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Book reviews for "Miles,_Keith" sorted by average review score:

The Triumphant (Bolos, Book 3)
Published in Paperback by Pocket Books (1995)
Authors: Keith Laumer, David Miles to Go Weber, and Linda Selections Evans
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Get ready to Rumble!
This one contains the classic Bolo against Bolo; Wriiten by no other than David Weber. Simply captivating, obsorbing and exciting! Imagine a Bolo Novel by Weber? Buy it, read it, write a review. Enjoy!

mother, friend, brother, and a hell 'ov alot of firepower
This is probably the best bolo book, why? Supose you had a friend or mother who could recite poetry, play wargames, explore the meanings of the univers and kick out megatons of damage!! that is a bolo and in this book you will see that even a "dead" bolo can figure out a way to get the job done. An interesting point in this book is that in all but one of the stories the bolo is either massively damaged or modified to the point of being considered combat ineffective and not all stories are happy. the technical readout in the back is a great bonus. A must for any bolo fan, and anyone who believes in the power of the heart be it a Bolo, a human, or a dog gone pup.

Bolos: lancelots of the future III
This is undoubtedly the best collection of Bolo storied collected to date. Only four stories, half of themm are stories you'd find in the other anthologies. The other two shine like the sun. Little Red Hen is the story of the pioneering attempts of humanity to create a complete AI that feels emotions, and they have succeeded. I will not tell you what the main happenings in the story are because you have to read it to comprehend how masterfully it is constructed. Towards the end I actually found myself CRYING. Impossible, i tried to think to myself. It's got to be onions or mabye i stepped an a tack, but inside i knew exactly what i was crying for: LRH unit 1313 , bolo mk. 21,I(special). Miles to go is another example of the line of distinction blurring. Thee main Bolo in this story is an experimental mk 23, eighty years old. However, she packs a huge suurprise: he former Commander was a psychotronics tech and , for lack of better words, souped up the crud out of her. She is the first Bolo to mount a brain box, an integral part of more modern bolos. Her new Commander, however han one major failing: he is in love with her. Nice problem. Read tese two if you like just about any sci-fi- you wont be dissapointed


Az Murder Goes . . . Artful
Published in Hardcover by Poisoned Pen Press (1998)
Authors: Elizabeth Peters, Roy Barkeley, Keith Miles, Nevada Barr, Aaron Elkins, Sharyn McCrumb, Philip R. Craig, Kilmer Nicholas, Barbara Peters, and Muirhead
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Fascinating great reading
Just finished this fascinating collection of papers. Very well done and extremely readable I thought this a great find.


A father, a son, and a three-mile run
Published in Unknown Binding by ()
Author: Keith J. Leenhouts
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A role model for helping men become AWESOME FATHERS
This emotionally gripping true story of how a juvenile court judge helped his own developmentally challenged son through many years of school failure by building an awesome emotional bond with him will never be out of date even when it is out of print. Judge Leenhouts' love for and commitment to his son Bill provide reliable and inspiring guidance for other fathers in our culture to follow, regardless of the specific problems they or their children may face. As a former juvenile probation officer myself, I am sure that many of the youthful offenders I've seen would never have become delinquents if they had had the kind of father love which Bill had-even if they were failing in school because of educational disadvantages. A father's love such as Bill enjoyed builds in a child an emotional immune system which can withstand virtually any onslaught which life can throw at it. Bill ultimately succeeded after many years of heartbreaking failure, and went on to become a teacher, though he had been told that he would never be able to go to college. This father and son story should not be missed--beg, buy, or borrow it as soon as possible.


A Hundred Miles of Bad Road
Published in Paperback by Presidio Pr (15 June, 2000)
Authors: Dwight W. Birdwell and Keith William Nolan
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A compelling account of Vietnam combat
Dwight Birdwell and William Nolan have produced a very good personal account of an armored crewman's 16-month tour in Vietnam. In addition to absorbing combat narratives, Birdwell provides a lot of details and context to help readers understand his story. He gives explicit reasons why his unit's morale and performance deteriorated over his tour, and how the Tet Offensive changed the nature of the war. I highly recommend this book to any student of the military or the Vietnam War. U.S. military officers should read it for examples of how good leadership can inspire a unit, and bad leadership can cost lives. Birdwell highlights the role of good, solid NCOs as the beating heart of a military unit.

