The Book of the Dead
Douglas Preston and Lincon Child
Grand Central Publishing
May 30th 2006
Fiction/Adventure/Mystery/Suspense
Rating: Three out of Five Vials
Things are jumping at the New York Museum of Natural History.
When a mysterious package arrives addressed simply to The Rocks and Minerals Curator, it sets off a chain reaction of events so stunning that no one could have predicted it. The package is leaking a small amount of brown powder that looks strangely like Anthrax. It isn't Anthrax.
It is diamond dust.
A mysterious criminal known only as Diogenes Pendergrast was kind enough to return the diamonds he stole previously; albeit not in their original form. Suffering in jail for the crime is FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. With Diogenes free to continue his spree of terror, he sets in motion his most diabolical plan yet.
Posing as a museum employee, he gains access to The Tomb of Senef. To counter-act the bad press from the diamond heist and their subsequent return, the New York Museum of Natural History decides to re-open an old exhibit long since closed.
The decision causes some outcry. There are some who say that the exhibit, a complete Egyptian tomb including sarcophagi and Mummies, is cursed. There are some who say that any who come in contact with the old tomb are doomed.
Diogenes plans to use this to his full potential to kill as many people as possible. The only person who can stop him is his brother, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. There are those coming to his aid but they may be too late.
By the time he is released from prison, the whole world may be in jeopardy….
I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. Being that I'm a huge fan of Preston and Child's books (especially when they write together) I really wanted to delve into The Book of the Dead and be swept away by a fast paced story line and a fantastic race against time.
That didn't happen.
Though the usual well developed characters appear in The Book of the Dead, and the plot has been thought out down to the last detail, everything just kind of fell flat for me. Characters that before seemed so full of life now seemed like nothing more than talking heads. The plot, which before had been planned to such perfection, now seemed silly and asinine.
I really wanted to love this book. In fact, I had been looking forward to it. It is the last in what is an unofficial trilogy, the previous two books being Brimstone and Dance of Death. Though many reviewers insist that you can read The Book of the Dead on its own, you can't. I found myself flipping through the other two novels so that I could remember what the authors were referring to in The Book of the Dead.
That's not to say that it wasn't a good book. It was. It just wasn't a great book. While a little flat and a lot dry, it's a good book to read if you've read the first two books and want to know how everything ends. Other than that, though I wouldn't waste your money on this one in hardcover and would wait for the paperback.
It's an unfortunate end to what could have been a fantastic trilogy. Don't take my word for it, though. It's still a good read, just not as good as it could have been. Here's hoping that, for their next book, Preston and Child try something new instead of dusting off the same old characters.
Mike: Circle of Friends Book Four
By L. Diane Wolfe
Author House
March 2007
Genre: Fiction/Young Adult/Inspirational
Rating: Five out of Five Friends
Have you ever wanted something so badly you could taste it? Have you ever wished you could travel back in time and erase past mistakes so that you could start fresh? Have you ever regretted something you have done? Mike Taylor is a troubled young man.
Though you wouldn't know this to look at him. Hard working and down to earth, he is well liked by everyone who knows him. Having achieved high marks at Georgia Tech and athletic success, you would think that Mike is a man on top of the world.
But secrets, especially those that are deeply buried, will eat away at even the most convincing facade. And they usually have a way of getting out.
Years ago, Mike got one of his girlfriends pregnant. After she had an abortion, things were not the same for Mike. How could he live with himself after letting a human life be taken away?
Worse still, he is in love with his best friend's wife. Sarah has no idea of Mike's feelings towards her and if she did, it would change everything between them. Loving and admiring her from afar, his heart and spirit suffers. He feels guilty for loving his friend's wife, guilty for all the mistakes he has made.
Needing a fresh start, Mike moves out to Albuquerque to start a job at the Sandia Labs. Hoping to escape his past, Mike finds himself instead isolated and alone. Away from his friends and family, Mike does nothing but obsess about the mistakes he made in his past and the ones he has made in his present.
