The Athena Project by Brad Thor

4 stars

r-2.5
copy received for review

An interesting action/thriller focused on a team of elite women working for the Department of Defense. Throw in some uncovered Nazi experiments and a few crazies and you've got all sorts of stuff happening. :)

While this is not the first book in the series (I think it's the second) it can be read as a stand-alone without too much confusion.

And it doesn't have the same level of graphic violence and language that most books in this genre have, which was nice.

And it has a cool cover.

Overall, recommended.

The Amazing/Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

Double review!
5 stars each

(Does that make this a 10 star review? lol)

So it's officialy, I love Mrs. Pollifax.

Yes, the stories run together a bit and yes they're similar, but dang it all, I love this quirky lady.

I think Elusive is my favorite so far.  Talking the "underground" (all 4 of them) into attacking the prison, blackmailing another agent... what more could you want?  Oh yeah, and irritating the living daylights out of the government! :)

Amazing is set in Turkey, Elusive in Bulgaria.  In both she's there to simply deliver something, but of course, nothing goes as planned.  Does anything ever?

And poor Mr. Carstairs at the CIA may have a coronary worrying about her one of these days. :)

I can't wait to get my hands on more of these!!

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

5 stars
R-0

SO much fun!  Oh my word.  I love Mrs. Pollifax!

This one definitely needs to be read first, and now I'm figuring out what order to read the rest of them in.

At 63, Emily Pollifax feels purposeless and so she does what she's always wanted-- goes to Langley to see if they need more spies.  Craziness ensues. :)

Overall, I really enjoyed this spy novel... can we call it a cozy thriller? lol

Counts for the Support Your Local Library Challenge.

Bulletproof Mascara by Bethany Maines

4 stars
R- 1

Cute, fluffy, a bit silly and a lot of fun.

Welcome to the world of Mary Kay... oh, I'm sorry, Carrie Mae.  An international foundation and cosmetics company.  At least, that's their public face.  On the not-so-public side, they're an organization that trains women for international espionage.

Seriously, if I could get lipstick that transformed into a stun gun or foundation that was also a plastic explosive, I just might buy make-up more often. ;)

This started a little slow for me, but it was funny and kept me entertained.  A second book is coming out in a couple months and I expect it won't be as slow because it won't have so much set-up.

Recommended-- especially for any fans of She Spies.  (I loved that show.  I mean, yeah, it was dumb.... otherwise it would have had a time slot better than late Saturday night.  But still.)

Counts for the Reader's Choice and Support Your Local Library challenges.

The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

I really cannot decide how many stars to give this one....
R- 2? maybe?

Sigh.

I'm not sure if it's me or the book, you know?

I'm nine freaking months pregnant..... probably not a great time for a complex thriller without much in the way of happy endings.

Milo used to be a "Tourist"-- a CIA spook basically.  Suddenly old cases and details start surfacing, forcing him back into that life.... the life that nearly killed him.

Not a bad story.  It would certainly make an interesting movie... kind of Bourne-ish.  (According the the about the author, Warner Brothers have optioned the rights-- apparently putting George Clooney in the lead role.  I can't see that part.  For one, Clooney's too old.  The oldest Milo is in the book is 37 or so.  Weird choice.)

Anyway, a movie would have to tighten things up.... which I think it needed.

But again, I'm nine months pregnant and I've been reading mostly fluff and Nancy Drew, so what do I know?  My brain has turned to mush.

No, really.  It has.  :)

What do you do with a book you can't decide about?  Read it again another time?  Write it off?  Ask others if they've read it?  It's gonna bug me.....

This is a Reader's Choice book and counts for the Support Your Local Library Challenge!

72 Virgins by Avi Perry

3 stars
R- 3.5
Language, Violence
Source- Virtual Book Tour

I really struggled rating this book. On the one hand, it's a pretty good story. International intrigue, terrorism, good guys, bad guys... guys in between...

Arik is enjoying the idea of freedom after several years working with the Israeli military. But now Mossad wants him for an undercover mission-- possibly years long. And they're willing to go pretty far to get his cooperation. He says thanks, but no thanks, and heads off to Bali with Rachel, his girlfriend. When they're kidnapped, though, everything changes, and Arik finds himself pulled into a double life filled with terrorists bent on achieving their final rest in paradise.

