Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Devil's Dream - David Beers

The Devil's Dream is the first novel in the Devil's Dream Series. This book is free for the kindle. I have the second novel already, even though it's not free.

Matthew Brand was probably the most brilliant human to ever live. Matthew was already working on his fourth PhD at 18. By 25 Matthew had changed the world as we know it. Then they killed Matthew's son, and Matthew focused his brilliance on bringing him back. Of course Matthew also intended to destroy anyone connected with his son's death. Matthew had turned into the most brilliant serial killer to ever live. And he's alive again. Fear is appropriate. This is an amazing book. The second one is already on my kindle. Very highly recommended.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Goliath - Richard Turner

Goliath is the first novel in the Ryan Mitchell Thriller series. This book is free for the kindle.

Jennifer March is a history professor. Her obsession is the airship Goliath that crashed somewhere over Africa back in 1931. Jennifer is working on a dig to uncover a WWII military air crash in the Philippines when she's kidnapped.

Ryan Mitchell is part of an elite team of ex-military operators working for the Polaris Operations. Their team was in the Philippines training locals when the kidnapping took place, and Ryan and his team were able to rescue Jennifer. At least that time.

Ryan and Jennifer are draw together, but someone keeps trying to steal Jennifer. Finally they succeed. Ryan initiates a Polaris mission to rescue Jennifer. What Ryan doesn't realize is he's going to have to save the world at the same time. This is a wide ranging thriller. It reminds me of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures. The only problem is the miracles Ryan's Polaris team pull off are even more unbelievable. I almost gave up reading when Ryan told a USMC full bird colonel, "this isn't the time for us to get into a pissing contest." Yeah, like that would happen. Still highly recommended.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Alien Night on Union Station - E.M. Foner

Alien Night on Union Station is the second novel in the EarthCent Ambassador series. This book is 99 cents for the kindle. I recommend you read the first novel, Date Night on Union Station, first. It's free again.

Kelly Frank McAllister is now the full EarthCent ambassador to Union Station. It's been five years since Kelly and Joe got married and things have changed. They now have a daughter named Dorothy to go along with their foster son Paul. The family is happy, but something strange is happening on Union Station again. Stranger than normal anyway. Every alien species on the station is inviting Kelly to dinner and she's determined to figure out why. Another hilarious science fiction romp. Very highly recommended.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Aster Wood and the Lost Maps of Almara - J. B. Cantwell

Aster Wood and the Lost Maps of Almara is the first novel in the Aster Wood series. This book was free when I downloaded it. It's now $3.99 for the kindle.

Aster Wood is dreading the summer before he starts seventh grade. Aster's Earth is broken. First the world suffered a terrible drought. Now that the drought is over, you can't go out in the rain because it's poison. Aster himself is broken. He has a hole in his heart that surgery couldn't fix. Aster's Mom is dumping him way out in the country at his grandma's for the summer. What Aster doesn't realize is that Earth is not the only planet with humans, and the other planets aren't all broken. The attic is the key, if Aster can just find the map.

This book is definitely targeted at young teens, but it's still a good story and interesting to follow. It would be a good bedtime read for kids who like adventure. Just don't finish for the night with some of the more exciting parts. Highly recommended.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Transgression - R.S. Ingermanson

Transgression is the first novel in the City of God series. This book is free for the kindle. This story is a time-travel murder mystery, but the murder hasn't happened yet, even though it may happen thousands of years ago. This is a fascinating book.

Rivka Meyers is an archeologist working a dig in Israel for the summer. Rivka has been in graduate school at Berkeley the last three years, but this summer she's taking a break from everything. Especially her battles about religion. Rivka is a Messianic Jew. She has to defend her religion from Christians and Jews alike. When Rivka unearths part of a mosaic, it could turn out to be the biggest find on the dig site.

Ari Kazan is a physicist. His cousin Dov works on the dig with Rivka. Dov and Rivka are trying to fix Ari up with another woman working on the dig. Ari is working on a time machine, or as he would put it a closed timelike loop. Ari is the theorist and Damien West is the experimentalist on their team. The two of them almost have it working. It turns out, more than almost.

Damien considers Christianity to be a plague. His plan is to use the time machine to go back and murder the apostle Paul to keep Christianity from ever starting. Rivka and Ari get caught up in his plot. The adventure of traveling to a time before Christians and modern Jews even existed is fascinating. The suspense as Rivka tries to stop Damien's plot is heart stopping. Even though Ari claims it's impossible to change the past, Rivka and he may have to make sure it comes out the way it should. The biblical and archeological references are just icing on the cake. Very highly recommended.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Obsidian - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian is the first novel in the Lux series. This book is free for the kindle. This story is a whole new take on strange next door neighbors.

