Project Daedalus - Thomas Hoover

   1991; 368 pages. New Author? : No, but it’s been a while.  Genres: Technothriller; Action-Intrigue.  Overall Rating : 7*/10.

 

    Sometimes money laundering can be in the best interest of both parties.

 

    For instance, if a sovereign nation, such as Russia, wants to finance a cutting-edge technological research project at a powerful private-enterprise industrial corporation in a different country, such as Japan, it’s best for all concerned that nobody else knows about it.

 

    One common method is to convert millions of dollars into something called debentures, loan certificates that are unsecured.  Pass them through a couple of rounds of unscrupulous bankers’ hands so they can’t be traced, then to the intended receiver, and make sure everybody keeps their mouths shut.

 

    Alas, things go haywire if those debentures disappear during one of those banking handoffs.  If those certificates aren’t found, and in a hurry, heads will roll.  Literally.  But where are we going to find someone with experience in prying into clandestine operations?

 

    How about an ex-CIA agent, Michael Vance, Jr.?

 

What’s To Like...

    There are two main storylines in Project Daedalus: our protagonist, Michael Vance, tries to figure out where the debentures went; and an aerospace corporation works at developing a plane (as shown above in the book cover) that can achieve “hypersonic” speeds of Mach 25 or so.  Eventually the two plot threads converge, setting up an exciting climax.

 

    I enjoyed the various settings.  We start out in Athens, Greece, with a visit to nearby Knossos, Crete.  We also spend time in London, where the money-laundering shenanigans are taking place; and Hokkaido, Japan, where the plane testing is underway.  And let’s not neglect to mention several goosebump-raising trips into the upper atmosphere.  All these places felt “real” to me.

 

    The book was written in 1991, and I chuckled at some of the now-obsolete items.  Messaging was done by telex, and decryption efforts were done via a cutting-edge technological device (for that era): a Lotus spreadsheet program on a 486 computer.  I also liked the mention of the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and was wowed when a plane did a “Mach 3 Immelmann maneuver”.

 

    Everything builds to a sustained, nail-biting ending.  You might have the fastest plane ever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be brought down by missile-shooting enemy fighter planes and/or the excessive-heat conditions of the atmosphere.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.2*/5, based on 159 ratings and 48 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.50*/5, based on 193 ratings and 11 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    To begin with, members of the intelligence services of major nations didn’t go around knocking each other off; that was an unwritten rule among spooks.  Very bad taste.  Maybe you tried to get somebody to talk with sodium pentathol [sic] or scopolamine, but guns were stupid and everybody knew it.  You could get killed with one of those things, for godsake.  (loc. 2148)

 

    He slipped off the shirt he’d been wearing in London, happy to be rid of it, and put on the first half of the uniform.  Not a bad fit.  The trousers also seemed tailor-made.  Then he slipped on the wool topper, completing the ensemble.

    “You would make a good officer, I think.”  Andrei Androv stood back and looked him over with a smile.  “But you have to act like one too.  Remember to be insulting.”  (loc. 6585)

 

Kindle Details…

    You can pick up Project Daedalus for free at Amazon right now.  In fact, the other eight e-books Thomas Hoover has tout here are also free.  I suspect this is a “for a limited time only” deal.

 

“If a man owes you a hundred dollars, you have power over him; if he owes you a million dollars, he has power over you.”  (loc. 4250)

    There’s a fair amount of cussing in Project Daedalus; I counted 18 instances in the first 10% of the book, including three f-bombs.  There are several rolls-in-the-hay to boot, since Vance crosses paths with an ex-lover along the way.

 

    There were also a fair number of typos, such as Vanced/Vance, wastin/wastin’, and numerous missing quotation marks.  One recurring error involved the name of the prototype aircraft, “Daedalus I”, which the conversion program often mistakenly rendered as “Daedalus /”.

 

    I’m always happy when words and phrases in foreign languages show up in the text.  Here, lots of Russian, Japanese, and Greek vocabulary was used, which I liked, but they are not languages I’m proficient in.  It would’ve been nice to have translations supplied via footnotes or a glossary.

 

    The main issue though, which several other reviewers also pointed out, was the abundance of technical jargon.  Yes, Project Daedalus is aptly marketed as a “technothriller”.  Yes, that implies there will be passages explaining technical stuff.  But here, those passages are so lengthy, and pop up so often that it slows down the pacing.  And let’s keep in mind, Mach 25 is an impossible speed for an aircraft in Earth’s atmosphere.  The technical details about it are all fictional.