But I had a hard time connecting fully with the characters. They weren't overly compelling to me. I can't pinpoint anything. Character development was good, I just didn't connect with them. And while there were things about the story that were cliche or somewhat contrived, it was, overall, a pretty good story.

On the other hand, the editing was terrible. Really really terrible. And unfortunately I'm pretty sure this isn't a galley. I hope it is, but I don't think it is.

Now, to be fair to the author, I don't think English is his first language. Which would probably explain the odd punctuation, awkward sentences and word choice errors. But that's what editors are for! So I guess the blame really falls on the publisher for that one.

As a reader though, it's VERY VERY VERY distracting. And that could be why I couldn't connect with the characters.

Which is terribly frustrating, because it's really hard to separate it all out in my head. If the editing had been good, this would likely be a fairly different review. But I'm kind of an editor at heart, and I just can't overlook blatant mistakes. They drive me crazy and they deeply affect how I feel about a book.

I would LOVE to see this redone, maybe with a bigger publisher that can provide proper editing.

Dead Run by PJ Tracy

5 stars
R- 2 maybe

It's a whole new ball game.

And I don't just mean for the characters.

While the first two Monkeewrench books were more or less your standard "whodunnit" murder mysteries, this one is not. Not at all.

Dead Run is an action/thriller. And it's definitely the most intense of the three I've read so far.

And while it's not quite as funny as Live Bait was, it's got some great laugh out loud moments!

The Monkeewrench crew is more present in this one then they were in Live Bait, and Halloran and Sharon return also. Magozzi is present, of course, but Dead Run isn't as much about him as Live Bait was.

All in all, it was really good and I'm really enjoying these as a series, though each book could also stand alone reasonably well.

I'm looking forward to reading the next one-- Snow Blind-- and according to Amazon the 5th book is set to come out next summer.

The Archangel Project by C S Graham

5 stars
R- practically 0
Some language (about what you'd expect from an action/thriller with military and ex-military characters-- both good guys and bad)

Let's call it... Tom Clancy meets X Files.

Okay, so maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean. You've got your CIA agent good guy, an ex-navy remote viewer (psychics, not satalites), ex-military crazy bad guys, and a whole lot of mayhem and destruction. Throw in some serious high-level corruption and there you have it.

This book went really fast. Like "holy cow I'm already more than half-way through" fast.

And it was good. I really liked it. I didn't necessarily agree with all of the political ideas, but hey. We have the freedom to think what we want about politics... and it's up to us whether or not we get into it on our blogs. Which I'm not. :D

I thought the story was well-done and I really like the characters. Which is good, since it's the beginning of a series. And while this book could stand alone, it sets up a series very nicely.

The only thing that majorly bugged me-- a minor (like very minor) character's name changed spellings. That drives me nuts. She's only mentioned in 2 chapters. The first time her name is spelled with a Y and the second with a J. Grr. Makes me want to get an editing job.

Anyway.

There is an excerpt from the next book at the end, though you should take note that the title has apparently changed from The Deadlight Connection to The Solomon Effect and it comes out in October. I'll definitely be reading it. :D

You can learn more at CS Graham's website.

One interesting tidbit-- CS Graham is actually a writing team. Steven Harris and Candice Proctor are the authors. Candice Proctor is also the author of the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries, which I've heard of but not read. Maybe I'll have to move them up this list.

Author Interview-- Pat McDermott

A huge welcome to Pat McDermott, author of A Band of Roses!

BH- Can you give us some background on the 1014 Battle of Clontarf and King Brian?

Pat McDermott- Born into the obscure Dalcassian clan in 941 A.D., Brian Boru was the youngest son of Cennétig (Kennedy), the King of Thomond, an area that today includes sections of Counties Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary. Violent intertribal bickering claimed the life of Brian’s older brother, and Brian assumed the kingship of Thomond in 978. As his power spread, he became king of the southern half of Ireland. By 1002 he was High King. Brian achieved economic and educational reform and united most of the lesser tribes against their common enemy: the Norse invaders who terrorized Ireland. Things were going well until the disgruntled Irish King of Leinster rebelled against Brian’s authority and allied himself with the leader of the Dublin Norsemen. They called for reinforcements from other Viking colonies, and the resulting intrigue culminated in the bloody Battle of Clontarf, fought on Good Friday, April 23, 1014. Brian’s armies emerged victorious, though Brian and his son and grandson lost their lives in the struggle.
　
BH- Now in the world you've created, Brian survived, how does that change world affairs?

