Welshrogue

It was supposed to be a broadcast of an American astronaut on the International Space Station. Instead it became a live broadcast of his murder. The suspects? Four Russian and one Japanese inhabitants of the ISS. The only man trained to deal with this situation, a man who was an astronaut as well as currently being a homicide detective, Edge Reynolds, is called in travel to the ISS and find the murderer. What he finds instead is a dangerous truth that could kill him before he can reveal the conspiracy to those back on Earth.

Cosmonaut starts with a shocking bang and then slows as it builds up to its climax. Published in 2003, after the two space shuttle disasters, Challenger and Columbia, it introduces a NASA organization who has banked everything on the ISS. Filled with convincing technical babble and descriptions, really sets the scene well for the action back on earth. The ISS is very well described as well.

The main character, Edge Reynolds, is like lead characters in many books, beaten to within an inch of their lives and yet, still able to win the day! The name, Edge, is also like something from the 1960′s where Catcher Block is writing about mens fashions. He displays more cop than astronaut abilities with just enough experience in zero gravity to get his way around.

Cosmonaut, Peter McAllister’s first, is a good science based, science fiction book. It is a whodunit, in space, with an additional twist that you are not expecting. At times it feels like it was written in the 1960′s rather than the 1980′s, and the ending was a little predictable/kind of anti-climatic but it is still a very enjoyable book.

It was supposed to be a broadcast of an American astronaut on the International Space Station. Instead it became a live broadcast of his murder. The suspects? Four Russian and one Japanese inhabitants of the ISS. The only man trained to deal with this situation, a man who was an astronaut as well as currently being a homicide detective, Edge Reynolds, is called in travel to the ISS and find the murderer. What he finds instead is a dangerous truth that could kill him before he can reveal the conspiracy to those back on Earth.

Cosmonaut starts with a shocking bang and then slows as it builds up to its climax. Published in 2003, after the two space shuttle disasters, Challenger and Columbia, it introduces a NASA organization who has banked everything on the ISS. Filled with convincing technical babble and descriptions, really sets the scene well for the action back on earth. The ISS is very well described as well.

The main character, Edge Reynolds, is like lead characters in many books, beaten to within an inch of their lives and yet, still able to win the day! The name, Edge, is also like something from the 1960′s where Catcher Block is writing about mens fashions. He displays more cop than astronaut abilities with just enough experience in zero gravity to get his way around.

Cosmonaut, Peter McAllister’s first, is a good science based, science fiction book. It is a whodunit, in space, with an additional twist that you are not expecting. At times it feels like it was written in the 1960′s rather than the 1980′s, and the ending was a little predictable/kind of anti-climatic but it is still a very enjoyable book.

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!

Thomas Lang is an ex-soldier who now hired to do various things by various people. He has ties to the British intelligence and on top of all that, is a pretty decent sort of a chap. And now rather than assassinate someone, who has chosen to try and save them. You know this isn’t going to end well.

Hugh Laurie is first and foremost an actor, both serious and comedic. His stints in Blackadder and House have pretty much made him famous so why not write a novel. That is what he has done. The Gun Seller is a book that is part Andy McNabb with gritty realism and part sarcastic humour, such as can be found in Jeeves and Wooster. Even looking down the barrel of a gun, Lang has the ability to comment and have witty asides all the while avoiding being killed. As a lead character, Thomas Lang is pretty fun to read. Obviously talented, intelligent and quick thinking, he is also honest in his thoughts, a good guy, and funny as well. What more could one ask for in a leading man?

The plot serves up a few twists here and there that keep the reader concentrating and with some great support characters such as Solomon, the book is hugely enjoyable. In the brief interview with Mr Laurie at the end of the book, he mentions the possibility of the book being made into a movie, and if this were to happen, it would make a very enjoyable movie indeed!

A reporter who has just lost his job finds himself investigating an apparently solved murder and in the process discovers that not only are things not what they seem, but that there may be an undetected killer who is successfully killing and getting away with it.

From the beginning, The Scarecrow reads more like a Jeffery Deaver story than a Michael Connelly one. If the main characters had been replaced by Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs I honestly would have been had pressed to notice. Perhaps part of the reason for this is that rather than the straight forward and steady Harry Bosch digging into a crime, you have Jack McEvoy who is investigating something that may be a lot bigger than he can handle.

The plot is very similar to the type of novel that Jeffery Deaver writes with lots of twists and the main characters often in the dark while the protagonists are plotting against them. Michael Connelly has a style of writing that is enjoyable without having to work at it, I mean that you read it and it feels familiar even though it may be a new book. It helps the reader get settled into the book and lets the first few paragraphs grip the reader.

A great book that started a little slower than usual but built up to a great ending. Another great Michael Connelly book.

Inspired by watching Whiteout, here are some books and movies that are set either at the top of the world or the bottom.

Movies obviously start off with The Thing from Another World and its remake, The Thing. Both benefit from the isolated feel and lend themselves to science fiction movies the The Thing from Another World inspired, Alien anyone?

Crossing over from book to movie was Ice Station Zebra, written by Alistair MacLean who also wrote Night Without End!

