Well the narrative doesn’t exactly cruise right along. By page 78 I found myself flipping through the rest of the book reading a page here and there. This guys writing style is fantastic but it constipates after a short while. I don’t know if I’ll ever finish it.

COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR

As far as plots and stories go this one is just plain silly. But then again that’s not what it’s about. If you’re into food, France and French wine this is what might be called an elegant romp and it’s definitely for you.

I’m gonna read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao next. Just as soon as we’ve had our two-day break from tour.

COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR

Apparently this book was discovered as a complete manuscript after Crichton’s death in 2008. I didn’t even know he had died. Well the book is pretty damn fun. It’s got me through four flight delays and one cancellation, three van rides and a seaplane.

One thing though, it’s been a while since I watched Captain Horatio Hornblower but I kept thinking that this was the same story. Or was it Yellowbeard.

COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR

I forgot to stop at Powells so this was kinda the only choice left to me from the PDX news stand.  It has the word “pirate” in the title and right below it is the sentence: “Crichton’s ultimate adventure.”  Ooh, that sounds great.

Well, seventy pages in I can tell you that it’s pretty goofy.  It reads like a book for kids but with pummelings and daggery.  This book also seems to have an abundance of wenching.  Oh well, at least the swashbuckling is gonna commence any page now…

COURTNEY TAYLOR-TAYLOR