Pat- The survival of Brian and his heirs allowed the establishment of a royal dynasty that ensured peace and prosperity for Ireland. The powerful Boru clan thwarted various invasions over the years, and Ireland flourished as an independent kingdom. Thanks to the firm but loving hand with which Brian’s descendants continue to rule, she still does.
　
BH- What made you choose that alternate reality as a setting?

Pat- As the American granddaughter of Irish immigrants, I’ll never know what it is to be truly Irish. My childhood vision of Ireland was one of magical legends and ancient kings, banshees and leprechauns, rebellions and heroes. My O’Brien aunts told me about Brian Boru and assured me that we were his descendants. As I read more about my alleged royal ancestor, I noted that more than one of his biographers surmised that Ireland would be a very different place today if he had survived Clontarf. That sentiment merged with my imaginary of Ireland to create A Band of Roses.
　
BH- Why the Japan connection? (I love all things Japan and thought it was an awesome idea, it just seems like such a random place to send an Irish princess!)

Pat- Japan is another island country teeming with ancient legends. It struck me as an exotic counterpart to Ireland, one with strong traditions and Samurai warriors. Even in isolation, Talty could still have access to the warrior training she sought and the gardens she loved.
　
BH- I hadn't thought of it that way. That's a great comparison. Tell us more about the Peregrine Project-- where did you get the idea to incorporate that sci-fi element?

Pat- From the tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs to Lost in Space, I’ve always enjoyed stories that allow me to discover other worlds. The Peregrine Project is the accidental creation of an eccentric genius and the means by which Talty and her friends visit a strange land or two. Having them visit the Ireland of our world in 1014 A.D. seemed like a great idea.
　
BH- It was really interesting to have Talty in 1014! You describe a lot of sparring matches-- do you spar yourself? If so, which weapons are you most comfortable with?

Pat-Sparring is an fanciful sport for me. I love reading about and creating characters who are competent in martial arts, and I’ve done lots of research to add realism to my stories, but I don’t actively participate. I have tried archery, but Talty is much better with a bow and arrow than I am.
　
BH- I've always wanted to try archery. Talty is very focused on joining the Fianna-- tell us a little more about the Fianna.

Pat- The Fianna were the followers of legendary Irish warrior Finn MacCool, who may or may not have existed in the third century A.D. Numbering in the thousands, these elite fighting men and women left their clans and fairy worlds to serve the High King for a predetermined length of time. They protected the coast, thwarted invasions, and upheld the King’s law until their enemies defeated them at the Battle of Gabhra in 284. In A Band of Roses, no one defeated the Fianna. They have endured over the centuries and still protect Ireland.
　
BH- I've heard you're working on a new book, is Fiery Roses a sequel? (I hope so!!) Can you tell us a little about it?

Pat- Fiery Roses is indeed a sequel. While visiting County Mayo a few years ago, I learned about the discovery of offshore gas fields and the residents’ objections to how the gas would get to shore. Sad to say, the disputes continue even now, though in Fiery Roses, the Boru clan help sort things out. The book is due for release by the end of the year. The blurb reads ". . . the discovery of gas off the coast of Ireland ensnares Irish Crown Princess Talty Boru and her devoted champion, Neil Boru, in a web of blackmail and murder. Intent on convincing County Mayo’s residents to allow a pipeline to cross their pristine boglands, an arsonist is setting homes and land ablaze. One of his fires sends Talty and Neil to an ancient world at the mercy of a waking volcano. While they struggle to outwit a tyrant with a shocking secret, King Brian locks horns with a ruthless tycoon who will stop at nothing to become a high roller in the oil and gas game. The resulting conflict proves fatal for the Boru clan, whose members once again close ranks to thwart the latest threat to the kingdom they are sworn to protect."

