Thursday, August 29, 2013

World War Z by Max Brooks

World War Z by Max Brooks

The subtitle of this book describes it pretty well: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  These are the personal stories of the survivors of the Zombie War, also known as World War Z.  In our future the dead begin to rise and life as we know it is changed forever.  We hear the eye witness accounts of a soldier at the Battle of Yonkers; an astronaut on the International Space Center; a Russian soldier; a woman seeking refuge up north and a few dozen others.  These short interviews provide a human side to the zombie infestation.

This is probably one of the best audiobooks I’ve heard.  The reader portraying the interviewer stays the same, but the reader of each interviewee’s part changes depending on the story.  The accents are some of the best I’ve heard and each voice is distinctive.  Famous people such as Nathan Fillion, John Turturro and even Martin Scorsese lend their talents to the mix.  Even if you’ve already read the book (like me) you should give this one a listen!

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines

Isaac Vainio is a librarian.  (Me too!)  He has a big fuzzy spider as a pet.  (Me too!)  And he has the ability to pull items in books out of them and into the real world.  (I wish.) 

Isaac is a Libriomancer, one of the few gifted with the ability to read items into being.  There are some rules, like an item has to be able to fit through the borders of a book (so ray guns are okay to bring to our world, time machines not so much).  Isaac was sent to a small library in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a cataloger of useful items he finds in books after an incident involving zombies while he was a full-fledged Porter.  Now, something is wrong.  It seems that the vampires are rebelling because there is a disruption within the Porters.  Rumor has is that Gutenberg (yep, THAT Gutenberg) is missing.  Isaac will need to arm himself with his favorite trusty paperbacks and get ready to start reading again.

Fans of reading and bookish humor will enjoy this book.  It’s an interesting urban fantasy blending reality and the world of books together in unique ways. I kept waiting to see which books he would read items from next to see whether or not I knew the stories.  This is only the first in the series and I’m intrigued and amused enough to continue.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Nicholas Fox is the penultimate con-man.  He is a smooth talker (he could sell ice to Eskimos), a ladies’ man (even those who know better are attracted) and a diabolical planner (he can steal anything from anywhere).  Kate O’Hare is Special Agent Kate O’Hare.  She is the FBI agent who has hunted down Fox for years and finally has him.  Only to be asked by her bosses to let him go.  They suggest that Fox and O’Hare team up off-the-record to take down the guys the FBI can’t get to while following “the rules” to the letter.  Their first mark?  A man who stole the life savings of thousands of people and is living large in the South Pacific.

Entertaining, twisty and a bit over the top this book will put a smile on your face and have you rooting for Fox, O’Hare and their madcap band of merry men (and women).

Scott Brick reads the audiobook, and while he doesn’t do voices like the readers for Evanovich’s Plum series, he has a great voice which makes the listening fun.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Midnight by Kevin Egan

Midnight by Kevin Egan

There is a little known rule of the New York County Courthouse.  When a judge dies his staff keep their jobs until the end of the calendar year.  It is New Year’s Eve.  The judge dies in his office that morning.  Carol and Tom, his staff members, both can’t afford to lose their jobs the next day.  They decide to hide his death and make it look like he died during the new year.  Sounds simple right?  Best laid plans…

If anything can go wrong, it will.  This is such a twisty turny maze through Manhattan and the surrounding area.  Nothing ever goes smoothly.  The author keeps numerous plot lines intersecting and colliding to make a great thriller.  I think this one would make a great movie.

Brilliance by Marcus Sakey

Brilliance by Marcus Sakey

It all started in 1986.  In that year 1% of the humans born had special gifts, these are the abnorms.  One abnorm “broke” the stock market racking up a fortune of over $300 billion by finding a pattern and a way to exploit it.  Another can walk through rooms without being seen, conveniently appearing where others aren’t looking.  Yet another can interpret the slightest movements of your eyes and limbs to know what you’ll be doing next and even what you’re thinking.

Cooper is an abnorm.  He is also a member of Equitable Services.  He hunts down abnorms who are using their gifts against the populace, these terrorists with an edge.  John Smith killed 73 innocent people in a crowded Washington D.C. restaurant years ago.  A new terrorist attack has just claimed over 1,000 lives and John Smith may be involved.  Cooper will do anything to get Smith.  Anything.

This is a really interesting alternate universe and the author has written a great thriller set there.  What would it be like to be normal when the abnorms are so much better?  Is there still equality and can there be?  Should the abnorms be tracked and treated as “other”?  Should they be allowed to live their lives just like the normals?  There are so many interesting questions brought up in the story while Cooper is hunting down a terrorist and basically having the world he thought he knew turned on its head. 