The Truth About Vietnam By Birdwell & Nolan
This Is a story of truth from the men who were In vietnam.Nolan served in the vietnam war.And from reading this book he takes you there.And tells us the american people what we never knew that happened during this war.An amazing truthful book to read.I would give it ten stars."Truth In justice for all of our vets" They are the back bone of this country.The goverment should know. When our vets came home sick and dying from agent orange.Our goverment denied everything.Even the one who gave the orders to drop It. Killed his own son.When his son died he knew it was from agent orange. He later killed himself because of his guilt.Since he was a high ranking officer he was sworn to silence.Like all the other military officers. Our goverment does not care about the men who not only died for this country.Also the ones they killed and never admitted to.The cost to the goverment would be to great.So deny ,deny, at all cost. As the govement has always lied about our vets.When they came home sick from Vietnam also Saudi Arabia.The goverment denied all of this again.Deformed babies,cancer,of all kinds.The goverment again denied our men came in contact with any chemicals to make them sick.When it has been proven that the air they breathed and the contact with tanks were contaminated from Iraq weapons used on our military soldiers.WHY''

TOPS THE LIST
Having read hundreds of books about Vietnam war combat from the perspective of infantry, Rangers, Special Forces, LRRPs, SEALs, and helicopter gunships, I was pleased to find a rare book dealing with American armor combat. With the help fo veteran Vietnam war book author Keith William Nolan, Dwight Birdwell has produced an action packed, easy to read, page turner on his 16 months in Vietnam with a 25th Division armor unit, protecting the main supply route from Saigon to Tay Ninh near the Cambodian border. Arriving Sept. 1967, pre-Tet Birdwell's service as a M48 Patton tank crewman, began with a well lead unit, high moral, and eager for a fight with the Viet Cong. Tet changed all that when Birdwell's unit was dispatched to Saigon where they ran headlong into an enemy regiment which had broke through the wire at Tan Son Nhut Air Base on January 31, 1968. Birdwell's bravery and initiative under intense enemy RPG and gunfire and panic of some fellow troopers won him a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. The narrative of the searing engagement draws one into the action like you are a witness to the blast of tank cannon and the whine of enemy bullets. Birdwell wins a second Silver Star at An Duc in July, 1968, while describing the steady decline of morale and efficiency as troopers realize Washington had no strategy for winning the war. Despite heavy combat, Birdwell manages to preserve his humanity and a measure of idealism, which motivated him to volunteer for Vietnam service, as a teenager. Upon his return to Oklahoma, Birdwell used his G. I. Bill to get an education and eventually earn a law degree and now practices law in Oklahoma City. Of Cherokee heritage, he served for two years as the Chief Justice of the Cherokee Nation. Birdwell's book provides an excellent map to conveniently track ambush and battle site. Also, there are 16 pages of photographs. His epilogue features a "status report" on many officers and troopers he served with and survived the war, including his squadron commander Glenn K. Otis, who went on to be Commander and Chief, U.S Army Europe. Birdwell's book should be on the must read list of every military officer and NCO who might serve in a ground combat unit or support them.


Saint's Rest
Published in Hardcover by Walker & Co ()
Author: Keith Miles
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A good amateur sleuth mystery
In 1931, everyone seems to be desperately searching for work. Luckily for Welsh architect Merlin Richards, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, he is firmly ensconced in the Chicago offices of Westlake and Davison. He finds the Second City is nothing as he expected as murders do not occur on every street corner.

However, Merlin's stretch without seeing a corpse ends when he lands the commission to build a garish Hollywood-style mansion in Oak Park section of Chicago for the wealthy Hobart St. Johns, king of the stockyards. Merlin gives Claire, an attractive member of the St. John's entourage, a tour of the wine cellar, only to find the a body hanging from a meat hook. Merlin figures on murder, but the police label it a suicide. Though someone warns Merlin to keep his mouth shut, he risks his life trying to bring a killer to justice.

Keith Miles writes a very good historical mystery that allows the reader to feel the panic and sheer desperation confronting people during the Great Depression. Besides the ambiance of the era, SAINT'S REST stars a unique character. Chicago awes and repulses Merlin based on the observations he makes. Merlin's naiveté adds interesting relationships to an entertaining novel that will bring much acclaim to Mr. Miles.

Harriet Klausner


Bermuda Grass
Published in Paperback by Poisoned Pen Press (2004)
Author: Keith Miles
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Well written but unlikable protagonist
When golf pro Alan Saxon is hired to help build a golf course for a hotel in Bermuda, he decides to turn it into a vacation--taking his college-aged daughter with him. When he arrives in Bermuda, however, he finds that the golf course has run into problems. At first he dismisses the idea of sabotage--but when a murder victim ends up hanging in the middle of the course, he isn't so sure. When someone raises the stakes and attacks Saxon's family, he decides to spring into action and get to the bottom of the case--no matter who gets hurt.

