Tag / Greg Rucka

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Prolific Authors – Thirteen Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today with the three authors I’ve read thirteen times, one more than two years ago.

The House of Last Resort – Christopher Golden

Christopher Golden

The prolific author first entered my bookshelf in 1998, thanks to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer tie-in, but his latest was an original concept.

Brad Meltzer

I was originally exposed to Meltzer through his comics work for DC, eventually trying out his prose work in 2002, when I read both The Millionaires and The First Counsel.  Since then, he has been a pretty steady presence as new work is released, last seen in 2022 with The Lightning Rod.

Bravo – Greg Rucka

Greg Rucka

I first became aware of Greg Rucka through his prestigious comic book work.  In 1999, I read the first entry in his Atticus Kodiak series, Keeper.  I followed up with the next three entries the following year, bringing my up to date with his work.  From that point on, I picked up each of his original works as they were released, including three more entries in the Kodiak series, three novels based on his Queen & Country comic book series, one standalone work, and, most recently, the two books in the Jad Bell series.

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Prolific Authors – 13 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the two authors I’ve read a total of thirteen times, an increase of one over the past two years.

The President’s Shadow – Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer

I was originally exposed to Meltzer through his comics work for DC, eventually trying out his prose work in 2002, when I read both The Millionaires and The First Counsel.  Since then, he has been a pretty steady presence as new work is released, last seen in 2022 with The Lightning Rod.

Greg Rucka

I first became aware of Greg Rucka through his prestigious comic book work.  In 1999, I read the first entry in his Atticus Kodiak series, Keeper.  I followed up with the next three entries the following year, bringing my up to date with his work.  From that point on, I picked up each of his original works as they were released, including three more entries in the Kodiak series, three novels based on his Queen & Country comic book series, one standalone work, and, most recently, the two books in the Jad Bell series.

 

by admin

Prolific Authors – 13 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the only author I’ve read a total of 13 times.

Greg Rucka

I first became aware of Greg Rucka through his prestigious comic book work.  In 1999, I read the first entry in his Atticus Kodiak series, Keeper.  I followed up with the next three entries the following year, bringing my up to date with his work.

Alpha – Greg Rucka

From that point on, I picked up each of his original works as they were released, including 3 more entries in the Kodiak series, 3 novels based on his Queen & Country comic book series, 1 stand alone work, and, most recently, the 2 books in the Jad Bell series.

by jim

Post Mortem – Stumptown

A victim of the corona virus pandemic, Stumptown was originally picked up for a second season by ABC in May of 2020, but was subsequently cancelled in September when pandemic-related production delays meant a new season wouldn’t be available until April of 2021.   Based on the comic book series of the same name created by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth, Stumptown starred Cobie Smulders as a military vet turned private eye who handles problems that the police can’t.

I would have liked to see more of Stumptown to see where they would go with the story.  It’s perplexing that other shows were able to find a way to come back earlier but, according to the reports, this one could not.  Funny that those cancellations from last summer and fall seemed to hit shows whose leads were women.  Oh well, I will look forward to whatever brings Cobie Smulders back to my television screen, hopefully sooner rather than later.

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Prolific Authors 2019

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013, 2015, and 2017), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 48 books from 50 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 70 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

 

Author Name Current Total 2017 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 16 15 1

Nancy Holder adds 1 new book over the past 2 years to maintain her lead.

Richard Castle 15 14 1

The writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle sees a slight increase, despite the show being off the air for well over 3 years now.

Stephen King 13 12 1
Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Brad Meltzer 12 11 1

Very little movement in the next tier the past 2 years.

Jeffery Deaver 11 8 3

We round out the double digits with Deaver, who will be going up again soon, as I’m currently reading one of his books. Continue reading →

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ABC Upfronts

After a decade of shaking up their schedule, ABC is taking a cautious approach this fall, with only three new series on the schedule.  The week gets off to a familiar start, with Dancing With The Stars followed by The Good Doctor on Monday nights.  Tuesday night is the biggest shake-up of the week, with two new shows and two returning shows in new timeslots.  The Roseanne-less The Conners returns for its second season, followed by Bless This Mess, which debuted this spring. mixed-ish, a new spinoff of black-ish, leads in to the mothership, followed by Emergence, about a police chief who takes in a young child she finds near the site of a mysterious accident

Wednesday stays pretty much the same, with The Goldbergs, Schooled, Modern Family, and Single Parents starting the night and leading into Stumptown, a new drama starring Colbie Smulders and based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth, and Justin Greenwood.  Thursdays stay exactly the same, with Grey’s Anatomy, A Million Little Things, and How To Get Away With Murder.  A revamped Friday kicks off with the re-located American Housewife, followed by Fresh Off The Boat and two hours of 20/20.  Sunday stays mostly all reality, with America’s Funniest Home Videos, Kids Say The Darndest Things, and Shark Tank, followed by The Rookie.

Agents of SHIELD will return at some point in 2020, along with returning shows Station 19 and American Idol.  Also on the bench for mid-season are The Baker and the Beauty, based on an Israeli series telling the story of the unlikely romance between a blue-collar baker and an international superstar, For Life, a prisoner-turned-lawyer serialized legal and family drama co-produced by 50 Cent, United We Fall, a multicamera comedy starring Jane Curtin and Will Sasso, and Reef Bank, an action drama bringing Poppy Montgomery back to the small screen.

Cancelled shows never to be seen again are Whiskey Cavalier, Speechless, Splitting Up Together, The Kids Are Alright, The Fix, and For The People.

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Prolific Authors 2017

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013 and 2015), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 47 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2015 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 15 13 2

A new leader in the clubhouse, as Nancy Holder adds 2 new additions over the past 2 years to put her out front.

Richard Castle 14 9 5

The second largest increase (or largest for someone I had read before) goes to the writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle.  I’m guessing this total will stay pretty static, with the show off the air for over a year now.

Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 12 0

These three round out the top 5 with absolutely no movement over the past 2 years.

Brad Meltzer 11 9 2
Jeffery Deaver 8 5 3

Slight increases for both of these authors, with more to come.  Meltzer’s next book is already pre-ordered, while there are a few unread Deaver works on my Kindle. Continue reading →

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Autograpghed Books – Critical Space

criticalspaceIt’s week 13, and our final look back at the novels I’ve gotten autographed over the years.  Once again, we return to Greg Rucka, who was responsible for over half of the signed books in my collection.  Today’s entry is Critical Space, the fifth entry in the Atticus Kodiak series that was both published and read in 2001.

I’m going to guess that the autograph was acquired at Wizard World Chicago, as I would not return to the San Diego Comic Con until 2003.  And with that, we draw this series to a close.  I certainly hope to add new books to the collection as time goes on, so we may revisit the topic at some point in the future.

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Autographed Books – Finder

finderIt’s week 11 of our look back at the novels I’ve gotten autographed over the years and we return once again to Greg Rucka and his second novel Finder, continuing the Atticus Kodiak series.  Published in 1997 and read in 2000, this is the sixth Rucka novel that I’ve covered in this series to date.

Thanks to Mr. Rucka, who put the date along with his signature, I can say that the source of the autograph was the San Diego Comic Con.  2000 was my second trip out to San Diego for the nation’s largest con.

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Autographed Books – A Fistful Of Rain

fistfulrain

It’s week 9 of our look back at the novels I’ve gotten autographed over the years and we return to Greg Rucka and his first original novel outside of the Atticus Kodiak series, A Fistful of Rain.  Published in 2003, this is the fifth Rucka novel that I’ve covered in this series to date.

Since this book came out in late July of 2003, I can narrow down the source of the autograph to Wizard World Chicago, probably from the following month.