Book reviews And Recommendations

The Immorality Engine By: George Mann Published by: Snow-books June 1, 2011. Length: 355 page Series: Book 3 of "Newbury and Hobbes My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. "So this was it. This was how her life would end, here, in the Grayling Institute. Even Dr. Fabian and his "engine of live" could not save her. She had seen it in her dreams. And her dreams, she knew from experience, always spoke the truth." Charles Brainbridge of Scotland Yard calls on Maurice Newbury to identify a body. It turns out the deceased is a local crook named Edwin Sykes. Edwin had been implicated in numerous, unique burglaries, but nothing was ever proven. Things become complicated when the unique type of burglary happens again. This time with a body at the scene. The body once again is of Edwin Sykes. Turns out Sykes was part of a club called "The Bastion Society" Maurice and Veronica meet with the head of the society Mr Enoch Graves and while they don't get too much information they do learn that Dr. Fabian, Queen Victoria's surgeon and the man in charge of Amelia Hobbes care was once a member of The Bastion Society. Maurice decides to talk to Fabian at the Grayling Institute to get more info on the Society and Graves but also to distract the doctor so Veronica can sneak in to speak with her sister who Fabian has forbidden her to speak to for the time being to help the progress of her care. While in the institute Veronica finds a room with multiple doppelgänger of her sister being tortured to reveal their clairvoyant powers. An attempt on the Queens life points to the Bastion Society, where Newbury and Hobbes break into, and while the are captured Maurice finds out that they have amassed an army, but not to take out the Queen but to take out Dr. Fabian and the Grayling Institute. Hobbes and Veronica while imprisoned come to the realization that the Queen has been manipulating them. They decide to allow the attack on the Institute so they can use the chaos to rescue Veronica's sister. This the third installment of "the Newbury & Hobbes Investigation" series by George Mann was by far my favorite. Since the beginning of the series Maurice had a small dependency on Laudanum which he would use to open his mind. But at the start of this story he has hit rock bottom. He is only a fraction of the man he once was. And while he is able to stop using we see him constantly going through the effects of withdrawal. Also Maurice come clear about their feelings for one another (it's about time). By the time the story wraps up there are implications that will last through the characters life. I'm anxious to read the next installment

As a father of a Six year old, this is something to look forward to.

Currently reading. Been waiting for this one for a while.

Just finished reading "The Lost Symbol" By Dan Brown and "Nightwatch" By Sergei Lukyanenko. I gave "The Lost Symbol ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. While it started off slow it got really good and had a surprise ending. I gave "Nightwatch" ⭐️⭐️. It was a struggle to get through and I almost quit a number of times.

Currently reading "The Lost Symbol". Having visited some of the monuments in Washington it's interesting to think all the things that lay beneath the surface.

Haven't posted here in a while. Trying to get back in the swing of things. I'm currently reading Night Watch By Sergei Lukyanenko

The cover for "End of Watch" the final book in "The Mr. Mercedes Trilogy" is out. Amazon has the release date as June 7, 2016.

Currently reading these two gems. It took awhile to get through Dracula.

Classic Throwback Thursday today is "The Magic Goes Away" By Larry Niven starred as a short story in 1976 then expanded in 1978. While I have never read it the cover caught my eye. Cover artist is the magical Boris Vallejo.

