WWW for March 30, 2011

First, thanks to the venerable James Rollins who stopped by ye old Leaf to leave a comment and update us all that there are excerpts of his upcoming release, The Devil Colony (Sigma Book 6)!  I’ve been a fan of Rollins’ adventure novels for quite some time so it’s an honor to have him leave a note. The Devil Colony was originally scheduled for release last summer, but was pushed back to this June. Find the excerpts on his website here.

Second, it’s been SO long since I’ve done a WWW (hosted at Should Be Reading). I got a few goodies in the mail recently though so decided I would share.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:

What are you currently reading? 
I’m FINALLY reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larssen. I’m probably one of the last bookworms on the planet to pick up this series, but I just never had time for it until now. I’m definitely enjoying it so far!

What did you recently finish reading? 
The  Ghost Orchid by one of my faves, Carol Goodman. This was a bit weird for me in comparison to the other Goodman works that I’ve read. Full review should be up shortly so check back.

What do you think you’ll read next? 
I haven’t been able to take any ARCs lately due to the work for Rozlyn Press picking up, but when I received an email from Helen Phillips offering an advance look at her upcoming release And Yet They Were Happy, I was too intrigued to say no. here’s the synopsis from Helen’s website:

The surreal fables of And Yet They Were Happy chronicle the adventures large and small of a young couple setting out to build a life in an unstable world. It’s a world haunted by monsters, a world plagued by natural disasters, a world on the verge of collapse–but also a place of transformation, wonder, and delight, peopled by the likes of Noah, Eve, Bob Dylan, the Virgin Mary, Jack Kerouac, Anne Frank, and a cast of fairytale creatures. Hovering between reality and fantasy, autobiography and mythology, whimsy and darkness, And Yet They Were Happy is a journey through a universe at once peculiar and familiar.

WWW/Waiting On/Wishful Wednesday: The Devil Colony

You folks know I’m more than just a pretty blog. I’m a big ol’ nerd, and I’m proud of it. I was hoping to save this gem until closer to the release date (August!) but I can’t find something better than this for Waiting on Wednesday (hosted at Breaking The Spine) and Wishful Wednesday (hosted by The Bluestocking Guide) so, without further adoooo I am pleased to announce that James Rollins’ next Sigma novel is…

The Devil Colony by James Rollins (UPDATE: NEW RELEASE 6/2011)

Mum’s the word on the book description, since I can’t seem to find one anywhere. But Rollins did mention this on his website:

“Oh, and speaking of  Sigma.  What’s the next book about?  Well, it’s my biggest story yet, where lingering questions will be answered and all Hell breaks loose (in this case literally).”

You know I am IN!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:  

What are you currently reading? Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

What did you recently finish reading? The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (click here for review)

What do you think you’ll read next? I finally got Day for Night by Frederick Reiken, so that’s up next!

TSS: In My Mailbox Monday: The Chimera Seed, The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin, Altar of Eden, The Strain

I’m definitely taking advantage today and posting my In My Mailbox (hosted by The Story Siren) as part of The Sunday Salon (view more entries here). Not to mention, I’ll probably update it tomorrow so it can be included for Mailbox Monday (hosted by The Printed Page). I am excited for the books I received last week!

I already mentioned The Chimera Seed by Matthew Tully in my last Friday Finds post, so I’ll just post a brief description here.

Richard Tiernan’s sudden death sparks a chain of events that threatens the survival of the human species. The visionary scientist’s son and only heir, Dr. Michael Tiernan, inherits Oisín Pharmaceuticals and learns of his father’s astonishing secret. Hidden away in the little Sardinian town of Boroneddu, Michael discovers his father’s greatest legacy: the fountain of youth.
 
In possession of Dionysinol, the most dynamic anti-aging drug ever engineered, Michael Tiernan aspires to turn Oisín Pharmaceuticals into an empire. His plans rapidly unravel when he becomes ensnared in a cutthroat game of pharmaceutical espionage and learns just how far some people will go to acquire immortality and how far others will go to destroy it.