All that changes, however, when he meets Danielle. Her energy and her bright personality bring a spot of light into Mike's dark life and the two bond quickly. Mike finds himself falling in love with Danielle and the two are married shortly after meeting. Mike feels that nothing can go wrong, that nothing can destroy the relationship they have built.
But Mike has not counted on the power of secrets. Even if you keep them tightly hidden, they will find a way to break free. Can Mike find a way to be honest with Danielle and himself? Or will he let past misjudgements ruin what could be the greatest love of his life?
Simply put, MIKE is amazing. I have fallen in love with Wolfe's Circle of Friends series since reading the third book and working my way back to the beginning.
Thus far, I've read MIKE three times and it's better every time I read it. For those unfamiliar with the series, never fear! Each book is a stand alone novel but you will meet characters from the other books in the series.
Wolfe manages to write a novel about difficult situations and still manages to make it light, funny and heart warming. While there is a lot of focus on Christianity and faith, it never comes off as preachy. Most books that involve even a hint of references to Christianity make my skin crawl but Wolfe manages to juggle many storylines, plots and characters all at once and always comes out shining.
Faith is an important part of MIKE but not the central focus. It takes an incredibly talented writer to tackle the subject of faith and religion and not make it sound preachy.
Another reason that Wolfe is such an amazing writer is her ability to write such well defined, amazing characters. And in MIKE she has sharpened her pen and her inner eye to crystal cut clarity. You know just from reading the beautiful prose that Wolfe loves these characters, that she aches for them. Because she does, you do too.
I wanted to tell Mike that it was all going to be okay, that he needed to take one day at a time. You KNOW Mike after this novel, you feel for him, you ache for him. Many writers try to accomplish this and even more fail. Happily, Wolfe manages this with flying colours.
Wolfe's novels also have a moral or important message to take away from them. This one is important for everyone and I want to make sure you're reading carefully, that you pay attention to this next line. It's such an important message and everyone needs to hear it. Are you ready? Here it is:
Do not let past mistakes determine your future.
Sounds simple, right? But that theme, that message, is woven throughout every word in this glorious novel. It's such an important message because everyone does this.
Everyone judges themselves so harshly for the things they have done that they never stop to forgive themselves. If you don't forgive yourself for your mistakes, how can you move on? How can you live your life?
MIKE is such a powerful, engrossing, incredible, beautiful novel. But it still manages to be light hearted, funny and heart felt. There is real emotion and real people in these pages and I enjoyed MIKE more than any other book in the series.
I know that when the fifth and final book comes out, it will be like saying goodbye. Do yourself a favour and make some time for this book.
This is a life changing novel and you will look at yourself, and the world around you, once you have finished.
Accidental Enlightenment
By Stephen Banick
Synergy Books
June 1st, 2007
Travel/Inspirational/Non-Fiction
Rating: Four out of Five Hitchikers
Normally, I hate travel books.
I know, I know. I can hear a lot of you saying: Now wait just a minute! What's wrong with travel logs? Well, in my opinion, they're boring, dull and quite often have as much life to them as a day old piece of toast.
So I will admit that I was a bit weary of Accidental Enlightenment at first. A travel book AND a self help manual? How could such a thing be possible? I opened the cover to the first page and was prepared to be skeptical of anything and everything in the book. To my chagrin, however, I was charmed and, oddly enough, enlightened.
From the preface (where Banick makes his own comments about travel books) to the very last page, Accidental Enlightenment was a complete and utter joy.
Imagine, if you will, being discontent with your lot in life. You wonder where you're going, what you're meant to be doing. Are the answers to your questions to be found inside you, or out in the real world? After being offered a high powered job at a software company, Banick decides to drive instead of fly to his destination. This choice starts him on a journey that will change his life.
Along the way, Banick picks up hitch hikers and learns, for the first time, to really talk to people honestly. But more importantly, he learns to listen.
When he finally arrives at his job, he's able to listen to his heart and he knows that his heart and soul aren't in the job; that he no longer wanted the confining walls of an office building.