BH- Ooooh, I'm so excited!!

Thanks so much to Pat McDermott for the interview!!

A Band of Roses by Pat McDermott

5 Stars
R- 3

I almost turned this one down when the email came round. Because it was an ebook. Of which I am not a huge fan. But it sounded really interesting. I have to admit, though, the size of the pdf file was intimidating. (667 pages. I'm not kidding. That's a lot of staring at the computer.)

Can I tell you how glad I am that I took it on anyway?!! I loved it.

Part alternative-contemporary-history, part action-adventure, part almost historical romance, part sci-fi.... (yeah, I think I'm making up genres). You wouldn't think all that would work, but it does. It really does.

Here, watch the trailer.


(Can you see that? If not, you can see it on youtube.)

Anyway.

Parts of A Band of Roses reminded me of Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, which is very complimentary. I LOVE Connie Willis.

All of the styles swirl around and work well together even though you would think they shouldn't. Somehow they do. Maybe it's because Talty is such a great character. The Irish princess is fiery and determined, as well as strong and smart. After being married off twice, she's still her own woman.

Great read, even as a pdf. And that's saying something, 'cause I don't have a lot of patience for long pdfs.

This is a Virtual Book Tour book, and you can also learn more, as well as read excerpts, on Pat McDermott's site.

Also, check back next week for a great interview with Pat McDermott!!

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

5 stars
R- I don't remember anything...
This is a nostalgia review.

I first encountered The Andromeda Strain as a kid when I saw the movie with my dad. (Okay, I maybe only saw part of it, but whatever.) Being the child I was, I wanted to read it.

CLASSIC.

(I've always considered it a classic sci-fi, though now that I'm older and wiser I know that's not really a good classification. My brain can't shake it though.)

Seriously. I mean, who wouldn't love a book about a virus that goes from killing a whole town to eating through rubber?

Besides, it taught me important things, like what "coagulation" is and what flashing lights (blinking 3 times per second) can do to an epileptic. (Seriously, I've never forgotten that scene.)

What are your nostalgia reads?

Fault Line by Barry Eisler and GIVEAWAY

This is my first Virtual Book Tour review!

About the Book:

Silicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts sting anew as two brothers who share nothing but blood and bitterness wage a desperate battle against a faceless enemy.

Alex Treven has sacrificed everything to achieve his sole ambition: making partner in his high-tech law firm. But then the inventor of a technology Alex is banking on is murdered, the patent examiner who reviewed the innovation dies--and Alex himself narrowly escapes an attack in his own home. Off balance, out of ideas, and running out of time, he knows that the one person who can help him is the last person he’d ever ask: his brother.

Ben Treven is a military liaison element, an elite undercover soldier paid to “find, fix, and finish” high-value targets in the United States global war on terror. Disenchanted with what he sees as America’s culture of denial and decadence, Ben lives his detached life in the shadows because the black ops world is all he really knows--and because other than Alex, whom he hasn’t spoken to since their mother died, his family is long gone.

But blood is thicker than water, and when Ben receives Alex’s frantic call he hurries to San Francisco to help him. Only then does Alex reveal that there’s another player who knows of the technology: Sarah Hosseini, a young Iranian American lawyer whom Alex has long secretly desired--and whom Ben immediately distrusts. As these three struggle to identify the forces attempting to silence them, Ben and Alex are forced to examine the events that drove them apart--even as Sarah’s presence, and her own secret yearnings, deepens the fault line between them.

A full-throttle thriller that is both emotionally and politically charged, Fault Line centers on a conspiracy that has spun out of the shadows and onto the streets of America, a conspiracy that can be stopped by only three people--three people with different worldviews, different grievances, different motives. To survive the forces arrayed against them, they’ll first have to survive one another.

My Review :)
3.5 Stars
R-4
Language

Okay, I'm not sure I liked any of the characters. I guess I liked Ben the most, but they're not necessarily likeable people. That said, they're pretty well-written, and it's a good story.

They call it a thriller for a reason, I tell you. NONE of the chapters end in a spot where you can put the book down and walk away! I was up WAY too late finishing the book. I mean, WAY WAY too late. Because the story was gripping.