I also received The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin by Patrick Doud from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Elwood Pitch is only thirteen years old when he is carried away to the land of Winnitok, in the otherworld of Ehm. Desperate to find a way back home to his family, Elwood’s one hope is Granashon, the land’s immortal protector. But Granashon is missing, and her power that protects Winnitok is fading fast. When Elwood dreams of the Eye of Ogin, a legendary object with the power to see Granashon wherever she might be, he vows to find it. With his dog Slukee and two newfound companions, Drallah Wehr of Winnitok and her talking raven Booj, Elwood sets out on an epic quest.

And, thanks to good ol’ Dad, I received Altar of Eden by James Rollins, as well as a copy of The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know how excited I am for BOTH of these.

I’ve posted a synopsis of Altar of Eden before, so instead of re-posting the same thing, I’ll post an excerpt of a hysterical interview Steve Berry (another of my favorite authors) gave about James Rollins, his competitor and close friend.

“Which brings us to Altar of Eden, Rollins’ latest concoction. Here he goes again, not satisfied with a thriller out in the summer, he has to publish another in the winter. Which, by the way, directly competes with me (of course, Rollins doesn’t care). This new book has it all. A savvy veterinarian (like that was a stretch), genetic engineering on long extinct animals (which was fascinating, I have to admit), fractal science (whatever that is), biological warfare (in ways you’ve never seen before), and mach-speed mayhem. The thing is drum-tight in its execution. Does this guy have herbs that stimulate his imagination in some amazing way? I read Altar of Eden in two sittings (yeah, it’s that good) and, when finished, I promptly hurled the book across the room. It landed on the shelf where all of Rollins’ other tomes stand, each sheathed in plastic, first editions, and, of course, signed (for which he charged me $5.00 a piece, cash. He wouldn’t take my check).”

The whole interview is sarcastic and hysterical. You can read it on the Altar of Eden Amazon.com page here.

And last but not least, The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, the first in a trilogy (oh, how I adore a good series!):

They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come.

In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country.

In two months–the world.

All in all, I had a fabulous week of mail, and lots of lovely additions to the bookcase. Let me know if you got anything good!

Mailbox Monday: What Santa Brought Me

Last post from Minnesota before flying back to Massachusetts at 7:30 p.m. Can’t wait to get home around 2 in the morning… ugh. Anyways, it’s Monday and I’ve been waiting for today so that I can take advantage of its glorious memes to post my Christmas books. I won’t have much time to read anyone elses because I’ll be traveling, but if you leave me links I shall promise to visit your blogs sometime and see what glorious holiday goodies you got.

Mailbox Monday is hosted by The Printed Page.

From one Secret Santa (a.k.a my step-brother Seth) I received the James Rollins novels that I erroneously sold years ago before I would truly discover my need to collect books. I got Excavation, Deep Fathom, Amazonia, Ice Hunt, and Sandstorm. I’ve got the rest of them already and have been wanting to re-read all of these earlier books to remember how much I adore them.

From another Santa (okay, it was Mom) I received The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl, and the second through sixth books of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (no she wasn’t cheap, I already own the first one. She gave that one to me as well, but I handed it down to my sister who is psyched since she just finished the Twilight Saga and feels bereft of reading material).

And from the final Santa (good ol’ Dad) I got The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor.

All in all I received 15 books, but two were duplicates so I go home with 13. A fabulous number to add to my shelves. And by “add” I really mean “squeeze in somewhere.” I think I have to reorganize… again…

So what’s your haul like?

Waiting On/Wishful Wednesday: Miscellaneous

Last night while trying to fall asleep I was trying to think of what I could post for today’s Waiting on Wednesday hosted by Breaking The Spine, and Wishful Wednesday hosted by The Bluestocking Guide. Fast forward to now and I just can’t come up with anything justifiable to post. The two books I’m most excited for right now are Altar of Eden by James Rollins, and The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen, and I’ve used both of those in the past. So instead of posting something here that I’m not all that excited for, I’m going to take full advantage of everyone else posting hot books they want, and I’ll just pilfer the titles and add them to my To Read page.

But I can’t leave you in the dark with nothing, so I’m giving you three gifts on this day.

