Lowly’s Book Blog

I know, I know. I have absolutely panned Charlaine Harris before. But maybe skipping from book 1 to book 9 in the series was a mistake. And a friend whose reading taste I trust said that the first 5 books in the series were great. So it was cheap to download, and quick to read, and it gave me another reason to play with my new toy.

Eric and Sookie, young lovers,(well one of them is young) are hired out to a neighboring vampire ‘family’ to investigate the disappearance of one of their group. Sookie’s telepathic abilities soon locate the missing vamp, but then the rescue is a little more difficult. And then there is the maenad loose in the woods around Bon Temps.

Anyway, like any good soap opera, this builds tension but never really hurts the regulars. They all need to come back for the next book.

I am finding these books strangely addictive. The series is certainly not going to present any intellectual challenges, but as entertainment, I can think of a lot worse. Certainly I finish one book and immediately download the next.

Ah yes, there had to be an Indiana Jones novel somewhere in the pile. This is it. And just like the movies, suspend logic, buckle seat belt, and go along for a ride.

Three murders, one in Rome, one in Africa and one in a genetics lab at Princeton University. Nothing apparently connects them, except for a strange cross burned into their skin. Enter Sigma Force to solve the mystery. And the ancient source of power that will destroy or save the world? Is it really the reason that the Domesday Book listed some towns in Anglo-Saxon England as wasted? And how does St Malachy fit into the whole mystery? Sorry, I can’t tell you because that would spoil the story. I will just say that Rollins has certainly put together a fascinating tale that links these various ideas into a wonderfully suspenseful adventure.

Apparently the Sigma Force novels have been around for years. I just haven’t read any before. But I firmly believe that fans of the action adventure novel that won’t make you think too hard will love this book, and probably many others in the series.

I started this book assuming that it was going to be another in the ‘Indiana Jones’ genre. A bunch of archaeologists are running around the world looking for the definitive proof of the power of God before the bad guys get there and acquire the proof to use for their own devious plans. I was wrong. This is actually a thought-provoking book about the manipulation of society using technology.

A small CNN reporting team are on board an Antarctic exploration vessel watching one of the great ice sheets crumble. The view is spectacular, but not as spectacular as the mysterious light that suddenly appears in the sky, changing shape and colour as it hangs in place. Immediately the news media springs into action, looking for an explanation. But the next day, the same sign is seen again over a melting glacier in Greenland. Is this God sending a message to his people? The CNN team are looking for explanations, and the clues seem to indicate that a Koptic monastery in Egypt may hold a clue. They arrive to discover that one of the monks has been drawing this sign on the walls of a cave for weeks while he has been in retreat. When the team show their discovery to the world, the same mysterious light appears over the head of Father Jerome, and all hell breaks loose.

This is the point where the real story begins. Yes this is a real shoot-em-up adventure. Guns, fistfights and violence is involved on every page. But there is also a hidden theme about religious fanaticism, unthinking news journalism and secrecy in science. These themes are far more interesting than the car thief who can out fight and out shoot a special operations officer. But I suppose that the action fans must have their explosions or they won’t buy the book. Personally, I would much prefer to leave all the silliness involving Matt and Jabba out and let Gracie work out the answers for herself. Sorry, but I was really annoyed by Matt before the final chapters.

This book comes with a Publisher’s Promise, Love it our your money back. I might go as far as like, but love it??

Fasten your seatbelt. Place critical thinking on hold. Activate visual imagination. Now you are ready for Andy McDermott’s latest thriller.

My regular readers will be familiar with the term ‘Indiana Jones’ genre and some of you will know that I am a real fan of Andy McDermott. This is a worthy addition to his booklist and as I was reading it, several other fans were keen to lay their hands on a copy.

In this the fourth book of the Eddie Chase series, Eddie and Nina are on the trail of an ancient civilisation, one far older than Atlantis, that has apparently disappeared from the face of the earth. Of course, there are a bunch of bad guys sworn to protect the secrets of this civilisation by killing everyone who learns anything and obliterating all archaeological traces. But of course Eddie and Nina survive their first encounter and once again find a treasure that will change mankind’s future. Well, maybe.

OK so the plot is not original. That’s why it is called a genre. But Andy McDermott writes it well. The story unfolds like a high-speed action movie with car chases, high explosives, and lots and lots of hand-to-hand combat. The reader never has a chance to draw breath. And that is the whole fun of the story. This is a book you read for pure entertainment.

And I really, really liked the explanation of the Genesis story at the end.

It seems that it has been quite a while since I have been asked to review one of the many ‘Indiana Jones’ novels that are around. But once again as I read this book I was back into the realm of lost artifacts, speculative history, as well as action adventure.

This time Gibbins is speculating about the fate of Crassus lost legions after the battle of Carrhae. History has recorded that 10,000 Roman Legionaries were captured by the Persians and sent east as slaves. There is some evidence that some of these men escaped, but from that point everything is speculation.

In ‘The Tiger Warrior’ Gibbins suggests that some of these men, the very toughest headed further east and ended up in the court of the first Emperor of China. Two thousand years later Jack Howard discovers evidence of Roman trade with India and the Silk Road, eventually discovering a valuable treasure stolen by the Romans from the tomb of the First Emperor and hidden in India.

I found this book far more entertaining than the previous book I had read from this author. As always, Gibbins’ research is exemplary and his knowledge and understanding of archaeological processes and techniques is outstanding. However last time I felt that the action of the story was frequently halted while lengthy explanations were given. This time the action is non-stop with an absolute minimum of historical exposition. I kept waiting for the historical background, but virtually everything was saved for the extensive historical notes found at the back of the book.

For fans of this genre, this is going to be a welcome addition to the collection. If you haven’t yet tried anything beyond ‘The DaVinci Code’, this book would be a good choice.

