Thursday, April 24, 2014

Pandemic by Scott Sigler

Pandemic by Scott Sigler

This is the conclusion of the Infected Trilogy and this is one of those rare trilogies where it ends almost as well as it began.  In my mind Sigler can never top the awesomeness of the first book, Infected, probably one of the best horror books I’ve ever read (just say “blue triangle” to me and I still shiver), but he came close. 

It’s been a few years since Detroit was wiped off the map to keep the alien invasion at bay but not everything has been destroyed.  A small canister is discovered on the bottom of Lake Michigan and what it contains may possibly destroy the entire human race.  If the aliens don’t wipe us out, our reactions to the contagions probably will.

A great world almost-ending book showing how events could possibly play out on a global scale; the psychology of the world politics is really interesting.  The first book is about an inner struggle with an infection, the second involves an entire city and the third the world.  It’s an interesting study in human interaction and contagion vectors.  The later hopefully being something we’ll never need to know anything about!  I highly recommend reading these in order for the full impact of the tale.

The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

 
The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Just plain fun.  FBI Kate O’Hare and world class thief/con-man Nick Fox team up again to serve the bad guys the FBI can’t legally touch their just desserts.  This entry is just as fast paced and high energy as the last.  If you like heists like those in the movies Oceans Eleven and The Italian Job you’ll really enjoy this book.

You can read this one without reading the first, but you get a little more background if you read them in order.  Great on audio, especially since Scott Brick, who has a great voice, reads it.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Runner by Patrick Lee

Runner by Patrick Lee

Sam Dryden, former special forces and now an exile from his own life after a family tragedy, has taken to running on the boardwalk by his house at odd times of the day and night.  One night, while out running, a girl barrels into him from an adjoining path and from that point forward the two are fighting for their lives.  All Rachel knows is that the men at the facility she was being held in want to kill her.  All Sam knows is that he needs to protect her.  Slowly the story of Rachel’s past begins to unfold, a story with genetic manipulation, spying and government conspiracies at its core.  Will the two survive?

This was a really well-read audiobook.  The two main characters are a middle aged male and a teen female.  That would be a challenge to any voice actor, but Raul Esparza does a great job making both distinct and believable.  This was one of those books that I kept bringing inside to listen to because I couldn’t wait for my commute the next morning to know what happened next.  Fans of James Rollins, Michael Crichton, Douglas Child and Richard Preston will love the action and techno-thriller aspects of this tale.

Cursed by Benedict Jacka


Cursed by Benedict Jacka

Alex Verus is a Conjurer operating a magic shop in present day London.  He gets a lot of people looking for card tricks wandering in off the street, but he deals in real magic.  As a Conjurer he can see into the future and all the paths the future may take – which is why Verus never seems to trip, he can always see the future he doesn’t trip in and take that path.  And it’s also why he hasn’t died…yet.  He can see what future path will result in his demise.  And there have been a lot of paths leading in that direction lately.

Two storylines twist and turn together in this book, the second in the series.  Finding out who is killing magical creatures is the first task Verus has to deal with since his best friend is a giant spider.  Next he has to figure out how best to work with his apprentice Luna.  She is cursed with luck.  Hers is pretty good at the peril of anyone that gets within a certain radius of her – they then take on bad luck with disastrous results.

The characters are likeable and memorable.  I read the first entry in the series about two years ago and the world Jacka created came right back.  It was a nice place to visit again, and I think I’ll be visiting again soon since books three and four are currently available.  If you are a fan of Jim Butcher or Kat Richardson I really think you’ll enjoy this series.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

This is the life story of Sarah Grimke, the daughter of a wealthy family in Charleston, and Hetty, the slave Sarah is given on her eleventh birthday.  Sarah is uncomfortable with the idea of owning another person and immediately tries to set Hetty free, but her family will not allow it.  Throughout her life Sarah is against slavery, but as a woman from the south what can she do?  Hetty is taught by Sarah to read and by her mother to hate her lot in life and these strong women guide Hetty in her own struggles to want to one day be free. 

I’ll admit it now.  I didn’t want to read this book.  I really didn’t like the author’s last book, The Mermaid’s Chair, and I tend to disagree with Oprah on her book choices.  But I will now admit that the author and Oprah picked a winner with this one.  Told in alternating chapters narrated by the two main characters we see how slavery is an institution hard fought by individuals, especially women, but how perseverance, guts and gumption can go a long way even against what appear to be insurmountable odds.  As with all big changes small steps must come first and this story tells of the small steps these two women take, as well as others attempting to enact changes against slavery on the streets of Charleston and the parlors of the North.

Jump the Gun by Zoe Burke

Jump the Gun by Zoe Burke

Beatrice Anabelle Starkey is a book publicist attending a convention in Chicago when she meets Mickey Paxton, a salesman for a big publishing house.  Anabelle isn’t the type to fly off to Vegas for the weekend, but when Mickey suggests the rendezvous, she jumps for it.  So begins the whirlwind romance and a bunch of scary stuff.  Anabelle is kidnapped, Mickey is jumped and the woman who was cat sitting for Anabelle turns up dead in Anabelle’s apartment.  Enter an assorted bunch of fun characters including a senior on the lam from her nursing home, a moonlighting taxi driver, and the very wonderful parents of Anabelle.

Fans of Janet Evanovich will enjoy the fast paced action and the random one-liners.  Starkey is a MAJOR movie fan and the author loves to quote and reference movies in her dialogue and descriptions.  There are a lot of strange twists and turns and overall the story is a mystery with more than a touch of romance.  This is more like the first few Evanovich stories which were light in tone but serious when it came to the underlying mystery.  People are murdered, the stakes are high and there is more than a little blood.

This is a fun listen, the reader has a unique voice that really works well, and it is a short listen, which was great because all the audiobooks I’ve been checking out lately seem to have over 14 discs in them.  It was nice to finish a whole story in a week.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld

The enchanted place exists in the imagination of a death row inmate picturing the stone prison around him as a world of golden racing horses and little men with hammers.  He pictures the world as a realm of beautiful places despite where he currently resides.  The lady who enters the enchanted place is an investigator for death row inmates on their last appeals.  She is digging into the life of inmate York and through her investigation we learn more about her.  The priest is a man who has all but left the Catholic Church, but is not ready to give up his faith entirely.  He decides to tend to these men for atonement for his sins and for hope at salvation.

This book is yet another one that is already on my top books of the year list.  The writing is amazingly lyrical and pulls you into the mind of a killer, one who you begin to empathize with despite your better judgment.  You get pulled in to the story wondering why each character chose their path in life and wondering how you would have fared in similar circumstances.  The prison, which in my mind resembled Eastern State Penitentiary, is another character with hidden secrets and murky past.  Typically I am not a fan of descriptive writing, but this is an exception.  Wonderful on audio.