Cmdr Shepard's favourite books on the Citadel
I was a much more avid reader in my youth... before the days of PCs and gaming consoles. Now I find myself working in a job filled with long, slow periods of extreme boredom (punctuated by brief spells of intense excitement) which gives me a lot of time to pick up my reading again.
The only thing that I curse is my near-eidetic memory when it comes to books that I have read which can ruin my future enjoyment and re-reading of many of my favourite books (I tend to skip the 'slow, boring bits'). As a result I find myself mentally forcing myself to read each page slowly and carefully whenever I re-read a book to prevent myself from jumping forward to the more exciting parts that I remember.
Unlike the various television shows of the same name (which are all adaptations of the stories in these books), the 'Underbelly' series is an in-depth, no-holds-barred look into the criminal underworld of Victoria by two highly-respected and experienced crime jounalists.There are over a dozen books in the series and each one deals with a range of criminal matters. In the true investigative style of both authors, the facts of the stories are related without any unnecessary embellishment. While there is some humour in some of the stories of bungling criminals and their even more botched crimes, this is a series which does not glamorise 'gangsters' and their deeds.
This is true crime affecting real people and reported and written about in real terms.
John Silvester is a journalist with over 30 years experience, and is the chief crime reporter for The Age newspaper. He also often appears on radio as "Sly of the Underworld", commenting on crimes and criminals around Victoria.
Andrew Rule is also a journalist with over 30 years experience, and has many other books to his name as both author and editor.