Apocalypse Z: Dark Days (Apocalypse Z#2) By: Manel Loureiro published: 2008 Pages: 250 pgs. Date Read: September 2015 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Second book in the Apocalypse Z series written by Manel Loureiro from Spain originally written in Spanish. The story is translated by Pamela Carmell. Right away there is a clear difference in the writing of this book from the first. Both books are written in the first person but gone are the journal entries from book one which I for one am happy to see go. While at first I thought they enhanced the story explaining the zombie out break, I thought it got old really fast. In a zombie story you want to feel that the protagonist is in danger and their life could end at any minute but when your reading journal entries you know the protagonist must of survived if your reading his journal entry. With that said I found this book to be a vast improvement from book one. Starting where book one left off right away we see action for our protagonist. The Lawyer whose name I can’t remember and had a hard time finding in the book, Viktor (Prit) Pritchinko a Ukrainian helicopter pilot, Lucia a pretty but very young girl, Sister Cecilia a nun and the lawyers cat Lucullus a rescued on their way to the Canary Island and taken to Tenerlife one of the last remaining outposts. While in quarantine Lucia is sexual assaulted and when Sister Cecilia trys to protect her she is beaten into a coma. The blame for the beating is placed on Prit. Now to get him out of trouble Prit and The Lawyer must join a small team that is heading to an area filled with undead to get desperately need medication. As expected the danger no longer comes from the undead alone. Two government factions fight for supremacy and no one is safe. Even in Tenerlife where no undead exist. If you read the first novel and are on the fence about reading the second one do not delay, it is definitely worth it. Looking forward to the 3rd book in this series.

Day One By: Nate Kenyon published: October 1, 2013 Pages: 304 Date Read: September 2015 My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Synopsis: The blurb on this book describes it as Cloverfield meets The Terminator and while I can see the comparison this book isn’t half as exciting as either of those two movies. John Hawke is a journalist whose written for magazines such as Time, but his career has taken a downfall after a scandal where John broke some laws to expose a child pornographer and while he was morally correct it cost him his career. Now he has a chance for the story of a lifetime Writinf an expose on the CEO of a new tech company. John is in Manhattan a quick trip across the river from Jersey, where his young son, wife and unborn child await his return. Almost immediately the shit hits the fan and anything with a computer chip in it is a threat. The story for the most part takes up one day. New York City and possibly the world is under some type of attack. When the attacks begin John receives a frantic call from his wife about someone in their house but the call is unclear and John cannot contact her again. So begins his journey to reach his family while Manhattan falls apart around him. The book did have a lot of action and the threat is very believable in a world were we depend on computers for almost everything and everyone is connected through Social Media I believe a lot of what takes place is possible to a certain point. I did find that the book slowed down and began to drag in the middle then picks up again. I also found some characterization lacking, it was easy to tell who wasn’t going to make it to the end. And at times I found John becoming easily distracted trying to figure out who was responsible for the chaos instead of trying to get to his family. And the side plot with his creepy neighbour I didn’t like. No man with a pair of balls would of let things go that far. The end is not completely resolved and sounds as if there will be a sequel but I have not read anything on the authors web site that suggests that he is working on a follow up. While it wasn’t the greatest story I still am intrigued to find out the final outcome. Also the cover art is superb Micheal Heath did a great job. The cover is gorgeous,

Currently reading this classic. I thought I would try the original vampire novel and see how well it holds up.

Today's Classic Throwback Thursday is "The War of the Worlds" by H. G. Wells originally published in 1898 I've chosen not to use the original cover since it was blank with the title in bold letters. One of the earliest mankind vs. alien novels. It has spawned a number of movies, comic book adaption and television series.

Currently reading. I don't even remember purchasing this book. Amazon sent me a new Amazon Fire and I think it was already loaded on it.

Its obvious Mr. Cline is a child of the 80’s and if you are a child of said decade you will love this book. I would consider it a YA novel but it is such a guilty pleasure for adults. When I first read the plot of this book I immediately thought of The Last Starfighter a 1984 movie where a young man is recruited by an alien race to defend the Earth based on his skills playing a video arcade game. While the plot is nothing new Cline updates it and doesn’t try to hide the similaritys even mentioning The Last Starfighter. My only worry is that sometimes it is made specifically for children of the 80’s I feel that some of the movie, television, video game and music references will not be understood by younger readers. Speaking of music the soundtrack list included in the novel was a pleasant surprise. Just like Ready Player One there is a possible movie being talked about if it happens I will definitely see it and I can’t wait to see what Ernest Cline does next.

Starting a new segment called ‘Classic Throwback Thursday’s" where I will show a classic Sci-fi or Fantasy book. This was last minute just grabbed what was on hand. I’ll try to put up something with nostalgia. I’m open to suggestions I would love the help.