Duncan Kyle contributed Whiteout (not connected to the movie or graphic novel) and A Cage Of Ice, both stirring adventures set in the Arctic.

While Clive Cussler has written books that feature the Arctic and Antarctic, two of the best books I have read both deal with the Antarctic.

Dark Winter by William Detrich deals with wintering over (staying through the winter with no support) at a base where there appears to be a psychopath and for balls to the wall action, it can only be Ice Station by Matthew Reilly which features an ice station (obviously) as well as Marines, SAS, and french soldiers all trying to kill each other while killer whales and worse circle below.

If you can think of any that I have missed, let me know!

Nine years ago, Myron Bolitar ran off to a desert island with Terese Collins, both losing themselves in each other, trying to avoid the pain of their lives. Now she calls him from Paris, asking for help. Myron flies to meet her and finds himself in a whole lot of danger fighting to find the truth before its too late.

A Harlan Coben book is like a guilty pleasure without the guilt, its so enjoyable to sit down and read his new book whenever one is released but even more so when Myron is in the story! Myron Bolitar is a guy who cannot help trying to do the right thing even when it causes discomfort and pain for himself. He is the proverbial good guy and a lead character who is very easy to root for.  Of course, if Myron is the one half of the equation, then Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III) is the other half. The most wonderfully twisted psycho ever to grace the pages of a book. Win is truly a one off and as such, a complete joy to read as he goes through life doing what he wants, when he wants and with whom.

Long Lost starts off with a reunion and quickly twists the plot until you really don’t see the final twist coming until it bops you between the eyes. Throwing terrorism into a plot about a lost child and murder and it takes a very talented writer to keep the reader from becoming confused. Luckily Mr Coben has talent to spare.

Long Lost is yet another great book by Harlen Coben. The only shame is that now I have to wait months for his next book.

Captain Juan Cabrillo and the Corporation are called in to investigate the downing of a plane carrying the United States Secretary of State which it disappears on its way to a peace conference in Lybia but finds himself involved in a lot more than just a plane crash.

The latest Clive Cussler book brings back the adventure feel of his earlier work. Set in Lybia, an unusual location for an adventure book, Corsair begins as does all Cussler books with a chapter historically setting the plot. This time, its 1803 and the UN Navy and the pirates of the Barbary coast do battle.

Some of the book is set on the ship Oregon, a run down freighter that isn’t what it appears to be. The Oregon could be described as a modern day Q Ship along with all the technology available today. An example of something similar can be found at Gizmodo. The crew of the Oregon comes from all walks of life, well all walks of intelligence, military and scientist life.

While the action sometimes splits into two separate threads, you never find yourself confused as to who is doing what to who, perhaps just wondering why. The action is very much action, so much so that I half expected Dirk Pitt to be in the middle of it. As usual with novels about the Oregon, the main character is the one legged captain, Juan Cabrillio. Resourceful and clever, he would have walked straight out of central casting. As with most of Cussler’s characters, he is a good guy, more so than you and I, and does the right thing for the right reasons even when doing so is dangerous or downright unhealthy.

A good book, Corsair, brings back the adventure and thrills of the early Clive Cussler books.

A journalist working side by side with a female detective investigate the potential homicide of a man who fell six floors to the sidewalk. It could be a simple murder or something else. Will the journalist and detective be able to solve the case. Will the detective manage not to shoot the journalist. Will the journalist be able to sleep with the detective.

Yes, Heat Wave is written by the fictional Richard Castle, main character of the tv show Castle. The book reads like one of the episodes of the tv show in fact, taking very little effort to be able to cast the actors of the show in the relative roles in the book. The friction between the journalist (Rook) and the main character (Nikki Heat) is the same as between Castle and Beckett, although without the sexy time which worked well.

If you are a fan of the show, buy this. If you are a fan of Moonlighting, read this. If you are a fan of Twilight, get a life.

The most powerful man in Russia threatens world peace as he tries to recreate the old Russia. The only man standing in his way is Alex Hawke, battered, bruised and recovering from his previous adventure. One man is a genius, a billionaire with many ways to get what he wants. The other, resourceful, daring, looking only to rest, relax and recover.

The fifth Alex Hawke book, Tsar, has the same cast of characters that previous books introduced as the lead character is given a new challenge, namely taking on the most powerful man in Russia. The quote on the cover of the book mentions both (James) Bond and (Clive) Cussler in reference. Both are true, although in different ways. Alex Hawke is very much like Ian Flemings most famous hero. He is dashing, handsome, women swoon when he farts, blah blah blah, so much so that well, there isn’t that much
thats original. Yes, circumstances are different, he is rich whereas Bond was usually financed by the secret service, but the over feeling is the same. Again, the reference to Cussler is accurate but not exactly in a good way. Clive Cussler has written (or spawned) many books, and a couple of off shoot novels as well. His first books, Pacific Vortex, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic etc… were gripping adventure stories that rocked. The most recent books have been slower moving, rather bloated novels without the taut passion of earlier. These are the books that Tsar reminds me of, slow moving books that if stripped to half the size would be perhaps do Alex Hawke more justice.

A good enough book, one that I had trouble putting down once I began it but it feels like a middle aged book rather than a young whippersnapper of a book that it perhaps should have been.