1. The picture above is of a necklace I just purchased from a lovely friend I went to high school with. I got it from her Etsy page. She makes the most fabulous, vintage jewelry. The best are the necklaces (check out the wallflowers, the wise old owl, and the swan song). If you should be wanting a beautiful necklace for yourself or someone you know, I send you her way.
2. A song: Brooklyn by Wakey!Wakey. Beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking. Amazing. Here is the google page where you can listen to the full song for free. I am giving you a present, go do it. Maybe it’s not your thing, but I think it’s wonderful.
3. Another excerpt from ye’ old Graduation Application Essay. This one about my bookcases: 

I am not sure what reaction, if any, you have when you look at your bookcase at home. Perhaps you see the books and feel nothing. Perhaps, as I, you wish the bookcase on the left, the ones you’ve already read, was a person you could hug, because that’s how much you love your books. They’re your grandparents feeding you sweets, and your best friend listening to you about a bad day at work, and your spouse giving you a foot rub when you need it most. They’re the comfort of family and the excitement of friends and the satisfaction of junk food. Those are the books you’ve read. And for me, the books I haven’t read are just as welcoming, but for a whole other reason. They entice me. They make my heart beat faster and my mind spin in circles. Finishing a book is a glorious feeling; I look forward to writing a review and seeing how people respond. But it also means I get to stand in front of my second bookcase, the one on the right, and ponder, and poke, and prod, and pick a new book to read next. Will it be a literary love story or action-adventure? Will it be short and quick and light, or long and deep? Will it be newly published, not yet released, or an old favorite of the masses? Should I read something my followers recommend or something I bought for my own guilty pleasure? These are the things I think about when standing in front of my bookcase on the right. It is never an easy decision, trying to determine what to read next. Plan though I might, my cravings will often sway by the time I get to pick out something new.

So, I’m about to check out all of your books and see what you’ve got going on today. Toodles…

Review: The Doomsday Key by James Rollins

I’m not sure why I waited so long to read this book. Normally when a new Rollins is released I’m at the store the same day. Perhaps it was because I was afraid the goodness couldn’t last forever, or because I just said books weren’t supposed to be about a guy travelling the globe with two hot chicks, but I should have had better faith in Mr. Rollins. The Doomsday Key was fabulous. And if a guy has to solve a global crisis by travelling the world with two hot ladies, then this is the way you do it: with subtlety and the slight mentioning of attraction between people with a long and dramatic history, and not outright (and probably unjustified) machismo.

Back to the matter at hand: The Doomsday Key contains all the necessary ingredients for a successful smörgåsbord of action-adventure-thriller-suspense entertainment. There are certain criteria you need for an endeavor like this: the good guys, the bad guys, comedic relief (oh, Kowalski), conspiracy rooted in historical truth (popes and prophecies), gunfights and explosions, caves, caves that cave in, a deadly disease, a finger in a leather bag with ancient symbols burned on the outside, a good dosing of betrayal, some stone circles and smelly peat bogs, oh and a few cliffhangers thrown in for good measure. It’s all here! 

This time around, Sigma is back to work with a shadowy double agent operative named Seichan who also works with the Guild (see: bad guys). We still don’t know if Seichan is true to us (and by us I mean Sigma, of course) or if she’s just out for her own benefit. Either way, if Commander Gray Pierce doesn’t work with her, the whole world could be taken over by a nasty spore; a fungus that grows mushrooms inside of you.

Yeah, gross. 

Doomsday is the sixth Sigma novel, and it could be my favorite. Sometimes after the first few books in a series an author teeters out, the books become formulaic and predictable, but Doomsday is none of these. This one is more mature than its predecessors; I even got teary at one point toward the end. Not to mention there was so much information related to true historical facts that my head was spinning, and I came out the other side smarter for it. Google Saint Malachy and his prophecies, or the legend of the Black Madonna, or colony collapse disorder, and you’ll see what I mean; but you won’t understand how they all go together until you read this book. It really makes you think… if the facts and details used to make a plot are real, what if Rollins’ theories as put down in fiction are actually true? And that, that right there, is why I love his books. I suggest you run your person out to the closest book store and start with Sandstorm (Sigma prequel) and work your way up from there.

