Quickie: The Strain (Book 1 of The Stain Trilogy) by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

I read this book in fits and starts during the end of my pregnancy and the first weeks after my daughter was born. That was over two months ago so the exact details of The Strain escape me, but I remember enjoying it!

Basically a jet lands at JFK and dies; it’s completely dark, no one gets off, and law enforcement isn’t sure if anyone on board is alive. Lo-and-behold a couple poor souls survive but they’re infected with a nasty blood-sucking-wormy-vampire-creating disease and Eph Goodweather of the CDC is the first guy to figure out not all is well. It gets pretty gruesome, especially when the newly infected people escape and run rampant all over New York with slimy blood-sucking tongues. Apparently this infection stems from one super old vampire who is one of a few really old vamps, and has decided to break the truce these old dead-dudes had with one another and start creating new vampires. I’m sure books two and three will about the older vampires getting this guy under control.

Overall, super gross, but in a good, I-don’t-want-to-put-this-book-down way. The dialogue writing got to be a bit repetitive, lots of “he said,” and “she said,” which is amateur, but it’s easy to look past. Definitely recommended for fans of vampire science-fiction thrillers. Book two, The Fall, is already out and I plan to get my hands on it sometime in the future.

4 stars

Review: The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry

Book 6 of Steve Berry’s “Cotton Malone” series takes our favorite ex-Magellan Billet agent to China where he must rescue his friend and sometime-lover, Cassiopeia Vitt. Vitt’s gotten herself wrapped up in a web of conspiracy involving the Chinese premier and his top two ministers, some angry Russians, a handful of eunuchs, and Stephanie Nelle, Cotton’s former boss. Everyone’s on the hunt for a long-lost sample of oil which the Chinese need to prove that oil is not actually finite, but rather a replenishing source deep within the earth. Sound a but chaotic? That’s because it is.

Sadly this book failed for me, and this is the first time I’ve said that about any of Berry’s books. I usually love the fast-pace and intrigue, but The Emperor’s Tomb was mired in Chinese history from the very first page. I felt bogged down by the different history lessons, so much so that by the time it got to the real action, I was ready to be done reading. The set-up might have been necessary to give us the appropriate background for the drama between the two Chinese ministers, but I truly lost the message in all the information. “Less is more” is not a method Berry utilized here.

I’ve received an advance copy of The Jefferson Key, Book 7 of the “Cotton Malone” series, and I really hope the next book can redeem Berry in my eyes. The last Berry book I read (The Paris Vendetta) received 3 stars from me, but the one before that (The Charlemagne Pursuit) received 5. I’m giving The Emperor’s Tomb 2 stars. Not a good trend Steve, not a good trend.

2 stars

(I won an advance copy from LibraryThing)

Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Slap-happy review here folks because if you are like me circa a month ago, you’re one of the few people who actually had no idea what this book was about until you picked up a copy from your home-town bookstore because you just “happened” to speed read the end of your last novel and wanted to go buy a new book which you haven’t allowed yourself to do in a REALLY long time.

So, Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist and he gets sued and is found guilty and has to “quit” the magazine he started in order to secretly get revenge. Lo-and-randomly-behold he’s hired by a rich old guy named Henrik Vanger (you know with a last name that starts with a V there’s all sorts of drama to be had) who wants Mikael to write an autobiography of the Vanger family, but also to secretly research the decades-old disappearance/murder of Henrik’s niece Harriet. Oh, and Henrik has “secret information” that Mikael can use against the guy that sued him. Hijinks and scandal ensue, and it’s page-turningly good suspense. Oh! AND! The “girl with the dragon tattoo” is Lisbeth Salander and the book is titled after her but she’s not really the main character which is intriguing. She’s a super smart computer whiz who finds out lots of secret things that people aren’t supposed to know and she assists Mikael in his investigations.

Overall I am not disappointed. With all the hullabaloo I wondered if this book was going to be for moi, and I can happily say that it’s definitely for moi and I do wish to be reading the sequel ASAP but good things come to those who wait and I shall not rush out and hop on your bandwagon. You have to get over the random translation issues, and you must try to remember all the various characters, because there are plenty, but then you realize that in this world of suspense-thrillers and paper-back-action-adventures this is one of the good ones and perhaps it’s because he’s not-of-this-country and also not-of-the-living.