So then what is a man to do? Banick decides to continue the travels he started with that innocent road trip and, like so many before him, go exploring. But what he explores is different from so many others.
While he travels across many different lands and places in Canada, the United States and countries all over the world, what Banick explores is the different cultures he encounters, the different people.
And still he listens. While he listens, Banick learns and begins to discover things about himself he never thought possible. By listening and learning about others, he learns hidden truths about himself that shake his world and reform it into something wonderful….
Accidental Enlightenment is an amazing book from start to finish. My small summarization of the plot does not even come close to describing the wonders that Banick encounters in his fellow human beings. Humanity and the world around him are present in all of Banick's words and I believe that this is what is missing from so many other travel books.
While other authors give us an account of what they saw, Banick gives us an account of what he felt, what he sees and hears. We are with him on his many travels, breathing in the truths of others. What is so incredible about this book are the truths, the tidbits of wisdom and knowledge that you pick up while reading it.
I found myself quite often reading what I thought was a simple conversation only to have parts of what I read come back to me later once they had sunk in. The truths, the power of the human spirit, is right there; we just have to keep our eyes open while reading.
Banick's approach is fun, simple and light. It's never preachy, never heavy handed and as we learn about Banick's discoveries we can't help but learn about ourselves. Accidental Enlightenment is an absolute joy. Banick should be applauded for sharing his journey's with us. For as the world changed him, he has changed me and my view of the world around me.
This is an incredible book and I know I won't ever look at my surroundings in the same way again.
Blood Red
By Heather Graham
Mira Books
July 2007
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Vampire
Rating: Five out of Five Crystal Balls
Lauren Crow is not having a good time.
After accompanying her friends Heidi and Deanna on a trip to New Orleans to celebrate Heidi's upcoming wedding, she receives bad news: her life is in danger.
The giver of this news is Susan, a fortune teller in Jackson Square. She stares into her crystal ball and tells Lauren to leave, to take her friends and go. Something stalks her, something wants her and she is in danger.
As if that weren't bad enough, she is being followed by a man named Mark Davidson. After finding Lauren in a New Orleans bar, he doesn't want to let her out of his sight. She is the spitting image of Katie, his first love, who was killed so many years ago by a murderous vampire.
Mark knows that if he lets Lauren out of his sight for one moment, Stephan will claim Lauren for his just like he did Katie. Lauren, however, is having none of this. She doesn't believe in vampire mumbo jumbo and won't accept the truth.
Until the vampire starts to hunt one of her friends. Suddenly the danger they are all in is very real and Lauren must rely on Mark for help. She must also try to ignore the growing passion that sparks to life between them.
But some things don't always go as planned…
BLOOD RED manages to breathe new life into the tired genre of vampire fiction and it does it extremely well. Having never read a book by Heather Graham before I wasn't sure what to expect; I didn't know if I was in for a bodice ripper with fangs or a book with fangs with a touch of fire. Thankfully it was the latter.
What makes Blood Red so successful is the characters. Lauren is no cardboard cut out heroine. She is tough and stands well on her own two feet. Mark Davidson, vampire hunter, isn't the rough and ready macho man that so many heroes end up being. In short, they aren't caricatures. They feel like living, breathing people.
Graham also manages to throw a new twist on vampire lore that works beautifully. They're still harmed by holy water, but Graham has a few new twists up her sleeve. I love when an author take a paranormal element that's already been done to death and makes it his or her own. Graham excels in the paranormal and it never comes off feeling hokey or fake. You will honestly believe, even if for an instant, that vampires exist.
In short, I loved this book. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't stop reading. It's the perfect cure for a case of the blues or to make your summer night red hot. It has something to please everyone: suspense, romance, thrills, and paranormal elements. Graham manages to be deft at juggling all her balls and never drops a single one.
If you haven't fallen under Graham's spell yet, what are you waiting for? Blood Red is an absolute flat out fantastic book and you'll love every bloody moment of it.
