Monday, March 12, 2012

Jim DeFelice

Jim DeFelice’s new book, The Helios Conspiracy (Tor/Forge), received a starred review from Kirkus, who called it “complete success with its appealing investigator, rapid-fire dialogue and convincing storytelling.”

He is the co-author of American Sniper, the New York Times number one best-seller.

A couple of weeks ago I asked the author what he was reading.  His reply:
One of the things I like most about traveling is that it gives me a chance to read. Generally, I leave the e-reader home – I like to pick up things at the airport or train station book store that are a little unusual, for me, at least.

On a recent trip from New York to Washington, I grabbed a copy of Mafiaboy, the first-person account by Michael Calce with Craig Silverman of a hacker’s crimes and misdemeanors during the early days of on-line computing and the internet. It’s a fascinating book, and kept me good company both down and back. The portrait of a teenage hacker is at once charming and extremely alarming. Silverman did an excellent job shaping the work and letting Calce tell the story in his own words – not an easy task.

A few days later, on a trip to Texas, I picked up Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists on the way to the airport. This is a novel organized around a series of short stories and character sketches that taken together form almost a love story for newspapers. The book tells the story of a paper very much like the International Herald Tribune, but it’s really a lot more than that. I swear I’ve met at least half the journalists in the book.

I’m not sure I could come up with two more different books. But that’s part of the fun of traveling – you never know what new experience the road will bring.
Visit Jim DeFelice's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue