The Deceived

50. The Deceived by Brett Battles. 358 p. Published June 2008.

This novel is the sequel to Battle’s debut thriller, The Cleaner.

When Quinn is called to clean up a body, he prepares for a normal job. What he didn’t prepare for was discovering that the body belonged to one of his closest friends, Steven Markoff, who was left to die in a shipping container. With only a cryptic message scrawled in his friend’s blood, Quinn feels obligated to inform Markoff’s lover, Jenny. But Jenny, a Congressional aid, has gone missing, and Quinn finds a bunch of men ransacking her house.

Quinn, with the help of his apprentice Nate and Orlando, a tech-savy compatriot, jumps around the country tracking Jenny’s trail. Along the way Quinn begins to unravel a devious plot by forces within the U.S. government. Finally, Quinn tracks Jenny to Singapore, where the story begins to take on a whole new level of intrigue and danger.

The Deceived continues to develop and refine the world of The Cleaner. Improving on his skills at character development and pacing, Battles combines technique, technical detail, and a gift for sudden plot twists to carry the reader along. While a number of scenes in the novel still come across as unfinished or even unecessary, The Deceived exhibits Battles’ skills and potential in a bloated market.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Havana Nocturne

49. Havana Nocturne: How The Mob Owned Cuba – And Then Lost It to the Revolution by T.J. English. 396 p. Published June 2008.

In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew General Batista to take control of Cuba. But for almost 30 years prior, Cuba’s political strife and corruption served as the perfect atmosphere for organised crime to make a profit.

After the end of prohibition, mobsters knew they needed to diversify and find other sources of income. Gambling soon became one of the most profitable ventures for most gangsters, but increasing regulation and government pressure loomed in their future. Two mobsters, Meyer Lansky and Charles “Lucky” Luciano, foresaw the need for a base of operations outside of the U.S. - setting organised crime and North American politics on a collision path.

What most people know of the mob’s involvment in Cuba comes from the second Godfather film. And all of it comes down to myth and suposition. In Havana Nocturne, English composes dozens of accounts and testimonials to formulate the facts and reality of the Havana Mob’s rise to power. In doing so, English reveals Lansky’s vision for Cuba – an island of pleasure, gambling, and graft – and the steps he took to stear others toward that goal.

I found this book to be an amazing and in-depth look into the mob’s heyday and a great read for anyone who enjoys true-crime or politics.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Area 7

35. Area 7 by Matthew Reilly. 387 p. Published February 2002.

Dealing with the aftermath of the events in Ice Station is tough on the government and military. In the end, the politicians can only put Scarecrow and the surviving members of his team in one place – aboard Marine 1, the President’s helicopter. Now heading the Presidential Marine guard, Scofield finds himself escorting the newly elected President on a tour of classified Air Force bases in the western portion of the U.S.

The President, with his entourage of Secret Service agents, political aides, and Marine escort, arrives at Area 7. This research facility, housed in NORAD’s original installation and guarded by an elite class of commandos, is now the center for the Air Force’s bio-chemical weapons program. In particular, the scientists have focussed on developing a vaccine to a race-based biotoxin originating from China.

However, as the President is touring the facility, the true motives for scheduling his visit become clear - the Air Force is staging a coup d’état. Trapped inside the base, Scofield’s team must work to reach the president and keep him alive. But doing so is more difficult that believed – for the madman in charge has created the biggest “Ticking Time Bomb” scenario concievable. Confronted with assault on all sides and the potential ramifications of their failure, Scofield and his men must do the impossible – secure the president and the vaccine while outmanned and outgunned.

With action and intrigue raging across every page, Area 7 is a perfect sequel to Ice Station. Scarecrow, along with his memorable batch of grunts, takes the reader on a journey spanning subterranean caverns, mid-air gunship battles, and low-orbit space combat. And however wild and crazy that sounds, Reilly’s consistent voice and plot dynamic make it all believable. Okay, maybe the space-based combat was a little far-fetched.

However, while Area 7 was enjoyable, it had some serious faults. There is almost no character development and the few attempts Reilly makes are rather transparent – the classic romance, the conflicted son of a fallen comrade, the return of a character obviously unfit for military duty. Reilly could do better. On top of that, Scofield has kept his death-defying luck and puts it to ready use shooting down missiles and leaping off cliffs. These are things that are excusable for an initial novel – but not a sequel.

In the end, Area 7 pulls the reader along with a solid pulse-pounding plot, but offers little else in the way of substance. While this is par for the course of military-thrillers, I was hoping for a bit more. Even so, I enjoyed reading Area 7 and can’t wait to move on to the next book in the Shane “Scarecrow” Scofield series.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Other Reviews of Area 7: The Redneck Romance Writer

The Sandman: The Doll’s House

GN 11. The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, and Chris Bachalo. 240 p. Published September 1991.

In Preludes and Nocturnes we met Morpheus – The Sandman, Lord of Nightmares, also known as Dream of the Eternals. Still cleaning up the mess left by his absence, Dream begins to track 4 dreams who used the opportunity to escape the Dreamworld. The key to finding these rogue nightmares lies with the newly awakened Dream Vortex, which has taken form in the shape of Rose, a young woman searching for her long missing brother. But Dream isn’t the only one taking advantage of the Vortex. Desire, a younger member of the Eternals, wants to play games with Morpheus’s heart.

As Dream follows his escaped minions, Rose continues to search for her brother, and the two journeys are linked. From the mind of a small boy, to the 1st annual serial killers convention, The Sandman goes about reclaiming what’s his. But as the book comes to closer to its conclusion, so does the confrontation between Dream and the entity which threatens his realm.

With The Doll’s House, Gaiman continues to build a fantastic vision of our world. My favorite chapter, with its dark wit, was Part 5: The Collectors, which showcases the maniacs’ convention. Using each chapter’s individual story, Gaiman builds an overarching plot that reveals a little bit more of how The Eternals interact with humanity and, with his final twist, how humanity can effect The Eternals. With the beginnings of Dream’s evolution, Gaiman offers a glimpse into how The Sandman will proceed.

As part of the Graphic Novels Challenge, this post was cross-blogged here.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews of Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House: Madstop Reading, Yaybooks

Ice Station

32. Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. 390 p. Published September 2000.

The latest book in this series was recommended to me by a friend’s mother. I decided to start at the beggining.
Lieutenant Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield and his team of Marines are sent to Halley Station, a science lab buried in the ice of Antarctica, in response to a mysterious call for help. Part of the message: the scientists believe they have found an alien craft buried nearly a mile down.

Scarecrow and the others arrive to find that the French have beaten them to the station and they are forced into battle. While the team comes out victorious, the damage they have taken leaves them crippled. Faced with a traitor in his team, incoming hostiles, and even nature working against him, Schofield relinquishes control of the base in favor of protecting the surviving scientists. But first he has a few of his marines and one scientist descend under the ice to examine and secure whatever is down there. Faced with a situation where survival is impossible, Schofield performs stunningly as a series of events work to shake the very foundations of the military and the U.S. Government.

Ice Station is a brilliant mix of suspense, espionage, action, and science fiction. Scarecrow is quite the remarkable character, and the trials Reilly puts him through are almost sadistic in their ingenuity. With a gift for tactics and ingenious weapon ideas, Reilly guides the reader through the depth of military intrigue. With a well paced plot and a story that ducks and dodges with every chapter, Reilly’s Ice Station keeps you on your toes until the very end. This book sets an excellent foundation for a series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Princess of Wands

24. Princess of Wands by John Ringo. 408 p. Published September 2007.

This book was given to me by a friend, though she had not read it.

The book is divided into three parts. The first, ‘The Almadu Sanction’, introduces us to Kelly Lockhart, a homicide detective in New Orleans. Lockhart is on the trail of a sadistic serial murderer who may not be working alone. In an effort to find the person responsible for these gruesome deaths, Lockhart visits an old psychic he’s used as an informant before. She sends him deep into the bayou, searching for the pimp who may know who is responsible and the ‘princess’ who may help him solve the case.

While there, Lockhart runs into Barbara Everette, a soccer mom who decided to take the weekend off from her husband and three kids and go on a short vacation in search of some good Cajun eats. But after a long night of driving, Barbara found herself stranded in the back-water town of Thibideau. But what draws Lockhart to our Episcopalian heroine isn’t her over-sized chest, but the LotR T-shirt she’s clad in. “Aloof Elven Princess.”

Lockhart and Everette soon find themselves neck-deep in a small town turned evil, and only Barb’s penchant for combat and faith in her god offer them any chance of getting out alive.

‘The Necromancy Option’ dominates the book’s second half. Barb is brought under the fold of The Foundation for Love and Universal Faith, who, among other things, conduct Special Circumstances investigations. While on a retreat, Barbara undergoes orientation for her new job as an Adept of the White God. There she comes in contact with Wicca, Asatru (Norse), and other faith practitioners, all of whom have joined together on the side of Good.

With some new knowledge, a boost in her faith, and a bunch of new friends, Barbara is sent on a mission with Janea, an Asatru, and Greg, an FBI agent. They are going to a small science-fiction/fantasy convention
in order to track down someone who’s been killing young girls in order to harness necromantic energy. While there, the trio meet the large range of personalities common at any convention, and the reader undergoes a rigorous orientation for the world of print sci-fi. But Barb’s attempts to slush out the murderer seem to have alerted him, and now she must rush to defeat him before any more lives are lost.

Our final story, ‘Broken Sabbath,’ is a mere 30 pages long, and brings the reader back to Barbara’s home. Her life as a house wife is fulfilling, but as her eldest daughter starts the softball season with a new coach, Barb finds that her secret job has made her a little paranoid. When the team is put through a series of ‘team building exercises’ without any parental supervision, and the girls begin to show signs of stress, Barb uses her contacts at The Foundation to vet the new coach. And what she finds sends her chasing after him in full tactical gear.

Princess of Wands is, to my knowledge, completely standalone. Which is too bad, because I enjoyed the book (a good simple read). This most recent edition to the growing subgenre of urban-female-occult-specialists (I seem to be reviewing a lot of these books) realistically uses religion and Christian faith without too much bible-thumping. There is an interesting contrast between the first two parts of the novel, the first being a tad simplistic, and the second steeped in detail. A number of conversations that take place during the convention are particularly detailed, and a number of characters are obvious adaptations of real people/authors. The only thing that detracts for this book is that the genre itself is becoming rather generic, and Ringo does little to make this particular work stand out. I take that back, the second book is a rather good depiction of your average sci-fi/fantasy convention.

If you are interested the first part of the book, ‘The Almadu Sanction’, is available for free online by the publisher.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Other Reviews of Princess of Wands: Aliens in this World, TexasBestGrok

Talyn

22. Talyn (A Novel of Korre) by Holly Lisle. 524p. Published August 2005.

This book was recommended to me by fellow blogger Fyrefly. Despite how prolific Lisle is in fantasy, and how often she co-write with some of my favorite authors, I’d never read one of her books before.

Talyn is the story of its namesake, Talyn Wyran av Tiirsha dryn Straad. This isn’t just Talyn’s name – it is her history, lineage, and connection to her people. Talyn is Tonk, a race that, while settled down from life as nomadic tribes, hold tightly to its traditions. and the Tonk have been at war for 300 years with the Eastils, a kingdom occupying the opposite side of their continent. Talyn and her people are bound to the war by honor, kinship, and religion, and philosophy. While much of the fighting is over certain land rights, the clash between the Tonk democratic city-states and the Eastil representative republic is largely political and religious.

