Picnic in the Ruins

This is my first exposure to this author and I am glad I tried him out. I was rewarded with numerous laughs. Yes, it is a serious subject at core...provenance of artifacts, but the comical characters and wild action was highly entertaining. This book provided me with interesting topics to consider s......more

This Western thriller takes place in an unnamed national monument near Bryce Canyon. I'm pretty sure it is meant to be the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the characters are involved in a scheme associated with the federal governme......more

Simply put, I did not enjoy this book. Set in the Southwest United States, it's a story about ancient Indian ruins, their preservation, and their looting. I feel the author lost his way. Too many characters, none of whom I liked. The story itself couldn't figure out where it wanted to go. It felt ju......more

I love a novel that raises great questions, especially questions I’ve never thought to ask before. I think my favorite character was Reinhardt, the German tourist with romanticized ideas about the west who is in search of a hero’s journey and real relics. But it seems all that’s left is the tourist......more