5 stars. His next book is not Sigma, but I love his individual adventures too, so I can’t wait for the Altar of Eden on December 29.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Doomsday Key

I’ve just finished Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (review) and have started reading The Doomsday Key by James Rollins. I know many of you wished me to read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen next, but here are my reasons for not selecting it right away. 1) I’ve had my eye on Doomsday for ages, since I’ve read all the other Sigma series novels. 2) I’ve just read a book from a female perspective, and I like to switch up the characters so that the voices don’t blend together, I feel I’m more objective that way. And C) My next ARC is an action/adventure novel and I don’t like to mix two of the same genres, one after the other, similar to numero dos. So, the order of my book reading will commence as follows: The Doomsday Key by James Rollins, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, then Black Rain by Graham Brown. You see how I work here? Good.

Here’s your Teaser Tuesdays, you get two because I couldn’t decide which was more of a true teaser. Have at it.

“But most disturbing of all, Pope Benedict XVI is the 111th pope. And according to this oddly accurate prophecy, the world ends with the very next one.” The Doomsday Key, xii

“The condition earned the name Colony Collapse Disorder. This massive and mysterious loss generated sensational headlines and fears. So what truly happened to the bees? Within the pages of this novel lies an answer. … Most frightening of all, it’s true.” The Doomsday Key, xiii

Notice how the pages are in roman numerals? That’s because these two teasers aren’t even in the main body of the book; they’re from the historical and scientific record pages in the front. Google the Prophecy of Saint Malachy and you’ll see why I was so intrigued.

Post your Teaser Tuesdays links here and at Should Be Reading where it’s hosted. Cheers!

Waiting On/Wishful Wednesday: Altar of Eden

Wishful Wednesday is hosted by The Bluestocking Guide. It’s a chance for us to share our wishlists with each other, new books we’ve found, or old books we want again. A sort of release of the burden we all carry: the desire for more books, and the lack of time/money/space to have them all. Waiting on Wednesday, hosted at Breaking the Spine, is similar, but specifically for unreleased books. This week my choice qualifies for both!

My pick for the week is the new James Rollins’ novel, Altar of Eden which is released on December 29, 2009. I haven’t read his last novel yet, The Doomsday Key, which is a continuation of the SIGMA series, but it’s at home on my shelf waiting for my attention. I am more excited about Altar of Eden though, I’m not going to lie. I can’t tell you how much I loved Rollins’ first novels, Subterranean, Excavation, Deep Fathom, etc. They were sci-fi and thrilling and kept me up many a late night turning the page. His SIGMA series is great, but I am glad to see him returning to his roots. This one is about genetic engineering, which means there is a bad-ass animal loose in Louisiana, and veterinarian Lorna Polk must team up with U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jack Menard to find the missing creature and figure out why it’s all freaky looking. It’s too bad Harper Collins’ First Looks program is on hiatus right now, otherwise I’d be all over that.

What are you wishing for today? Post your links here and at the host sites.

Mailbox Monday: Amazon, P&P&Z, S&S&SM, The Atlantis Code

I’m quite excited to be able to post another Mailbox Monday this week. It’s hosted by The Printed Page and you can post your links there or here, or just get crazy and do both.

I received lots of goodies via the post this past seven days and I get to share them all with you. Don’t be jealous though… since I’ve received all of the following books, I’m officially not allowing myself to purchase any new ones for a looooong time. You may remember I bought eight books from Amazon, while the haul arrived this week and I was overjoyed to open it and rearrange my To Be Read bookcase to fit them in.

 I also received a wonderfully late birthday present from my step-sister. I LOVE late birthday presents because they come as a surprise when you least expect it, and are that much more awesome! She sent me two fabulous books: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters!

And, on top of that, I received a Goodreads First Readers advance copy of The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw. I can’t wait to start this one either; it looks to be about the Lost City of Atlantis, and I love good intrigue and mysterious cities that vanish. Who doesn’t?!

So, I’m jam packed with new books and doubt I’ll have a new Mailbox Monday for a while. At least not from any purchases I’ve made. I think I must ground myself for a bit until I can make some realistic space in the To Be Read bookcase.

What did you get this past week?