Book Review – Depth of Winter: A Longmire Mystery

Posted on January 27, 2019 by John Kevin Hickey

Editor’s note:  I have set a goal to read 26 books in 2019, and review them upon completion.  Below is my review of Depth of Winter: A Walt Longmire Mystery, the first book I have completed this year.

I am not a huge fan of mystery novels, but there are a few mystery authors that I like.  Craig Johnson and his Longmire mysteries are perhaps my favorite.  Great characters and interesting plots are a hallmark of the Longmire books.

Which is why I am disappointed to say that Depth of Winter is not up to the usual standards.  While the story moves along at a good pace, their are just too many flaws.  One of the things Mr. Johnson is good at is injecting enough self-depreciating humor in his characters, especially in Walt Longmire himself, to leaven the the proceedings.  And even though “Depth of Winter” deals with a dire situation to one of Walt’s loved ones, there is still humor to be had.  Without giving too much away, at one point Walt (who is in Juarez, Mexico at the time) is deliberately identified as Dallas Cowboy great Bob Lilly.  It’s a great moment.

The problem is that there are too many Deus ex machina moments in this story and they destroy my willing sense of disbelief.  Strangers seem to be crawling out of the woodwork willing to risk their lives to help him.  When Walt is in serious peril, those same willing spear-carriers miraculously appear out of nowhere to save him.  His antagonist, who throughout the past several books has been shown to be a ruthless and pragmatic killer, uncharacteristically decides to play by Marquess of Queensbury rules.

Depth of Winter isn’t really a mystery.  It’s more of an action novel, ala Walt Rambomire, and it doesn’t ring true to the rest of the series.  Which is why I am sadly only giving it one and half thumbs up.

Fast paced action and humorous scenes cannot compensate enough for unrealistic resolutions and unlikely coincidences. 

 

Epilogue:  Hope you enjoyed this post.  Comments, book recommendations and writing tips are always welcome.  If you don’t wish to post comments on this site, feel free to email me at:  Mrvintageman2@gmail.com.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , | Comments Off on Book Review – Depth of Winter: A Longmire Mystery

Fair weather cyclist

Posted on January 24, 2019 by John Kevin Hickey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I must confess to being a fair weather bicyclist.  As much as I enjoy cycling, I seriously dislike riding in the cold.  I absolutely hate when the cold and the wind make my eyes leak and turns my nose turns into a snot faucet.  I much prefer riding in the spring, summer and autumn not just because it’s warmer, but also because there is much natural beauty to take in.  In the cold months where I live there is nothing to look at while riding but various shades of gray and brown.  Not very inspiring.

     Besides, I’m a little paranoid about hitting an icy spot and wiping out.

     But I want to push myself a little harder this year.  I would like ride longer routes on organized rides, perhaps even do a metric century (which is roughly 60 miles).  I also would like to go further out of my comfort zone and maybe do an overnight trip where I ride to another town, spend the night and return home the next day.  There’s a website devoted to inspire people to doing overnight or two bike tours.  It’s called Bike Overnights.  Check out their site here: https://www.bikeovernights.org/.

Cycleops magnetic trainer

      So it is my intention to maintain my bicycling strength through the winter.  Which is why I did something I never thought I would do: I bought an indoor trainer so I can keep riding through the cold months.  Truthfully, it’s not a whole lot of fun.  So, to make the riding  it bearable,  I parked it in my living room in front of the television.  I pull up Netflix or YouTube on the T.V. so I have something to keep my mind occupied.

     There is are several touring videos on YouTube that were taken by bicyclists (see here & here) and feature some awesome scenery.  I like to crank up the resistance when the rider is going up hills and reduce resistance but pedal faster on the downhills.  Gives me a sort of real world experience.  As much real world as can be expected while riding in your living room.

     Anyway, we shall see how much it helps when civilized bicycling weather returns.  If nothing else, it should keep the calluses on my ass ready for the riding season.

 

Posted in Bicycling | Tagged , | Comments Off on Fair weather cyclist

If you enjoy Old West history, then you have to visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site

Posted on January 20, 2019 by John Kevin Hickey

     If you are interested in the history of the Old West, and should you ever find yourself traveling to or thru northern Utah by way of I-84, I would highly recommend you reconnoiter the Golden Spike National Historical Site.

     Located at Promontory Point just north of the Great Salt Lake itself, the Golden Spike National Historical Site (hereby known as GPSNHS) is the location where the transcontinental railroad was officially linked together.  Crews from the Union Pacific railroad laid tracks west across the plains and Rocky Mountains, while simultaneously workers from Central Pacific railroad blasted and dug their way through the Sierra Nevada until they met up at Promontory Point.

     One cannot overstate just how momentous this event was to the development of the West, and the United State in general.  Before the transcontinental railroad, travelers who wanted to reach the west coast had two options: take a ship around South America or make the long trek.  Both options were dangerous and fraught with peril.  Whichever way they went it would take travelers weeks if not months to make the journey.

     After the railroad was complete, people could travel from Chicago to San Francisco in a week or less.  This allowed for the opening of the West, and closed the chapter on the age of the Conestoga wagon.  Millions of settlers flooded into the more accessible regions (to the obvious detriment of the people who already lived there).  But it was more than just people: raw materials such as gold, silver and copper could be shipped more reliably.  Cattle from Texas could be driven to railway depots in Kansas to be shipped back East.  The railroad was a game changer.

     The GPSNHS has a museum and a gift shop.  In addition to the museum, the site has replicas of Jupiter and No.119, the two trains that met for the official golden spike ceremony, that reside on the Engine House and can be toured when they are not taking part in reenactments.  On Saturdays during the summer months, volunteers and audience members reenact the Last Spike ceremony, albeit with a little more tongue-in-cheek than I would imagine the original ceremony was performed.

I was so stoked to be here that my youngest daughter informed me that I was a nerd. She was not wrong!

Renacting the joining of the trans-continental railroad. (Click to see larger image)

     During the summer months both trains perform demonstration runs twice a day (minus the reenactors), except on days when the boilers need to be cleaned.  See https://www.nps.gov/gosp/planyourvisit/hours.htm to plan your visit and get directions.

   GPSNHS is out in the middle of a frickin’ desert, it’s hot as hell in the summer and there is nothing else around there.  But for train buffs and history aficionados it is well worth the trip.

Posted in American West, Travel | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on If you enjoy Old West history, then you have to visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site