Tag / Peter David

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Prolific Authors – Eight 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 four authors I’ve read eight times, one fewer than two years ago.

Peter David

The prolific comic book writer, who passed away earlier this year, shows up mostly with Star Trek: The Next Generation novels that I read in high school, with only two of his total coming from this century.

Sunburn – Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman

After a five year wait for Lippman’s second back to cross my eyes, she has jumped up considerably these past two years.

Jennifer McMahon

After feeling unimpressed after finishing my first of her works, Dismantled, in 2010, I eventually gave her another try, and she has been a consistent presence ever since.

Riley Sager

One of my newer favorites, I’ve read all of his novels as they’ve been released annually since 2017’s Final Girls through this year’s With a Vengeance, which will count towards the next list.

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Putting Down His PAD And Pencil

Peter David, fan favorite author and comic book writer, passed away this weekend at the age of 68.  Over the past thirteen years, he has had many health issues, starting with a stroke in December of 2012.

David was a prolific author, mostly in the science fiction and fantasy genres.  I’ve read a number of his works, mostly from the Star Trek: The Next Generation expanded universe.  The majority of my exposure to David’s work, however, was in the world of comic books.  He was most well-known for his award-winning twelve year run on The Incredible Hulk and also had notable runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.

While I haven’t been in the comic book game for quite a while, this news was still a bit of a shock.  I was aware of some of his earlier health issues, but not as up to date on the more current ones.  He was a unique voice and will surely be missed by his many fans.

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Prolific Authors – 8 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. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of 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.  We continue today with the two authors I’ve read seven times, an increase of one since 2021.

Double Helix – Peter David

Peter David

The prolific comic book writer shows up mostly with Star Trek: The Next Generation novels that I read in high school.  Only two of his works show up from this century, the collection of his But I Digress columns from the Comics Buyer’s Guide and yet another Next Gen novel, which I read earlier this year.

Mary Kubica

The local author, who is a New York Times best seller, moves up two slots and has placed eight entries on my bookshelf over the past eight years starting with The Good Girl, which I read in 2015.

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Prolific Authors – 8 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 sole authors I’ve read 8 times.

Double Helix – Peter David

Peter David

The prolific comic book writer shows up mostly with Star Trek: The Next Generation novels that I read in high school.  Only two of his works show up from this century, the collection of his But I Digress columns from the Comics Buyer’s Guide and yet another Next Gen novel, which I read earlier this year.

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Book 3 (of 52) – Double Or Nothing

Double Helix – Peter David

After an encounter with the Romulans in Thollian space destroys a Starfleet vessel, Captain Calhoun of the Excalibur is assigned to a secret mission by Starfleet Intelligence to infiltrate a Thollian general’s inner circle while the Excalibur, temporarily commanded by Will Riker, tries to track down the Romulans.  Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Calhoun, Captain Picard has also been sent on a secret mission, one that brings the two together as they find out who has been responsible for the deadly double helix virus and what the ultimate goal of it was.

Double or Nothing, the fifth entry of the Double Helix series, puts Peter David back on my radar for the first time, at least in book form, since 2001.  He imports the characters from his New Frontier series and teams them with two members of the Enterprise crew to wrap up the mystery of who is testing out this deadly new virus and why.  To his credit, David manages to stick the landing.  Of course, this does beg the question of what takes place in the sixth and final entry of the series, if everything was wrapped up here.  I guess we shall see sooner or 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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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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Autographed Books – Imzadi

imzadiConsidered one of the best Star Trek novels, Imazadi, by Peter David, is next up in our look at the hardcover books I’ve gotten autographed over the years.  Released in 1992, the book tells the tale of William Riker’s first meeting with Deanna Troi and a future where a broken Admiral Riker tries to save the love of his life, who died 40 years earlier.

Given the number of big comic conventions I’ve attended over the years, it is somewhat surprising that Peter David’s autograph was acquired at a small show in a hotel in Rosemont sometime in the early 2000s.

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Prolific Authors 2015

bookshelfWay back in December of 2011 and again in December of 2013, we took a look back at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 51 books from 42 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 2013 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 13 13 0
Greg Rucka 13 12 1

Greg Rucka moves into a tie for my most-prolific author, thanks to his latest which I read last year.  Assuming he stays on the same schedule, he should take the lead by himself sometime next year.

Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 10 2

After years of being ignored, Stephen King adds 2 new titles to his total over the past 2 years.

Richard Castle 9 5 4
Brad Meltzer 9 8 1

The top 5 rounds out with Brad Meltzer and Richard Castle, who put up the largest increase in the last 2 years. Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors 2013

bookshelfWay back in December of 2011, I took our first look back at the authors I have read the most dating back to high school.  Since that time, I’ve read 34 books from 31 different authors.  I don’t think there is going to be much movement since then, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time.  Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 47 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2011 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0

No change to these two, who owe their totals mostly to Buffy and Angel tie-in novels.

Greg Rucka 12 11 1
Stephen King 10 9 1

Both of these long time favorites increased their total by one book.  Rucka’s newest is due out next summer and is already pre-ordered.

Michael Jan Friedman 8 8 0
Brad Meltzer 8 7 1

Brad Meltzer pulls into a tie for the top 5 with another author of tie-in novels, mostly Star Trek: TNG and Lois & Clark. Continue reading →