There were editing issues in a couple of places which drives me nuts, but it wasn't bad. And the story is good enough that you just don't care.

What kept me from giving it 4-5 stars? There was quite a bit sex and language. (People actually talk like that? Really? Actually the sad thing is I'm sure they do.)

About the Author:

After graduating from Cornell Law School, Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center. Eisler's thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous "Best Of" lists, and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. The first book in Eisler's assassin John Rain series, Rain Fall, has been made into a movie starring Gary Oldman that was released by Sony Pictures in April 2009.

For more information about the author or his work, please visit http://www.barryeisler.com/

***GIVEAWAY***
I have a copy to give away!

(And TODAY is the blog's 6 month anniversary!)

So-- 1 for a comment
2 for following/subscribing
2 for posting about this on your own blog
AND if you enter my other giveaway but don't win that, you'll get an entry in this one.

Drawing will be Monday- May 18th.

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross

The Dark Tide
3.5 Stars
R- 3-3.5 (All towards the end... it was kind of weird)
Language (out of character... again, kind of weird)

I'd have given this more stars, but the character development was sketchy (characters really do need to speak in a way that matches how you describe them... and it needs to be CONSISTENT) and the editing was TERRIBLE.

Really terrible.

Drove me nuts.

Is it really that hard to keep straight which company the guy worked for? I mean, really? And no editor noticed that? Come on.

Now, I would feel far more forgiving if this was a first novel, but it's not. Andrew Gross has co-written and has at least one other solo novel.

But it was a really good story. Somewhat predictable, maybe, but fun. And fast-paced. I enjoyed it.... even though I want to contact the publisher and offer to copy edit for them.

The Mark

The Mark by Jason Pinter
4.5 stars
R- 2.5
Language

This was a Reader's Choice from last fall. I'm just now getting to it. What can you do?

Henry Parker has laned his dream job-- reporting for the New York Gazette. And then it all goes terribly wrong-- and he becomes the story.

No reporter wants to be his own sotry.

Now on the run, Henry must gather some sort of evidence to clear his name, because even the cops want him dead...

I enjoyed this book. It was fun. Lot of language, though.

Apparently there's a sequel, but I'm not sure how I feel about Henry Parker as a series character. The story worked once, but I'm not driven by any sort of desperate need to read the next one. This book stands alone really well.

I'm not sure it works to do it again.
But as a stand alone, it was good.

(Okay, except for the random part about the one guy being in on it or something, and then suddenly we trust him again? Yeah, I didn't get that part.)

Final Theory

Final Theory by Mark Alpert
5 stars
R-2
Language

I love things like this. Very Numb3rs.

David Swift wanted to be a scientist. He got all the way to grad school before he realized that his math skills just wouldn't cut it.
So he did the next best thing. He became a Professor of the History of Science.

But when he's called to the hospital because a former mentor has been attacked, it could all be blown to bits.

Fairly literally.

Someone is after Einstein's final theory, and the results could destroy the world.

Great book. Mark Alpert writes for Scientific American and does a great job of presenting the science of it all for the average reader.

More language than I like. Do people seriously talk that way in everyday life? Seriously? The vocabulary of the general public must be very appalling. (I live a sheltered life, what can I say.)

The Geologist Who Saved the World

Over and over and over again! ;)

The Phillip Mercer Books by Jack DuBrul
4.5 Stars (as a whole)
R- 2.5-3.75 (depends on the book. The first is actually the worst, I think.)

I like these. Think Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan books, Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt books (I haven't actually read any of his, but I did see Sahara. ;) DuBrul writes with Cussler a lot, though, so I figure it's probably a fair comparison.) only Mercer is a hotshot geologist. Which for some reason sounds a whole lot funnier (which I insist is a word) than hotshot CIA Analyst or hotshot ex-Navy Seal. You can read them in any order, really, but reading them in order will of course make slightly more sense. The first is Vulcan's Forge, then Charon's Landing, Medusa Stone, Pandora's Curse, River of Ruin, Deep Fire Rising, Havoc. If nothing else, read Deep Fire Rising before Havoc. I read Havoc first and it would have made more sense if I'd read Deep Fire first. The library should really stop picking books so late in a series for Reader's Choice. But whatever.