Talyn herself was drafted into the Tonk army as a young girl, her gift for magic marking her as one of the elite Shielders. Able to step into the View, Talyn and other Magics can bend the essence of life to defend from and attack Eastil Magics.

But this war that has raged for 300 years comes to a sudden halt as the Feegash, a race respected both for its elite army and diplomatic skills, brokers peace between the countries. The resulting disarmament leaves Talyn and the other warriors in shock, and many of them go overseas for promising jobs around the world. Talyn herself embraces her hobby as a jeweler and tries to come to grips with being a warrior in peace time. She is soon visited by Skirmig, a Feegash diplomat, and finds herself strongly attracted to him. Despite her own misgivings, Talyn begins a relationship with Skirmig and he begins to teach her Feegash magic, a cousin to her own abilities.

Taking a break from lessons, Talyn roams outside and is confronted by an Eastil ex-soldier. He fears his friends have been kept prisoner, not released like the rest at the end of the war. Talyn uses Skirmig and his position to have the prisoners released, and hides them in her own house. But to do so, Talyn must do Skirmig a favor and move in with him. Soon Talyn discovers that something is wrong with Skirmig and the other Feegash – they are amoral and relish pain and suffering. And yet she can do nothing, for Skirmig has magically subverted her will to forget the depravities of his people. Skirmig hopes that, as they continue her training in Feegash magic, she will realize that good and evil are petty concepts.

But Talyn stumbles upon something during their training, and a melding of her magics and Feegash releases her from Skirmig’s hold. But not his grasp, and Talyn undergoes horrible torture at the hand of Skirmig and his servants. Thankfully she is soon rescued by Gair – one of the Eastil prisoners, now recovered, and the two escape while the city burns down around them. Skirmig, enraged by her betrayal, has unleashed his army, who quickly trample the disarmed populace and secures them under his magic compulsion.

Talyn must now lead the fight against Skirmig and his hordes, her only weapons are the magic she has developed and Gair, an enemy bound to her by a common foe. But to do so Talyn must come to terms with her fears, her gods, and her own involvement in the fall of her people.

Lisle manages to pack an amazing story into these 500 pages. The world, people, and language of Korre, raw and alien to the reader at the start of the novel, soon becomes familiar. The story, while oddly paced, is captivating in its description of Talyn and her plight. But I must warn you, the fantasy here is some of the darkest I’ve ever read; definitely adult in nature. Lisle’s depictions of the emotions, actions, and perditions of Talyn are… striking.

In writing Talyn, Lisle merges dark fantasy with equal parts political/moral philosophy and dime-store trashy romance. While reading the book, I found myself comparing Talyn more to the science fiction novels of the 50s and 60s than modern depthless fantasy. And frankly, it was refreshing. Before this book, A Song of Ice and Fire had been as mature as mainstream fantasy had been willing to get. My thanks to Fyrefly for the recommendation; I look forward to the upcoming sequel.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews of Talyn: Fyrefly’s Book Blog, Book Wyrm Reads, Scifi Bookshelf

A Midsummer Night’s Challenge

I wanted to celebrate the 1-month mark for A Chain of Letters by hosting a small reading challenge of my own. I’d like to think of it as a thank you to the bloggers out there who have helped me by leading with such strong examples.

June is a special month that marks the half-way point of the year. In much of the world, a prominent part of this comes with the Midsummer celebration centered on the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Conversely, Midsummer’s eve, when much of the celebrating takes place, is the shortest night of the year.

In celebration of Midsummer, I propose this small challenge:

1. Read A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Your copy from High School (if you still have it) is fine.

2. Then read at least one other book/graphic novel connected to or based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream (possible works listed below).

3. Blog about this supplementary work, comparing it to the original.

4. Link to your review here via comment or Mr. Linky (click button for pop-up). I will update the list as often as possible.

   

The challenge begins June 1st, 2008 and ends with all reviews linked here by June 25th, 2008 (the day after Midsummer Day). That should leave plenty of time for those who find this a little late.