There will be a sequel, and I’m looking forward to it.

Friday, August 16, 2013

The Humans by Matt Haig

The Humans by Matt Haig

A mathematician is about to solve the Riemann hypothesis (the idea that prime numbers have a pattern) and the rest of the universe is terrified.  So frightening is the idea of humans solving this equation that an alien is sent to earth.  Once here he kills the mathematician and takes his form, so he can find out who else may know about the equation and eliminate them as well.  One problem.  The alien, after some minor adjustment difficulties (like being arrested for walking around without clothing on, because Vonnadorians don’t worry about things like clothes) actually enjoys being human.

This is a funny, sentimental and thought-provoking book.  Not a combination you seen done well very often.  It is amusing to see humankind through keen and blunt eyes.  It is eye-opening to see ourselves as such awful creatures, yet awful creatures capable of such kindness and depth of emotion.  There is a list of 97 items the alien/human imparts at a point towards the end of the book.  While some of the advice may be strange (like always remember to wear pants) the advice is all wonderful, and wonderfully put.

The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs

The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs

Tess Delaney is happy with her high-pressure job as a recoverer of lost antiquities and single life in San Francisco.  That is until she finds out about the grandfather she never knew she had lying in a coma in Sonoma County; the unknown relative that will leave her half his apple orchard if he doesn’t pull through.  Tess goes to the small town of Archangel to meet her half-sister and see the life she has led in the country.  Tess has to decide where her heart belongs.

This is one of the few times I will suggest that you NOT get this one on audiobook.  The reader has problems keeping her accents straight.  There are supposed to be characters with Irish, Italian, German and Danish accents.  To my ear they seemed to flow together.  One character (supposedly Danish) sounded like an Irish-Gypsy to me.  It was rather confusing.

An enjoyable and pleasant story; what I would consider a good beach read. 

Friday, August 9, 2013

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

In 1986 two eleven-year old girls, Jade and Bel, met for the first time and were tasked with babysitting annoying four-year old Chloe.  By the end of the day Chloe is dead and Jade and Bel are charged with murder.  They have become infamous child killers to the general public and their current whereabouts has been tabloid fodder for years.  One of the terms of their release is that they never meet again, but a murder twenty-five years later brings these two women face to face.  Amber (Bel) is now working at a seaside carnival and Kirsty (Jade) is an investigative reporter.  Once again their lives come together and again it doesn’t seem that things will work out very well.

This book is more than just a thriller; that said it’s a very good thriller with lots of twists and turns.   This book makes you think, especially when we finally get the whole story of what happened the day that Jade and Bel were forced to babysit little Chloe.  Are children who murder essentially evil?  Can these children be rehabilitated and live normal lives?  Should the media, and the public at large, allow them to integrate into society?  There’s a lot to mull over (and gasp over!) when you turn the last page.

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

This is the story of Darling, a smart, sassy girl born in a country in Africa.  While the country is never named, Darling always refers to it simply as “my country,” she was born in Zimbabwe like the author of this novel.

The beginning of the novel takes place in a poorly constructed slum in Zimbabwe where Darling and her friends create games, steal guavas and see the grim reality surrounding them through innocent eyes.  As Darling becomes a teenager her aunt sends for her and she travels to Destroyed (read: Detroit) Michigan.  This is where the story became bleak for me.  As bad as things were in her country her life in Michigan and the menial jobs this smart woman is forced into because of lack of education and proper papers was depressing.  An eye-opening book of a country and those forced to leave.  

This is simply AMAZING on audiobook.  The author can transform herself into different ethnicities and people flawlessly.  Most amazing was the transformation of Darling’s voice from the beginning to the end of the book.  As the character lives longer and longer in America her African accent slowly disappears.  It is a work of art.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Agnus Magnusdottir is sent to a remote farm in Iceland in 1829 to live with the family there while she awaits execution.  She has been found guilty of the murder of two men along with her two accomplices who are being housed elsewhere.  During her stay with the farming family she requests a young priest to help her with spiritual matters but what he, and the women of the family she is living with, help her with is her story.  Helping her tell her side of the story of what happened that fateful day.

Based on true events – Agnus was the last person executed in Iceland – this is a glimpse into a remote land, their prejudices and their legal system.  Agnus is a very intelligent, plain, middle-aged woman while her female accomplice is a young, pretty and simple.  Can you guess which one is saved from the axe? 

This book will be September’s IndieNext pick, so place your holds now!