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You know I don’t often review non-fiction books. What am I supposed to say? “This guy’s life should have been different to be more dramatic.” But sometimes I read a non-fiction book that’s just so good, I can’t resist.

Remember when the Napoleon movie came out, and people were like, “it’s not accurate,” and Ridley Scott was like, “Were you there, bro?” Well, Captain Blaze was there! Admittedly, he wasn’t at the big battles, such as Austerlitz, Borodino, or Waterloo. But he was wounded at Wagram, and took part in many Napoleonic campaigns in Poland, Germany and Spain. As such, he is in a position to speak with authority on these matters.

Not that he purports to be telling us an authoritative history of the period. No, Captain Blaze’s manner is much more casual and friendly, as he tells interesting stories of things that happened to him throughout his military career. The feeling is rather like you’re sitting at a bar, knocking back a few with him while listening to his war stories.

This is how I like to learn history. It’s not random lists of names and dates; it’s things that happened to real people. Captain Blaze is witty, human and relatable. Well, mostly. He does have a few old-fashioned attitudes towards some groups that may strike some readers as offensive. But when we study the past–or at least when I do–I want to study the whole past; even the ugly parts. No sense in sugarcoating it.

Still, for the most part, Blaze is actually quite likable and self-deprecating, as when he says that the best battle he was ever in was one that he was able to observe through a telescope from the safety of a church steeple. It was the “best” in his view, because he was out of harm’s way.

Most interesting are Blaze’s insights into human nature. He has little use for people claiming that the French soldier was inspired by love for the emperor. While Blaze has a certain admiration for Napoleon, he makes no bones about why they fought:

“How often has it been asserted in print that the soldiers fought for the emperor! This is another of those current phrases, which many people have taken up and repeated without knowing why. The soldiers fought for themselves, to defend themselves; because in France, a man never hesitates when he sees danger on one side and infamy on the other…

…show them the Prussians, the Russians, or the Austrians, and whether they are commanded by Napoleon, Charles X, or Louis Philippe, you may be sure that French soldiers will do their duty.” 

But again, he respects Napoleon. Or rather, he respects General Bonaparte. His victories early in his career are what Blaze values most highly, for as he reasons:

“The glory of Bonaparte will never be eclipsed by that of Napoleon; for the means of the emperor were more vast than ever general had at his disposal. When a ruler drains a country like France of her last man and her last crown, when he renders an account to no one, it is not surprising that, with a well-organized head, he should accomplish great things; the contrary would be much more astonishing.”

I’ve really just scratched the surface here. I could go on quoting passages from this book for a very long time. Capt. Blaze is insightful, clever, and, above all else, very funny. Yes, while he never shies away from the horror and tragedy of war, he also has a knack for recounting humorous incidents he witnessed or was told about. He makes a jolly guide to what must have been a rather grim time.

Of course, not being able to read French, I’m going by the translation. I also was unable to find much more information about Captain Blaze, and I was obliged to use a Google-translated version of his French Wikipedia page. Apparently, he went on to a career in writing after his military service. Quite an interesting fellow.

Dear readers, we live in a strange and unsettled world. Last week, a controversy broke out over edits on the Star Wars wiki to a page about a minor character, to bring them into line with something that happens in one of the innumerable new Star Wars productions. It escalated to death threats. As Dave Barry would say, “I am not making this up.”

My purpose here is not to relitigate Star Wars-related controversies. There are no good guys in Wookiepedia edit wars. But what has this world come to, when people care more about the biographies of fictional aliens than real people who actually existed? Maybe once Captain Blaze has an English-language wiki, and a few of his other published works are available online, then we can worry about what is considered “canon” in a fictional universe. Or, better yet, not.

This powerful electronic network we’re using houses vast repositories of human knowledge. Yet we ignore that and use it instead in the pursuit of the most trivial inanities. People are always prone to recency bias, but c’mon; this is pathetic. This is worse than destroying the Library of Alexandria. At least the Romans were in a war. What’s our excuse?

Oh, well. Let me quote once more from Blaze himself, from a bit later on in the book. To set the scene a bit, he has been talking about the tendency of people to romanticize war and soldiers after the fact, exaggerating the dashing and adventurous element far beyond what existed before peace came.

“I was talking one day on this subject with a publisher of lithographic prints, and was beginning to prove what I am here advancing. ‘You preach to one who is already converted,” said he at the first word: ‘I am well aware that all this is not true, but such things sell. In trade, “such things sell” is an unanswerable argument…'”

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I like it when a book ties two eras together. What’s better than a mystery? A mystery that spans generations, that’s what! And that is what the latest Brad and Karen thriller from Geoffrey Cooper delivers.

The story begins with a plan to plant a Nazi spy in the U.S. in the waning days of World War II. His mission is to act as a sleeper agent; establishing himself as seemingly an ordinary citizen and then, using his knowledge of chemistry and biology, gaining access to American laboratories and beginning work on a Nazi genetic warfare program.

It’s an ambitious plan, the kind that takes patience and commitment to unfold. It also reminded me a little of the sort of Nazi plots that Wonder Woman would have to foil week in and week out on the classic TV show.

Well, Brad and Karen are the next best thing when it comes to unraveling such plots! The book flashes forward to the present day, where the medical researcher and the veteran investigator are notified of a lead from a retired FBI agent who has picked up the trail of the scheme hatched in the 1940s.

Not that there’s much to go on. The Nazi sleeper cell hasn’t left many clues, but from the bits and pieces available, they begin to put things together. Combined with the flashbacks that fill in the details for the reader, we start to learn the full extent of the conspiracy. Not to spoil too much, but let’s just say that even though Nazi Germany is long gone, the operation hasn’t stopped.

