Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

After seeing Lovecraft Country mentioned a few times in magazines and blogs I figured it sounded interesting and that I should give it a chance. Basically it was advertised as Lovecraftian type horror against the backdrop of 1950's Jim Crow laws... so the characters here have to deal with both weird horror and racism. The book is constructed as several connected episodes of weird events that happen to an African-American family. It starts off promisingly with a story that is a nod to The Shadow over Innsmouth. The rest of the stories were pretty good but nowhere near as weird as something Lovecraft would come up with. Also I'm not sure if it was best that all the stories connected. They could have worked individually and the connecting story line about a wizard trying to gain power over other wizarding lodges was probably the least interesting aspect of the book. And no mentions of Cthulhu either. I guess I'll say it is a B.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne

I'm not sure yet what to make of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child...  Sure I enjoyed it but it doesn't compare well versus the novels. First off Harry Potter takes a back seat for most of the story... and it turns out that he's a relatively boring adult. A bit of a let down. The story is okay but seems to be in service of finding ways to use characters that have already died (Snape, Cedric Diggory, Voldemort) instead of creating new ones. Just too much of it depends on revisiting scenes from the books. I'll say it gets a B.

Mystery Book # 45 - I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane

I didn't know much about the Mike Hammer series of books by Mickey Spillane beyond having seen the film Kiss Me Deadly (which I'd highly recommend).  The first book in the series, I, the Jury, introduces us to super macho private detective Mike Hammer. Pretty much everything you need to know about him is right there in his name. He literally has the perfect name for his personality. It is so on the nose that it is kind of funny... and that also sums up the book. Basically it takes a Chandler type Marlowe story and makes it even pulpier with more violence and sex. By no means great literature but still kind of fun in a silly non-thinking way. A-