Katy and her Mom just moved from Gainesville Florida to Ketterman West Virginia. Ketterman is so small they don't even have mail delivery. Katy is just starting her senior year in high school and this move is a major change, but Katy understands her Mom's need to start over. Katy's next door neighbors have a girl and a boy her age. Twins actually. The girl Dee is nice. The boy Daemon is just mean. The trouble is he looks so good. As Katy spends the summer getting comfortable in her new home, with her new friends, Daemon becomes even more annoying. What's up with these neighbors? It turns out Dee and Daemon are not your normal people next door. They bring a whole new meaning to illegal alien. By the time Katy figures out what's going on, she's not just amazed, her life is in more danger than she ever imagined. This is a great book. The author is self-aware enough to joke about the angst in young adult supernatural novels. Very highly recommended.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Box - Brian Harmon

The Box is the first novel in the Temple of the Blind series. This book is free for the kindle. This story is creepy in the best possible way.

Albert is a computer science major in his first semester at Briar Hills University. When Albert came back to his locked car after class, there was a 10 inch wooden box on his front seat. There are cryptic carvings on five sides of the cube and a keyhole on the sixth. The box is an enigma that Albert is determined to solve. When Albert realizes the carving on one side of the cube is Brandy R, the name of his lab partner in chemistry, he decides to approach her about the box. Their adventures, while trying to solve the cube, defy logic. This is an amazing book that I couldn't put down. Harmon never disappoints. Very highly recommended.

Date Night on Union Station - E. M. Foner

Date Night on Union Station is the first novel in the EarthCent Ambassador series. This book was free when I downloaded it. It's now 99 cents for the kindle. Very few science fiction novels can make me laugh out loud. This one does it with exuberance.

Union Station is a moon-sized alien space station run by a Stryx AI named Gryph. It's the most important space station in the sector. Even though humans are a drop in the bucket population wise, there are still over four hundred thousand of them to take care of. Kelly Frank is EarthCent's top diplomat on Union Station. She's the one tasked with taking care of her fellow humans. With that many humans to choose from, why is getting a decent date so hard! This is a hilarious science fiction tale of life and a lack of romance among the stars. Kelly deals with counterfeiters, kidnappers, cheaters, and con-men. It's all in a days work. Very highly recommended.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Making David into Goliath - Joshua Muravchik

Making David into Goliath is about Israel's struggle with public opinion. This book is 296 pages. It seems like 600.

I like a good non-fiction book from time to time. This is not a good non-fiction book. This is a long boring academic work, chock full of quotes and footnotes, by an author with logorrhea. In a book that's less than 300 pages, the footnotes are over 30 pages. It's ironic that at one point the author accuses Edward Said of "creating a miasma of prose." I read the first four chapters diligently and then skimmed the rest. I appreciate and agree with the author's message. It could have been delivered in a much more readable manner. I recommend reading an in-depth review of this novel, from some legitimate news source, and using the book as a door stop. Not recommended.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Grade A Stupid - A. J. Lape

Grade A Stupid is the first novel in the Darcy Walker Series. This book is free for the kindle. You're in for a wild ride.

Darcy Walker is 15. Darcy is your normal teenage girl, except when she's not. Darcy has her share of angst about boys, clothes, and school. Darcy also dabbles in finding dead bodies and trying to solve crimes. This can lead to bending rules, telling lies, and danger in general. Times like these are when Darcy is not your normal teenage girl. This is a great book. No supernatural creatures or special powers to prop up the story. Just not-so-normal adventures with a precocious teenage girl, and all in the suburbs of Cincinnati. Darcy even likes Skyline Chili! Very highly recommended.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Witch's Brew - Heidi R. Kling

Witch's Brew is the first novel in the Spellspinners of Melas County series. This book is free for the kindle. If you hate cliff hangers you can stop reading now.

Lily is 16 and just coming into her own as a witch. Lily doesn't realize that she's going to be pivotal in rejoining the witches and warlocks, or the 100 year curse will steal all powers from the spellspinners forever.

This is an interactive story. There are points where you get to choose the plot line that's followed. If I'd wanted to read a video game I wouldn't have selected a book. I did finish the story, although if I'd know about the cliff hanger I probably wouldn't have. You decide. Between the atrocious cliff hanger, the author not being able to make up her mind, and the teenage angst, I'm done with this series. Barely recommended.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Out Of Darkness - Jason D. Morrow

Out Of Darkness is the first novel in the Starborn Uprising series. This book is free for the kindle.

Mora lives in a world where greyskins have been what defines life and death for over 60 years. Now Mora's village is desperate, so Mora heads for the town of Screven to try and get help. Mora is about to discover things about herself she never knew. Thing that will change the whole world. Another zombie story, but one with an interesting twist. Highly recommended.