Fans of Brad and Karen’s past adventures will enjoy the familiar dynamic between the two. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy the decades-spanning plot that sees the Nazi plan evolve across the eras. There’s plenty here for long-time readers of the series and newcomers alike. I know that in the past I’ve sometimes alluded to having “World War II fatigue” after having read so many books and seen so many films set in that period. But I made an exception to that for this book, and I’m glad I did. Cooper delivers another enjoyable yarn, with some interesting scientific info artfully woven into it as usual.

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I picked up this book a long time ago because I was writing something that involved a casino, and I thought it would be a good idea to read a book set in one. I wasn’t even sure what genre it would be.

As it turns out, it’s mostly romance, but with elements of crime/thriller involved as well. It tells the story of a woman named Caroline Popov, who has just been promoted to be manager of the Night Hawk casino. Working in a casino is, as it turns out, no walk in the park. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s line about Mos Eisley comes to mind. And Caroline’s job is, day after day, dealing with the lowlifes and criminals who come there–some of whom are even employed there.

That said, there are some good people in the business, too. Like her staunchest friend, the tribal leader John Tovar, who helps her through the tough times. And, as we gradually learn over the course of the book, Caroline has had her share of those. She thought she was living the American dream, only to have it snatched away from her suddenly.

She manages to remake herself and carve out a successful career, though not without echoes of her past still haunting her. More immediately, she’s also haunted by assorted enemies she makes in the course of her work at the casino.

I won’t spoil what happens, but let’s just say that while it’s not exactly breaking new ground or providing totally unexpected twists, it is an entertaining story. If you enjoy romance or thrillers, this should be a fun way to spend a few hours.

Now, I like romance and thrillers just fine, but as I said, the reason I picked this book up was for the casino setting. So how does it fare on that front?

Quite well. The author mentions in the afterword that she worked in casinos, and that experience translates well here. Casino terms, policies and procedures are all described in fairly close detail, including the methods they use to catch those trying to cheat the casino. Remember: the casino is there to cheat the players, not the other way around!

I admit to being fascinated by casinos; and not in a good way. I think it started when I visited Niagara Falls. (“Slowly I turned, step by step…“) I went to a restaurant there that was located in a casino on the Canadian side, and I still remember being amazed at the vacant-eyed people pulling levers on gaudy slot machines when one of the most beautiful natural wonders on Earth was literally just outside. It was almost disturbing, frankly. But clearly, something about this process was mesmerizing to these folks. I think that experience gave me a visceral dislike for casinos, and yet, as with the proverbial train wreck, it’s hard to look away.

It doesn’t help that everything is being slowly turned into a casino these days, thanks to “gamification,” which looks like a word Raymond Chandler would use for a leggy femme fatale, but actually refers to a managerial concept that has gradually transformed everyday life into a web of Skinner boxes which present the user with simulacra of choice, interactivity, and rewards. By the way, be sure and like this post! And share it with all your friends!

Anyway, I can’t deny that part of me was quite interested to read about all the shady behind-the-scenes stuff that goes down in the gambling industry, and this book certainly provided a wealth of insight. It might even help to cure gambling addiction… but I wouldn’t, ah, bet on it.

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This is a Weird Western. No, I’m sorry; let me start over.

This is a WEIRD Western. It’s not just a case of a basic western with a few ghosts or werewolves shoehorned in. No, it’s seriously bizarre. It starts out normally enough with the hero, Marshal Elias Faust, being asked by a local drunk to retrieve something a couple of thugs stole from him. What it was, he won’t say, but Faust heads off to find the two lowlifes, known as the Gregdon boys.

What begins as a typical Wild West gunfight ends up taking Faust on a mind-bending and horrifying trip into the depths of cosmic nightmare. We’ve got a woman made of gold appearing from the stars, a hellish netherworld buried in the mines beneath a harsh frontier town, and, perhaps most notably, demonic sand-filled scarecrow spirits with rifles.

It’s a lot for the poor lawman to deal with. Fortunately, he has a few people backing him up, such as Grady Cicero, a Shakespearean actor who is a crack shot with a Henry rifle, and Lachrimé Garland, who has managed enough boxing matches that she’s usually able to give Faust some good pep talks after he gets into fights, which happens a lot.

This book is violent, befitting a western. Shootouts, chases, and knock-down, drag-out fistfights are the order of the day, and Faust never shies away from combat, even when he is dragged down to the unfathomable shores of some Boschian hellscape.

I was about to say this book does a good job of mixing western action with Lovecraftian horror. But I had to stop myself, because while it is easy to reflexively label any kind of cosmic horror as being in the manner of HPL, that would be misleading. Lovecraft’s protagonists are scholarly, bookish fellows, who summon occult horrors by reading some dusty old tome when they shouldn’t.

No, Elias Faust is in the mold of a Robert E. Howard hero: he’s tough, rough, and mean. He solves things with his fists and his guns. The setting, too, is reminiscent of Howard: a near-lawless wasteland, ruled by greed, violence, and the occasional eldritch abomination.

The writing is both witty and brutal, with Faust’s gallows humor often making the unrelenting fight scenes a little snappier. At times, the bloody battles can be so visceral as to be exhausting to read, but Faust’s narration always keeps them interesting, and it makes you want to stick with him to the end as he slowly uncovers the horrors at the heart of the web spun by a malevolent entity known as “the Magnate.”

It’s a harrowing, pulse-pounding, spine-chilling, and occasionally darkly funny ride into stygian abysses of madness and mayhem. If you like the Weird West genre, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll love this.