In conclusion: if you are like I was a month ago and wondering if you should finally get around to reading this book and wondering if it is really worth it, buy the cheap paperback or rent it from the library and ye shall not be disappointed if what you want is good suspense. Cheers.

4 stars

Review: The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book 3) by Rick Riordan

**WARNING** May contain spoilers if you haven’t read The Lightning Thief (review) and The Sea of Monsters (review).

Once again Percy Jackson and his friends must save all of humanity (and the Gods) in the third entry of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. With some new characters in tow, Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and newly restored Thalia face new monsters and new challenges as they track down a mysterious monster that has the possibility to destroy the Gods, and rescue Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt.

I chose The Titan’s Curse as a quick, refreshing palate cleanser and that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t as drawn into it as much as I was with the previous books, but it got me excited toward the end when I became invested in the story and it’s outcome. Is this series as good as Harry Potter? No. But is it a nice read and a good reminder of why fantasy is fun and richly entertaining? Yes. Do I wish I had the fourth book in the series handy at my fingertips right now? You bet I do.

Overall I’m still enjoying the Percy Jackson series as a nice change of pace and tone from more literary fare. I’d highly recommend it to readers of a younger age.

3 1/2 stars

Review: The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry

I’m sad to say it, folks, Mr. Berry has let me down. Something about The Paris Vendetta, the fifth book in the Cotton Malone series, did not catch me as his previous books have. I wasn’t hooked, I wasn’t excited or thrilled or anticipating the next turn of events.

The Paris Vendetta follows former agent Cotton Malone as he’s rudely awoken in the middle of the night by a stranger who says his good friend Henrik sent him. So begins a European cat-and-mouse game between Cotton, Henrik, and a dangerous group of wealthy semi-terrorists called The Paris Club who are searching for the lost riches of the Emperor Napoleon who hid the location in riddles in books before he died. Intriguing? Most definitely. A classic Steve Berry idea? For sure. Executed with his usual swagger and panache? Not this time.

Too many twists and turns and a convoluted plot map made the novel meander at times, tripping over its own ideas and details. A regular series character was not present, and several references were made to some trip or project Cotton had been working on over the last two weeks, but we’re never told what that project was, nor what resulted from it and why it effected Cotton the way it did. If they were making veiled references to the previous book in the series, they were strange and a little less opacity would have been nice. Likewise, Cotton’s son is mentioned but completely abandoned later in the book.

I’m really disappointed in the way The Paris Vendetta fell flat for me. The pulse and energy I’ve come to associate with his books was lacking. I usually adore Berry’s books and I can’t say the same about this one. Hard to know what to expect from his next, The Emperor’s Tomb.

3 stars

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

I’m seeing the movie today, so it seems appropriate to post my review of the book!

What can I really say about this The Deathly Hallows except that I love it? I think it’s amazing? I wish I had never read it so that I could read it again for the first time?

This is the second time I’ve read The Deathly Hallows and it was almost as wonderful as the first since I really couldn’t remember much of it. Harry is on a mission to hunt down Voldemort’s horcruxes and he, Ron, and Hermione must camp out in various English countryside locations since they can rely on no one and Death Eaters are chasing them down. While the plot slows down a bit as the three rack their brains trying to figure out where Dumbledore’s clues are leading them, and where the horcruxes might be, the last third of the book is the best, most thrilling, most adventurous and breathtaking thing I’ve read since the last time I read it.

Harry Potter may be a children’s series, suitable for ages nine through twelve according to Amazon, but it’s amazing for people of all ages, and that’s what makes it timeless. I will pass it down to my future children when they’re old enough and hope they appreciate it for all the same reasons I do. That it keeps them up late into the night, hidden under their covers with a flashlight trying to hide the fact that it’s way past their bedtime and they’re still reading, because it’s HARRY POTTER and you just can’t put it down.

I look forward to forgetting everything about this series so that I can read them all again in five years.

