Welshrogue

Lincoln Rhymes and Amelia Sachs are back, this time hunting a twisted serial killer while Sachs is also leading her own investigation. Their target, the Watchmaker, has a plan but will Rhymes and Sachs find out what it is before its too late?

A Jeffery Deaver novel is like a road going into the mountains, you think you see where it is ending but it may not be where you think it is and to get there it is often a very twisty trail. The Cold Moon has an incredibly clever and cunning foe in the Watchmaker, and some of the biggest twist yet from a Deaver novel. Just when you think that things are all cut and dried, something changes that really does stand everything on its head.

Through previous books, the main characters have become very well defined and fleshed out and so, with very little introductions, the story jumps straight into action. The Cold Moon introduces a new character who appears to be either a spin off character or a returning one that is very interesting and probably interesting enough to have their own book.

The Cold Moon is one of Jeffery Deaver’s best Lincoln Rhymes books so far. Very easy to get into but difficult as anything to guess where its going.

An auction of books is attracting death and destruction while in Nepal a monastery full of monks becomes a killing ground. Sigma Force is on the case trying to tie the incidents in Denmark and Nepal with a world war II experiment in Poland.

Like several of his contemporaries such as Larry Bond, James Rollins has started a series of books with several lead characters tackling various problems and dangers. Each novel you get the same characters and so the action and plot is usually spread out across the world rather than being kept on a tight lease. To my mind, this is both good and bad. Good because you know the characters and there is little need for in-depth background of these people. Bad, because you know who these people are already and so there is less new to read about. The characters are good but as with the latest Kurt Austin novel, sometimes it isn’t enough to carry the book.

The plot is on a par with James Rollins previous Sigma Force books, and that is to say very good, with a balance of detail and pace. I do miss the one off, fantastical novels that James Rollins used to write but Black Order is just as enjoyable to read if not as exciting.

An ancient battle between light and darkness, good and evil is held in check by those who watch and guard the truce. The Night Watch guards the darkness, with the Day Watch guarding the light. The balance between the two forces is threatened when a prophecy begins to come true.

One of the highest grossing Russian movies ever, Night Watch is the first part of a trilogy made up of Night Watch, Day Watch and Twilight Watch. Straight away it is obvious that this is not a hollywood movie. The actors are not beautiful or handsome and this lends credibility to the movie. Filmed mostly at night, this is a stylish move, well made with clever use of the subtitles (I don’t speak Russian).

The special effects are good, but apparently made for a fraction of the price. While the special effects are special, they don’t distract the viewer from the plot and the characters who are strong and enjoyable. This isn’t a comedy but there are moments when you can’t help but smile.

Very enjoyable movie, and looking forward to Day Watch already!

A mysterious force is causing ocean whirlpools and huge deadly waves that threaten the very existance of the planet. Kurt Austin, backed by NUMA searches not only for the cause of this but also the cure.

I find myself asking the question of if NUMA and its employees have finally reached the end of their useful life. Recent books by Mssrs Cussler and co writers have been lacking in that magical substance that earlier books possessed. Recent efforts have felt more like luke warm attempts to capture previous glory than a brand new effort.

Polar Shift is a good example of this. It has the usual nautical plot, far fetched as usual if not more so, and for all the characters and sub plots, just feels like a script that was rejected by Dirk Pitt.

Kurt Austin is an interesting character if you don’t mind him being identical to Pitt in everything way except appearance.

I have always enjoyed Clive Cussler novels and to be fair, Polar Shift isn’t a bad book. It just isn’t the excellent thriller that used to come out of the typewriter of Mr Cussler.

Steve Solomon and his law partner/girlfriend, Victoria Lord find themselves facing each other across a courtroom when Steve’s nephew, Bobby, finds himself in the middle of an armed dolphin heist.

Sometimes you read a book and you know, from previous books written by the same author and featuring the same characters, that the book will, well be the same as the previous books. It tends to spoil the fun somewhat when you know that there is a final twist, that the hero will get away and so forth.

Other times though, you buy a book that you know will be the same as the other books in the series and yet you look forward to reading it, knowing that while the plot is different, the witty comments, the clever narrative and the sheer fun of the characters will keep you giggling like a little school girl until the final pages.

Trial And Error is the latter. The relationship between Solomon and Lord is feisty,  witty, and yet loving. Think of the prime of Moonlighting (yes, that episode with the horse with the BMW saddle) and you know what I mean by the enjoyable interplay between boy and girl.

I am generally too busy laughing to find fault with any of the Solomon vs Lord books but I did find one in Trial and Error. It was too damn short, I could have easily handled another hundred pages at least. It felt as if you were shown a glimpse of the characters lives and then it was taken away just as it was becoming comfortable.

Paul Levine writes with both knowledge of the legal system (in Miami at least) and a considerable collection of one liners, situational gags, and erm, T-Shirts. How could anyone complain about that?

Loved it, can’t wait for the next.

A lucky winner is given a free ride on a commercial space flight but as soon as he arrives on orbit, bad things happen. Now trapped high above the Earth, one man writes his thoughts, feelings and epitaph, not knowing that the world below is reading every line.

As the author states at the start of the book. Orbit is unlike any of the previous books that John J Nance has written. The previous books were all airplane based and although I have read only a handful, they are all very entertaining and enjoyable, to the point that John’s name, along with any unread books have been added to the infamous Books To Buy list that I carry on my person at all times.

