Of the half dozen books I took to Paris I was looking forward to Ghost Brigades, and The Demon and the City, as two promising sequels to books I had enjoyed — Old Man’s War, and the truly excellent Snake Agent. Unfortunately they were both ho-hum, with Demon and City being particularly uncompelling. That said both were more grounded and believable then the labored and kind of silly Kite Runner. Godwin’s Law applies doubly in fiction.