5 stars

Review: Damaged by Alex Kava

Maggie O’Dell can’t ever relax. As an FBI profiler for murder cases, she’s frequently in the line of fire (and other unpleasant things) when she’s trying to do her job. Barely off a case where she’s blamed for not predicting the killer would return to his hide-out, she’s rushed off to Pensacola, Florida where a cooler full of body parts is found floating in the ocean. It would seem an easy task, if it weren’t for the Category 4 hurricane heading her way.

Damaged is Alex Kava’s eighth Maggie O’Dell novel, and though I haven’t read the first seven, I would definitely give them a go someday. I didn’t feel like I was missing any incredibly important detail from the earlier books, because Kava slips in tidbits when they are needed. The writing is intuitive and natural, the plot is intriguing, and though it isn’t hard to figure out who the murderer is, it’s fun watching Maggie solve the mystery.

Damaged is fairly short, only 255 pages of actual text, and some chapters are only a page and a half. I think some of the passages could have been lengthened, gaps filled in with more detail to make the book fully resonate. The ingredients are all there, and they represent a tasty dish, but the heartiness of a home-cooked meal is missing.

Regardless, Damaged is still an enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a quick and easy suspense book for the beach next weekend, pick up a copy when it’s released on July 13.

4 stars

(I received an advance copy from the publisher for review)

Review: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

**WARNING** May contain spoilers if you haven’t read Living Dead in Dallas (review) and Dead Until Dark (review)

Sookie Stackhouse is in a pickle again, but this time her vampire boyfriend Bill can’t save her… because she’s the one that has to save him.

When Bill is kidnapped only Sookie can listen for clues to his whereabouts. But what she learns about where Bill was when he was kidnapped, and why he stayed away, may be too much for her to handle. Torn between a deep sense of betrayal and a deeper bond of loyalty, Sookie must decide who to help, and how far she’s willing to go.

This is the third book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series and to be honest, I sometimes wonder why I waste my brain-power. Once again the writing is nothing special, bordering on amateurish. Harris has written Sookie as a frequenly annoying and grating narrator. I don’t care to know what exact color, pattern, and fabric your pajamas are every single time you put on a pair. Likewise, I don’t give a crap about your word-a-day calendar unless that calendar is going to cut someone’s head off at the end of the book (it doesn’t).

So many times throughout this book I wanted to yell at Sookie. I wanted to say, “Sookie, Bill bit the bejeesus out of your neck. Just because your body feels good nestled against his is no reason to cuddle!” I wanted to tell her that Eric just wants to get into her pants, so though it’s nice that he seems all warm and fuzzy toward her now, it’s not okay for him to do gross things while she drinks his blood. And Alcide!? Alcide is a hot werewolf, for those who haven’t read the book. And in order to listen to the clues for Bill, Sookie has to pretend to be Alcide’s girlfriend, and of course things get complicated there. I don’t even know what shape I could use to define Sookie’s love life, but it’s definitely one with many sides. Three books into the series and I really wish she’d get her act together and start thinking with her brain instead of her lady-business.

I’m also really tired of Sookie always being the victim of abuse. This is not to say she doesn’t defend herself, because she does, every time. But several times in the last three books she’s been completely torn apart and beaten to shreds. Bloodied and bruised and broken to the point of death, I’m really tired of everyone trying to kill her.

In conclusion, I may read the fourth book in the series at some time in the future, but I think it’s possible this is one of the rare examples where the screen version is better than the book in my estimation. The acting on TrueBlood is more genuine to me than Sookie’s narration in the novel. This is the kind of series I would download on an eReader if I had one, because though it’s entertaining, it’s not anything that’s going to enrich my physical book collection.

3 stars

(I received this book as a gift)

Review: The Passage by Justin Cronin

“I don’t know what we’ll find in Colorado, if we ever get there. I’m not even sure it matters. All those years, waiting for the Army, and it turns out the Army is us.” 
The Passage – Justin Cronin

Close your eyes and put yourself far into the future. Imagine a newly discovered virus is being experimented with, that the people experimenting with it are the military. That out of twelve experiments they’ve created human-vampire-like monsters. Beings that glow, that fear light, that live off the blood of humans and animals, that kill and massacre and destroy the entire North American continent. That no one will survive their bloodlust, except a handful of the population, living in a Colony in California. So goes The Passage.