Yes, Orbit features someone who is in a plane like craft and who gets into trouble but it feels as if that is only the scenario, not what the book is about. At the very least, Orbit is a good science fiction (although not really) thriller about a man trapped in space and the attempts to rescue him as he faces up to the fact that he is going to die.  Take at face value, if Orbit was simply that, it would be a very enjoyable book, especially in the style that John J Nance writes which flows and conveys technical information about airplane and controls in an easy to understand way.

Orbit is much more than a sci fi thriller though. What it does is tell the story, almost literally, of Kip Dawson, father of four, married for the second time, and pharmaceuticals salesman. Kip writes his stories and memoirs and the reader gets caught up in story and for me at least, I found myself physically tense towards the end of the book. This is a thought provoking book, perhaps not in the style of Life of Pi, or for me, A Salty Piece of Land, but all the same, it made me think about my life and things that perhaps could be changed before it’s too late.

While Orbit is a departure from John J. Nance’s usual fare, it is only a departure in the same way that Harlan Coben’s books stopped being about Myron Bolitar and became stand along thrillers. It is not a decrease in quality, rather a change of direction, and one that is very successful. I have read several authors whose work, while I enjoy reading it, tends to follow the same plot, point by point. I don’t find that I have the enthusiasm for their work as I do for someone who is willing to gamble on a change of story. This said, I am very much looking forward to the next John J. Nance book to be released.

This is a great book, one of the best I have read this year so far. It captures the readers attention and holds it tight. The only downside for a reader who is new to John J. Nance is that most of his earlier books are either out of print or hard to find. Why I don’t know as I have never read one of his books that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy but there you go, it gives me very good reasons to go to book sales!

An abbreviated book sale weekend as the library was closed on Sunday but the final score was:

Books bought: 47

Money spent: $8

Results: HAPPY!!!!

A intelligence analyst is sent on a secret mission by the President to verify an earth shattering discovery by NASA, once she has gone on record to confirm what she is seeing, she discovers more information, and not all good.

Conspiracy theory thriller is  probably the best way to describe Deception Point, although it quickly moves to a standard thriller. The main characters are diverse and easily identified and while Dan Brown sometimes includes more information than the reader actually requires, the book moves along at a pretty good pace.

Probably the best Dan Brown book out of the four (so far) that he has written, more believable than Da Vinci Code and much better paced!

Scientist at a station in the antarctic discover what appears to be a spacecraft frozen in the ice deep below the station in a half water filled cave. While a team of US marines make their way to the station, half of the scientists disappear while diving to see the craft. When the marines get to the station, there are French scientists there as well. It isn’t long before all hell breaks lose as the US, French and even British Commandos try to capture what is in the ice.

Written by Matthew Reilly, Ice Station was his first novel published worldwide (Contest being published by himself first). Rather than writing a normal novel, Reilly decided to write a movie, and put it into a book. This means you have amazing sets, non stop action and more stunts than you can shake a stick at. It is these stunts that would have any stunt coordinator licking his lips as he reads each next scene. While some have claimed that Ice Station is perhaps short on character development and just filled with action, check out any Jerry Bruckheimer movie to see that the formula is tried, tested and works very well.

In a way, the book is very similar to the way Alistair MacLean used to write. Its a fast book, with the action moving as fast as the reader can keep up. Complex plot points are passed by in preference to keeping up the pace of the scene. As with Alistair MacLean, it works very well indeed.

The characters are great, each filling a stereo typical role, good guys, bad guys, sneaky french guys, traitorous guys etc. While you may not get their full history, you do not need it to enjoy this rip snorting action book.

The place where most of the action takes place is the Ice Station which is built several layers down into the ice. This is a great place for scenes as not only is it enclosed but you have the constrained feeling that you get in movies such as Alien or The Thing from Another World. When the bad guys are after you, there are only so many places to run and hide.

Adding to the craziness are some of creatures that appear throughout the book. They add a little more unpredictability to the action as well as some horror. Admitedly, there are times when the book strays well into the relms of unbelievable but these times are few and far between and are still highly enjoyable regardless.

There has been talk of Ice Station being made into a movie with a movie company even buying the rights to it but at this time, nothing has happened yet. If they do make the movie, they won’t need to add any extra action as this book is full of the stuff.

If you have ever watched a summer blockbuster that was long on action, explosions, car chases and high tech weaponry and loved it, then pick up Ice Station. You will enjoy it.

The gang is all back once again but this time its personal. After Ruben is double crossed, everyone gathers back in Las Vegas to get even with the evil Willy Banks.

After stumbling slightly with Oceans 12, the series picks up again with this latest outing. The same faces as Oceans 11 return along with a new villain with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin as the main female lead. This is much more on a par with Oceans 11, with wit, style and laughs as the plot bounces back and forth between heist movie, and sometimes straight comedy.

The movie is colourful, with lots of clever shots, split screens and subtitles. There are various subplots, some important to the action, some not so much and there are plot points that are unbelievable to say the least. But it works. Its funny when they want it to be, confusing sometimes when all the action is going on but never does it lose the viewer. The main characters are well, themselves, George Clooney and Brad Pitt are pretty much the same as you would expect them to be in real life, with the supporting cast all there to some degree. Ellen Barkin is a lot of fun, not only to watch as an actress but as a woman who is beautiful although not for all the normal reasons.

If you watched Oceans 12 and thought, they have ruined the series, Oceans 13 will make you change your mind. As good as the original remake!