A big thank you to Wendy over at A Novel Challenge for getting the word out.

By the Rivers of Babylon

20. By the Rivers of Babylon by Nelson De Mille. 432 p. Published 1978. Republished June 1990.

This author was recommended to me by the friend who brought The Cleaner to my attention. I chose to read By the Rivers of Babylon because it was the earliest published work of his at my library.

This novel opens in France, where a bomb has been hidden aboard a newly constructed Concorde jetliner bound for service in El Al. We jump to a year later in Israel, where preparations for the departure of a peace talk delegation is underway. Every risk, contingency, and threat has been foreseen and prepared for. Or so they think. Two Concordes take off, heading for NYC, with a guard of F-14s beside it. Suddenly, a terrorists’ Lear Jet swings in and stuns the entire country with a daring mid-air hijacking. Suddenly one of the delegation’s jetliners makes a break for freedom and is disintegrated by the terrorists. The F-14s are forced to retreat and the terrorists and remaining members of the delegation disappear into the desert.

Soon after, the Concorde is forced to put down in Iraq near the ancient fortress of Babylon. But sudden disabordination by the pilot lurches the plane from terrorist control, and the delegation sees a chance to avoid captivity. Grounded in the ruins of Babylon and surrounded by vastly overpowering forces, the remaining members of the delegation and its security detail dig in. Beseiged by terrorist attacks, hazardous conditions, and internal power struggles, the survivors grapple with concepts of peace, violence, fate, and the essence of human nature.

I’ll admit De Mille’s novel is compelling. I read the entire book in about 6 hours. His plot is convincing enough to capture the reader and by page 360 I had no idea where the remaining pages were going to take me. And despite the fact that this novel is 30 years old, it fits within a very possible future Middle East.

However, there was one overpowering downside to By the Rivers of Babylon, and that was its characters. Many of them seemed somewhat contrived and only three – Hausner, Brin, and Baxter – came alive.  These three are the coldest emotionally, yet the easiest for the reader to grasp. I don’t believe that this was do to a lack of skill on De Mille’s part, but rather his own innability to connect to the emotions and sometimes zealot-like nature he imbued into the other characters. Furthermore, the plot shifts between character-driven and situational depending on which characters are in focus.

Now, I purposely chose some of De Mille’s ealier work because I wanted to judge a contrast with his later work. That being said, this was an enjoyable read, and not simply because the heroes (and anti-heroes) succeed and villians fail, but because the story is well developed and artfully paced.

Rating: 3 out of 5

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes

GN 5. The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III. 240 p. Published December 1989.

A few night’s ago my roommate and I went to hear Neil Gaiman speak at MIT’s Julius Schwartz Lecture Series. And to commemorate it, I decided to start reading Sandman, the series that made Gaiman famous. I managed to finish Preludes and Nocturnes just as the lights dropped.

Preludes and Nocturnes opens with Robert Burgess, the self-titled Daemon King, attempting to summon and capture Death for his own nefarious purpose. But instead he captures a younger member of the family: Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams and Nightmares. Burgess strips Morpheus of his mask, sand pouch, and ruby and keeps him trapped for over 60 years. At least until he dies and his now elderly son accidentally releases Morpheus.

The Sandman re-enters a world changed by the lack of his presence. But he finds himself too weak to retake control. Morpheus must reclaim the tools of his trade, and enlists the help of some of DC’s more infamous preternatural experts. Of course, not everyone is happy with Morpheus’s return, and he finds that he must adapt to this changed world. But soon the world will have to adapt, because The Sandman – the stuff of Dreams himself – is here to stay.

In Preludes and Nocturnes, Gaiman begins to reshape the world according to his own twisted vision. Pulling from ancient myth and modern legend, Gaiman engages the reader’s imagination like few others. I look forward to continuing the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews of Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes: Madstop Reading, Nothing of Importance, The Hidden Side of a Leaf