JamesCarter1

Torpedo
By Jeff Edwards
iUniverse
Men's Adventure
ISBN: 1583484655
360 pages
May 11, 2006 published

The USS Tower, a low visibility destroyer, has been posted to the Persian Gulf to inspect freighters and other cargo ships to make sure they aren't carrying any contraband. At the same time as they're doing their duty there, the German government is having an oil crisis and in order to get their oil, they've sold some top-of-the- line weapons to a middle eastern nation that happens to support terrorists and hate everything about the western hemisphere.

There are a few grammatical flubs in the first hundred pages or so, but nothing too major. Using Barretta instead of Berretta, for the name of the world renown Italian nine millimeter pistol. The context of both being the first one is the name of the 1970's detective show, and the second one being the actual spelling of the arms manufacturer's name.

Jeff Edwards' writing style is very similar to Tom Clancy's early novels like Hunt for Red October, or Red Storm Rising. The political intrigue in the story is so interesting that had it been a film in a cinema it would have you on the edge of your seat and almost falling out of it.

4 low visibility destroyers out of 5

cReviewed by James Carter, gottawritenetwork.com
March 2, 2008

Armageddon Complex Review
By Ric Black
iUniverse
0-595-33101-7
June 2006
paperback

Ben Jenkins is a biophysicist working under government contract for a private organization. The contract is for a biological weapon so virulent that if released it would literally destroy every living thing on the face of the planet. In the ensuing weeks and months after the storyline opens the US Army finds out and has a special forces soldier trail Ben Jenkins' son, Cody, so that in case Mr. Jenkins doesn't cooperate......

A very well written book, reader's should know that it is extremely graphic in a couple of spots so if this were a film it would be and 18A rating. It's very similar to 28 days, or 28 weeks later, in the idea of a world killing super bug designed by a government agency. But in this case thankfully the bug is never released and everything ends on a good note.

The science and technology that is all part of the intrinsic storyline in the novel is all very real, and very believable, so much so that it's almost enough to make you wonder if something like this could ever happen. Maybe it already has, and we just don't know about it.... yet.

4 biohazard symbols out of 5 for being one of the most disturbing non-horror books I've ever read.

c Reviewed by James Carter, gottawritenetwork.com
March 2, 2008

The Dreamer's Way
by Mari Atherton
Review by James Carter
Swimming Kangaroo Books

In a highly contained, highly controlled world, Dreamer's are persecuted, and forced "Outside." "Outside" is a vile, deadly realm where without proper equipment the human life is measured in minutes or seconds. Alodi is a Dreamer and in order to protect her husband and daughter she goes "Outside" at the behest of their leader Tzeh Cher. Once out in the wild she encounters some wild beasts that try to attack her and then she finds "The Way."

A few years later the technology that maintains the barrier between the world and "Outside" begins to fail and slowly the safe areas recede. Meanwhile, in "The Way" the Dreamer's are experiencing a civil war of sorts, they've been keeping the barrier active without the general public directly over their heads knowing what they were doing. But the younger generation doesn't want to continue doing so, so Alodi now in charge of "The Way" is faced once again with a very difficult choice.

Mari Atherton does a wonderful job of blending familial and racial issues together in this science fiction novel. The creatures in "Outside" are so disturbing and scary that they almost seem real. The internal struggle that Alodi faces throughout the novel is incredibly brillant.

c Reviewed by James Carter, gottawritenetwork.com
April 27, 2008

Lightning Days
by Colin Harvey
Reviewed by James Carter
Swimming Kangaroo

In the caves of Afghanistan British Special Agent Josh Cassidy and a group of British soldiers discover something that science had said for centuries wasn't possible as they'd all died off. Neanderthals still existed, and they're trying to stop the end of the world. Sophia, the leader of this group of inter universal refugees is trying to keep her people alive by jumping between the various Earths of the multiverse trying to keep ahead of the vicious Sauroids.

Colin Harvey mixes current geopolitics with science, to create an interesting mix. I've never read anything like this book. The idea that Neanderthals were really from a different universe is intriguing, so is the idea that they would be able to "shift" between Earths. Since reading this book, I've really started wondering what did happen to the Neanderthals. Harvey is a very competent author, and his characters are more than believable, they suck you into the story line so that the book is very hard to put down.

This book will always standout in my mind as being a very unique piece of literature. Not many authors can make you sit on the edge of a comfortable reading chair as you devour every word on the page syllable by syllable. I wish Colin the best of luck with his writing career and look forward to reviewing more of his works.

5 Neanderthals out of 5, for stunning characters, and bringing science and politics together as only fiction can.

c Reviewed by James Carter, gottawritenetwork.com
April 27, 2008