Epically long, fantastically detailed, The Passage starts with the discovery of the virus and the creation of Project NOAH and takes us on an insanely intense journey. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and Cronin has created our destruction. But he’s also created our heros, a band of survivors from the Colony who embark on a journey to find the source of a signal. A signal embedded in a chip implanted at the base of the neck of a young girl named Amy. A girl who doesn’t speak, but sees and knows. A special girl.

With Amy, a few survivors must risk their lives to save the world. The first part of a trilogy, The Passage is headed to the bestseller list and beyond. There’s a reason the buzz is so loud about this book: it’s amazing. It’s dark and suspenseful; it’s not a lighthearted read and many people die, but there is hope. There is always hope. And love, and destiny.

It is impossible not to be immersed in the story, fully living with the characters and the things that happen to them. The virals are everywhere, and you can feel them in the dark, you fear for the lights to go out. Cronin has created an alter-universe where his imagination knows no bounds, but is creatively reigned in by the plot. Truly remarkable, this is a phenomenal book, thrilling and captivating, and the future movie had better do it justice.

June 8, 2010. Mark that day on your calendars. Pre-order, get to the store, do whatever you want to get the book, but know that if you don’t, you’ll find yourself left in the dark. Read it and then wait, like me, for 2012 (The Twelve) and 2014 (The City of Mirrors).

5 stars

(I received this book from the publisher for review)

Review: The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry

A loneliness crept into his bones as he absorbed the deep silence of the tomb. Proverbs came to mind.
A simple truth from long ago.
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.
The Charlemagne Pursuit – Steve Berry

This is Steve Berry’s seventh novel, and the fourth of the Cotton Malone series. I’ve always enjoyed Berry’s novels, grand adventures, thrilling and suspenseful, intriguing and mysterious. If you like Dan Brown and James Rollins, you will like Steve Berry. If I haven’t convinced you, just go buy him for yourself and see what I mean.

The Charlemagne Pursuit finds former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone involved in another race for information. It seems he can never stay settled in his Copenhagen bookstore for long, someone always needs his help. This time though, he’s brought things upon himself.

Nearly his whole life Cotton believed his father died on a submarine mission in the North Atlantic, that’s what his mother was told. But when Cotton wants more information, he discovers not only has he been believing a lie, but someone else wants to know what happened to his father’s sub as well, and another someone wants to do anything and everything to keep that information under ice. Literally.

Cotton teams up with an unlikely pair of twin sisters who hate each other, but are also searching for information about their father who happened to be on the same submarine as Cotton’s. Back in the United States, Cotton’s former boss Stephanie Nelle has teamed up with deputy national security advisor Edwin Davis to search for information on just who is pulling the strings and placing Cotton in danger at every turn.

Filled with ancient artifacts, evidence of a race of humans far older than ourselves, murderous assassins, intriguing riddles, and thrilling non-stop action, Berry once again delivers a wonderfully suspenseful novel in the Cotton Malone series. But this one is more mature than his previous editions; this one is also skillfully researched, but it’s more of a serious thriller than an adrenaline-filled sensationalistic work. This one is an entrée ready to be eaten, making his earlier works seem like appetizers. I love appetizers, they’re fabulous, but the entrée is where the skill is found, the true talent of the chef is displayed in the entrée. And Steve Berry proves himself a master with The Charlemagne Pursuit.

Certain characters return, and others are only mentioned in passing, never to make themselves visible in this novel. But we learn more about Cotton, about his feelings, and he becomes less of a Terminator and more of an emotional human. The ending makes me happy that I waited to read The Charlemagne Pursuit, since cliffhangers make me anxious for more, and the next Cotton book, The Paris Vendetta, is already in stores.

If you like thrillers and adventures, pick up a Steve Berry novel. I loved his first two, The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy, but the Cotton series begins with The Templar Legacy.

5 stars, a little generous, but I’m serious when I say this is probably his best.

(I bought this book with my own dough)