Haven’t times changed. There was a day when a book like this would be taken off any boy trying to read it and a boring chapter book shoved in his face instead. Now this graphic nove/comic book has been actually nominated as the CBC picture book of the year.

Captain Congo and his offsider Pug the Penguin are off to Africa to rescue a missing archaeologist. The man was last seen searching for the lost Treasure of the Queen of Sheba. Congo and Pug travel by tramp steamer, encountering spies, murderers, crocs and angry natives.

This book is right out of the 50s. It reads like a Saturday afternoon serial, one madcap adventure after another with a bare minimum of plot in between. But that is fine because that is exactly the what the book pretends to be. The presentation is so much like those comic books from the 50s that I thought for a moment time had run in reverse.

But it is a great, entertaining read.

A few weeks ago I overheard a couple of students recommending books to each other with the comment, ‘You have to read this, it is so good.’ At about the same time it surfaced at the top of my reading list. A happy coincidence.

Cybele’s Secret is set in medieval Istanbul. Paula, a merchant’s daughter, has travelled with her father to the east to try to purchase an ancient statue for a buyer in Europe. Once there, Paula is determined to experience this foreign culture, in spite of the fact that as a woman she is not allowed to leave her ‘home’. But with the protection of her bodyguard, Paula befriends an older Greek woman, Irene, also strongly independent and unwilling to be restricted by the Muslim laws. Paula takes advantage of the Irene’s library of ancient writings to investigate the history of the statue of Cybele that is the whole purpose of her father’s trip. 

But then those interested in purchasing the statue start dying. Some beaten to death, others killed in the street. And a Portuguese pirate is showing a great deal of interest in both Paula and the statue. When Paula’s father is found alive, but beaten, Paula assumes her pirate friend is at fault and she thoughtlessly rushes off to confront him. From there the story launches into the most fantastic adventure.

I will admit that it took me ages to get started in this book. The early passages about life in Istanbul were nicely historical, but slow going. But once the adventure started the book took off. I was up until the early hours of the morning finishing, simply because I could not put it down.

A little investigation has shown me that this is the second book in a series. It certainly stood very well by itself, but maybe someday I will find the time to read book one.

I actually finished this book a couple weeks ago, but since it has been made into a TV miniseries, I thought it best to wait to review it until I had seen at least some of the TV takeoff. Boy, am I sorry I did. The book is a great, fun read best described as an adventure story. The miniseries appears to be sensationalist skin flick with bad accents and worse acting.

Anyway the purpose of this blog is to review, so here goes.

The setting in the bayou country north of New Orleans is perfect for this tale of small town suspicion, racism, romantic murder mystery. Sookie is a simple country girl working as a barmaid, but otherwise stays home a lot because of her ‘disability’. You see, Sookie is telepathic. One night in the bar, Bill walks in, and Sookie is immediately attracted because she can’t read him. But Bill is a vampire (now legal in Louisiana), and quickly the attraction becomes much more. But girls are dying, murdered, garroted. The tension mounts as the reader is convinced that Sookie is next.

OK, so the plot is not original. Stephenie Meyer is making big money out of the same story, right down to the telepathic, or not, lovers. Harris puts a much more adult twist to the tale. The sex scenes are erotic, and certainly not for the tweens that have just finished Twilight. 

But Harris does not take herself seriously and neither should the reader. This book is pure entertainment, and so what! Sometimes everyone needs to read for the fun of it. Enjoy!

About 12 months ago I reviewed the previous book in the Commander Kydd series by this author. At least this time I knew what to expect.

This book opens with Kydd in absolute grief after the disasters that happened at the end of the last book. His love is dead, he has offended the admiral, and it seems that his navy career is destined to stay exactly where he is. As the book opens he is sent to serve with the fleet protecting the Channel Islands. But then he is framed for smuggling and life just gets a little worse. It seems that even Renzi has deserted him as finances force him to take a job on another island. But then Kydd gets the offer of a privateer vessel, and with it the opportunity to return to sea, continue the fight and improve his financial position.

Again, this book does not compare favourably with O’Brian’s wonderful series, although the plots share some similarity. (Check out The Letter of Marque Book 12 of the Master and Commander Series). But at least this time I am more used to the writing without vowels and the plot stays well away from staterooms and on the sea where Stockwin’s writing is much stronger. This plot is at least believable.

Hmmm. A very interesting book. Yes it is another in the Indiana Jones, archaeological adventure genre, but this book is very different. There is far fewer guns and explosions than many in this growing genre. In fact, you will need to keep thinking as you read, or expect to have to re-read large passages. This book is actually three stories, each one a strong plot for its own novel, but carefully interwoven to build a complex plot that doesn’t depend on action for its tension.

The book opens with unknown archaeologist Clara Tannenburg standing up at an international conference claiming that Abraham was actually the first of God’s prophets to dictate Genesis, and she knew where to find the clay tablets where the scribe recorded the message. Enter an international ring of art dealers who specialise in stolen ancient artifacts. Enter a young priest who has heard the confession of a man about to commit murder. Enter a group of Nazi death camp survivors determined to wipe the name Tannenburg from the face of the earth. Place the excavation site near ancient Ur, currently south of Baghdad in late 2002.

Navarro is a very talented writer who builds tension with great skill. She does not reveal the motives of her various groups until well into the story. She simply reveals the hatred, the anger and the suspicion and gradually reveals the motives. At the excavation site itself she placed a series of assassins and thieves all watching each other and wondering who and why they were there. She places the climax of the story in the days before the invasion, and uses the underlying suspense to sweep the story through to the eventual conclusion.

This is a book that needs to be read in a few sittings with plenty of time available. But with the Christmas holidays in sight this would be a good acquisition now to read then.