The power of the dog

What Hacker News says

1. catacombsSep 2019
   The Power of the Dog series by Don Winslow, read by Ray Porter.

   Porter is a master narrator, using different voices for the sea of characters in the trilogy that really immerses you in the story. I listened to all the books -- The Power of the Dog, The Cartel, and The Border -- and am worried no other books will match Porter's deft acting.

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2. catacombsNov 2018
   American War by Omar El-Akkad, read by Dion Graham. Not many characters but a riveting story about a plausible second American Civil War.

   The Power of the Dog and The Cartel by Don Winslow, read by Rob Porter. A must read just for the vast characters Porter plays, many of whom are Hispanic. An amazing feat that tells a riveting story.

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3. spapas82Jul 2018
   Let's take a look at the books I've read for 2018:

   https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/10897132

   As you see I mainly read scifi and fantasy; not necesarrily new releases.

   From these books, here's a bunch I recommend:

   - Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown: It is really excellent. It may feel like an ordinary young adult novel, however, especiall after during the 2nd book (and through the duration of the 3rd one) it really hooks you up with its story and characters; it feels like a Game Of Thrones in sci-fi; totally recommended.

   - Every dead thing by John Connoly: An excellent crime/serial killer story. It has some grotesque descriptions so don't read it if you don't have the stomach for such things; beyond that it's really good.

   - The Expanse series by James SA Corey: I have read almost everything in this series. I like it very much; some books are better than the others however I recommend starting with Leviathan awakes (the 1st one) and if you like the characters and story continue with the others; if not don't bother.

   - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. A great fantasy novel; very interesting story and characters. I liked it very much. The second one (red seas under red skies) was not as good as the first one though.

   - The power of the Dog by Don Winslow: A great crime/mob/narcotics story about the drug war in Mexico which is based on real facts and characters. It is a little long however I read it with great insterest.

   And a couple I didn't like:

   - The broker by John Grisham: Probably the worst Grisham novel I've ever read. Felt more like a travel guide to Italy than a real Grisham novel. I was very dissapointed by this novel because I've like almost all other Grisham novels I've read.

   - Time by Stephen Baxter: I'd head good things about this but it is just a couple of nice scientific ideas. It doesn't have any real plot and feels very boring after a little.

   - Daemon by Daniel Suarez: This was a mediocre book. The writer must be a Software/Computer ENgineer and definitely knows his stuff (you can even learn a couple of things from him); this was the good part. The bad part was that the plot did not made much sense and the power of the Daemon/AI started to feel like a Deus ex Machina and became too boring to follow.

   - Winter moon by Dean Koontz: A not very good horror story. I didn't like its plot at all.

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4. randycupertinoAug 2017
   When I saw the title, I had similar thoughts. imo Ray Porter is the undisputed king of audiobook narration- one needs only to listen to Ray Porter narrate The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow of 14 by Peter Clines to know he is the best! Best narrator of all time.
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5. engi_nerdDec 2016
   This year involved a career change, so much of my reading was oriented around my shift from flight test engineering to software engineering.

   Non-fiction (technical):

   * Code Complete, 2nd Edition by Steve McConnell. I can't say enough good things about this. I have kept referring to it in the months since I read it for the first time.

   * Computation Structures by Stephen A. Ward. I have read most of this one; it's a good reference for understanding computers at various levels of abstraction.

   * Simulation and its Discontents by Sherry Turkle

   * Scientific Computation: Python Hacking for Math Junkies by Bruce E. Shapiro. Good for getting back into Python after a few years away.

   * Accelerating MATLAB Performance by Yair Altman. Altman has an exhaustive knowledge of MATLAB and this book is a must for anyone doing serious work in MATLAB.

   * Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline by Cathy O'Neil

   History:

   * The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, by Peter Heather. Very well researched and written narrative examining how the Empire fared in the 3rd-5th centuries. Has a different perspective than the usual "Barbarian invasions ended the empire".

   * One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson. I love everything Bryson writes. This is no exception.

   * Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center by Jonathan H. Ward. Also read Countdown to a Moon Launch: Preparing Apollo for Its Historic Journey by the same author. Ward writes the most amazing technical histories. It's quite obvious that he spent massive amounts of time piecing together exactly how things at Kennedy worked during the Apollo years. It's full of amazing little details like which firing rooms were used for which mission, how the entire Saturn V stack was rap-tested (literally having people lie on their backs on a work-platform and synchronously press against the rocket with their legs to try to get it to resonate), and so much more. If you are an Apollo program enthusiast you must read these two books.

   Biography

   * Kelly: More than my Share of it All by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson. The man was a far better engineer than writer. A much better look at Kelly's business life was put together by his protege, Ben Rich (with Leo Janos), in "Skunkworks: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed".

   * Fighter Pilot, by Robin Olds. Autobiography of one of the brashest, best aces of World War II and Vietnam.

   * American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day, by Robert Coram. Not as well-written as Coram's biography of John Boyd. Or maybe Boyd just appeals more to my fighter-jet engineering side.

   * Chickenhawk by Robert Mason. Amazing account of what it was like to be a combat rotary-wing pilot in Vietnam.

   Other Non-Fiction

   * The M1 Garand Owner's Guide by Scott A. Duff. Worth it for Garand owners.

   * Atlas Obscura: A Guide To the World's Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer. The print book is beautiful and ever fascinating.

   * This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, by Naomi Klein. Like a lot of popular non-fiction, this could have been an excellent long-form article instead.

   Fiction:

   * The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 by Lionel Shriver. A book with a high concept story and poor execution.

   * The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Not my first time reading it, but just as enjoyable on this go-around.

   * QB VII by Leon Uris. Fiction, but based on some of Uris's own experiences as the defendant in a libel suit. A solid read.

   * Noble House, by James Clavell. The only book in his Asian series I hadn't read. Amazing, as are all the rest.

   * The Tao Trilogy by Wesley Chu. Eh. First book was decent, it got tedious after that. Only finished it all because I was on a business trip with poor internet access.

   * The Power of the Dog, by Don Winslow. I also read the follow-up, The Cartel. Winslow researched these books for years and they are powerful indictments of the War on Drugs. They're also good fiction, but many of the characters have real-world analogues. I spent quite a bit of time during/after reading these looking up the real-world history of the drug wars since 1975.

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6. leftnodeAug 2016
   If you haven't, I highly suggest you read Don Winslow's two books about this: The Power of the Dog and The Cartel. Both are fantastic.
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