Author Keith Miles sets up an intriguing mystery with beautiful Bermuda as the backdrop. The hotel where Saxon is staying is the result of a bidding war that left a lot of angry parties behind--and it is possible that someone is trying to get their revenge. Of course, the murder victim wasn't exactly Mr. Personality, so possibly it's nothing more than coincidence that this is happening on the golf course.

I found Saxon himself to be unsympathetic. While his anger at his ex-wife was occasionally amusing and made him more human, it was also unlikable. As was his treatment of his new girlfriend, Nancy (would he have been as cool if she had been younger than him rather than older?). Obviously not especially liking the protagonist makes it harder to get into the mystery.

Miles is a talented writer and the mystery definitely got me hooked so I am happy to recommend this novel--but I hope that Saxon gets a bit of a personality transplant before we see him again.

A Hole in One!
Alan Saxon, a well known professional golfer, and past winner of the British Open, comes to Bermuda to assist in designing a golf course at an upscale resort. He wants to spend some time with his daughter, Lynette, on holiday from Oxford, but his plans are complicated through a friend Lynette brings with her. Jessica Hadlow is the spoiled, incorrigible daughter of a rich, international businessman. While Lynette and Jessica spend much of their time with two young men they've met at the resort, Alan deals with a string of continuous and disconcerting problems that plague the construction of the golf course. When the complications include murder, and the girls are kidnapped, Alan realizes that it's no longer about a game - someone is playing for keeps.

While Alan fights to keep his partner in Bermuda and the golf course project alive, his ex-wife flies out to join in the search for their daughter. Jessica's father, a decidedly unpleasant man, also comes to Bermuda. Balancing the kidnappers, his ex-wife, Jessica's angry father, his partner, an attractive woman he met just before the kidnapping, and the hotel management, becomes quite a challenge as Alan sorts through the available clues - hoping to discover a way to bring his daughter back alive.

BERMUDA GRASS is a very well written, engrossing novel. The characterizations are effective, giving the story a compelling sense of reality. The "golf" environment is exploited just enough to capture the reader's interest, but will not turn off those who are not involved in the game. The mystery aspect is handled masterfully. Miles presents several possibilities - teasing the reader with each one - and in the end, delivering a solid and satisfying conclusion.

I highly recommend BERMUDA GRASS.


Murder in Perspective: An Architectural Mystery
Published in Hardcover by Walker & Co (1997)
Author: Keith Miles
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Intriguing concept with so-so execution
Here's an intriguing pseudo-historical mystery involving the irrepressible character and speech of Frank Lloyd Wright, "America's Greatest Architect" (although, typically, he would dispute the necessity for "America" in the sobriquet--and may have been right!). FLLW doesn't appear often enough, more's the pity, because he struts through his scenes in all his arrogant super-perceptive glory, putting Our Hero, Merlin--a randomly wimpish/aggressive budding architect come to worship Wright--quite in the shade. Wright seems authentic in speech and attitude, the architectural passages are perceptive and accurate (although I missed having a good picture of the innovative and glamorous Biltmore Hotel [an actual resort]). The characters are fairly well-differentiated, particularly Tom Vernon, Wright's unctuous chief apprentice, and mysterious Rosa of the ambiguous virtue who befriends Merlin. Merlin's character wanders a bit, his motivation is clear but not psychologically convincing; maybe the intended point is he's just a confused young man. Then again, this author makes more attempt at humor than at profundity. Setting a mystery among architects is fascinating, but how a greenhorn foreigner (Merlin) can do better policing than a pair of veteran Arizona cops is not made believable. The plot is well-constructed, and vital coincidences are not glaring, although Merlin's oft-mentioned (but absent) Welsh harp seems to be a loose end, set up for the second novel in this new, quick-reading series by an average author. I'll read the next one, too.


Bev
Published in Paperback by HarperCollins Publishers (12 January, 1989)
Author: Keith Miles
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Boys from the Blackstuff
Published in Hardcover by HarperCollins Publishers (02 June, 1983)
Authors: Keith Miles and Alan Bleasdale
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Bullet Hole
Published in Hardcover by HarperCollins (1987)
Author: Keith Miles
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