cuban missile crisis, to squadron antics, and family life on base. This book was very entertaining, and gives good insight into an overlooked Cold War stalwart, the Delta Dart. 9/10
  1. Callahan Chronicals by Spider Robinson – This one was recommended to me by my mom. You wouldn’t believe the premise if I told you, suffice it to say it’s a collection of Sci-Fi short stories with some very loveable characters and a neat little overarching plot. 10/10
  1. I Got a Monster by Baynard Woods – The story of a squad of corrupt cops in Baltimore in the mid 2010s. The corruption angle was interesting, as well as the subsequent trials, but the tone of most of the book was very BLM-y. Overall it was fine. 7/10
  1. Hong Kong Noir by Jason Y. Ng – A collection of short noir stories by various authors all set around Hong Kong. A couple of the stories were a little more supernatural than I was expecting which was fun. There wasn’t a single hard boiled hard drinking detective story in there though. Really missed a trick with that one. 8/10
  1. Poachers Were My Prey by R.T. Stewart – The story of an undercover Wildlife officer and the operations he ran over a 20 year career. The stories were interesting, and the techniques used were clever. All the results seemed a little underwhelming though. Guys who poached dozens of deer are given fines of a couple thousand dollars or maybe a month in jail. Hardly seems worth the effort to me. 8/10
  1. The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove – One of Harry Turtledove’s first alternate history novels, based on the somewhat fanciful premise of South African Boers traveling back in time to assist the Army of Northern Virginia in 1864. The plot was a lot more interesting than I was expecting, although I didn’t love how Robert E. Lee was portrayed. Also, I definitely side with the AWB men. 9/10
  1. The Operators by James Rennie – The subtext for this book is “On the streets with Britain’s Most Secret Service” but in reality over two thirds of this book is dedicated to describing the training that members of the 14th Detachment Group went through. By no means however does that mean it was boring, the training is described in great detail and was very interesting. The handful of real world ops carried out by the author and his teams were exciting as well. 9/10
  1. No Comebacks by Frederick Forsyth – A collection of short stories by one of the greatest fiction writers of the 20th century. They vary in topic and setting, some of them are humorous, some are dark, but they’re all fantastic. 9/10 
  1. Death Waits in the Dark by Greg Coker – Allegedly a memoir of flying MH-6 little birds in Afghanistan and Iraq, in reality it was a mess. The writing was bad, and it was narrated by the author. This is usually a good thing but in this particular case it was a mistake. Can’t think of time this has happened before but I decided it wasn’t worth my time trying to force myself to finish it, gave up about half way through. 0/10 
  1. Saturn Run by John Sandford – This was a very fun sci-fi novel with a fun premise and good science. Set in 2066 it does some fun things with future technology, has a very well paced story, and great characters. Would be fun to revisit this one in the 2060s (if I live that long) and see what the authors got right and wrong about everyday technology. 10/10
  1. Blue on Blue by Charles Campisi – A memoir of the head of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau. This was a lot more interesting than I was expecting, from the author’s NYPD training in the 70’s through to IAB’s role in the aftermath of 9/11. Turns out there’s a lot more to internal affairs than trying to frame cops with twenty dollar bills left lying around the station. 8/10
  1. Blue Masquerade by TK Blackwood – An alternate history of a 1990’s where the Soviet Union never collapsed, and how the Balkan War might have looked because of it. This was a much fresher take on the “cold war gone hot” theme, moving beyond the Fulda Gap and Western Europe tropes. Very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. 9/10 
  1. Stakeknife’s Dirty War by Richard O’Rawe – A very interesting account of one of the highest ranking IRA informants of the Troubles. The book included a lot of interviews with people who were involved with both Stakeknife and the security services. 8/10 
  1. Tidal Effects by Andrew J. Heller – A sequel to “Grey Tide in the East” which was based on the premise of Germany never invading Belgium and Britain never becoming involved in the Great War. In this novel, Germany’s new colonial acquisitions from France put them at odds with American foreign policy. Not very exciting, but still fun and well thought out. Also features a cameo from an Austrian corporal who became a spy in this universe. 9/10
  1. American Desperado by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright – The true story of one of the real “Cocaine Cowboys” who became the Medellin cartel’s main trafficker into the US. Very well written, lots of background on the main character and lots of great stories of being rich in Miami in the 80’s. 10/10
  1. Lions of the Sky by Paco Chierici – I was hoping this would be in the same vein as Punk’s War, but it just wasn’t. Essentially it’s 9 hours of describing exactly why women shouldn’t be in combat roles. 5/10 
  1. A Cool Breeze on the Underground by Don Winslow – A good private detective novel by one of my favorite authors. The premise is fun, the characters are well crafted and believable. Nothing super special, ust a solid novel all around. 8/10 

66. American Rifle by Alexander Rose – A good history of the almost 400 years of firearms development in America. Goes really in depth with a lot of the decisions and rationale behind Army rifle procurement in the 19th and 20th Centuries. There is a little bit of Neo Fudd lore towards the end (mainly regarding the HK 416), but this book is from ~2009 and what the author says was the best understanding of the industry at the time. Overall a very very good book. 9/10

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