 

    Despite that, I enjoyed Project Daedalus.  I skimmed through those technical speedbumps (what the heck is a “scramjet” anyway?), and refocused when the text got back to advancing the storyline.  There was lots of Action-&-Intrigue to keep me turning the pages, and I was impressed that the Japanese and Russian characters, of which there were many, were portrayed as three-dimensional human beings, not cookie-cutter stereotypes.

 

    7 Stars.  One last thing.  If you look in the Table of Contents, you’ll find there’s an entire chapter missing – Chapter 7.  Now, I know of at least one author who does such a thing; he simply eschews Chapter 13 in any of his books.  And to be fair, I don’t think the chapter is truly missing.  It’s just a counting glitch.  Still, what are the odds of this sort of oversight?

The Dark Deeps - Arthur Slade

   2018; 288 pages.  Book 2 (out of 4) in the “Mission Clockwork” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Steampunk; Young Adult & Teen; Action-Intrigue.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

 

    Matthew Wyle is a covert British intelligence agent based in New York City during the Victorian Era.  He’s been monitoring French agents there, and he’s just stumbled onto something strange.  Unfortunately, it’s in code.

 

VSVYWBT KEUW 6035236.  Grand Poisson 6035236.

 

    Hmm.  Those numbers and uppercase letters could mean anything, but “grand poisson” is French for “big fish”.  Something about a whale maybe?  But that seems a bit far-fetched.

 

    Well, he’d better let his London-based boss, Mr. Socrates, know of his discovery.  Maybe he can crack the code.

 

    Alas, two strong hands have just closed tightly around his throat and a voice out of nowhere says, “Ah, that is the information I’ve been trying to decode.  What do the numbers mean?  Tell me!”

 

    Those are the last words Matthew Wyle will hear in his life.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Dark Deeps is book 2 in Arthur Slade’s Mission Clockwork series.  I’ve read the first book, Mission Clockwork; it is reviewed here.  The hunchback Modo has now completed his training to be an agent for Mr. Socrates, even though he is still a teenager.  His shape-shifting skills will be put to the test on this current assignment, as he’ll be posing as part of a young married couple alongside his fellow teenaged agent, Octavia Milkweed.  At least they get to go on a cruise.

 

    I liked the inclusion of foreign language phrases in the text.  There were snippets of French, Latin, and what I presume was Catalan.  The mention of penny dreadfuls made me chuckle.  And being a chemist by trade, I loved the inclusion of the Oxygen-creating reaction involving Manganese Dioxide and Potassium Chlorate.  Does that sound nerdish?  Well, it enables humans to breathe underwater.

 

    The storyline has a very “Jules Verne” feel to it; the book’s title and cover image confirm this.  It is not a spoiler to say that both our protagonists will be spending a lot of time beneath the sea.  Add to our two protagonists a ship’s captain who’s both idealistic and fatalistic, a French spy who’s both shapely and pragmatic, and a dude named Griff who nobody is real sure about; and you end up with an extremely fascinating tale.

 

    The ending manages to be both death-defyingly exciting and predictably logical at the same time, which is not a criticism.  Both the good guys and the baddies get their just desserts, and since this is a teen-YA book, it’s mostly done without any gore.  All the plotlines are tied up, and although there’s room for a sequel (how can you be certain someone is truly dead if no bodies are recovered?), I’m predicting that Book 3 will be a completely new setting for Modo and Octavia.

 

Kewlest New Word ...

Dummacker (n.) : a knowing or acute person. (British slang)

Others: Dulse (n.);

 

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 77 ratings and 29 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.84*/5, based on 1,111 ratings and 137 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

   “Now, where exactly are we supposed to go?”  She sat at the mahogany table, and looked down at the carved map.

    “Assuming this is accurately carved, it’s right here!”  He tapped on a point about an inch below Iceland.

    “Sounds dreary and cold; good thing we get paid such riches to do this job.”

    “You get paid?”

    “Mr. Socrates said he is setting aside a fund for my retirement.  I assume he has done the same for you.”

    “I didn’t know we could retire.”  (pg. 62)

 

    “Ah, Mademoiselle Brunet.” Captain Monturiol said.  “Good morning.”  She sounded pleasant enough, but Colette would not give her the benefit of a smile.  “Comrade Girona and I will help you into your aquasuit.” The two women removed a suit from hooks and shelves along the wall.  Then the captain stopped to study Colette’s face.  “You have a mind like an oyster, did you know that?”

    “What do you mean?” Colette replied.

    “It is closed.  But I know there are pearls inside.  I eagerly await the opening of your mind today.”  (pg. 120)

 

Kindle Details…

    The Dark Deeps sells for $2.99 right now at Amazon.  The other three books in the series cost either $2.99 or $3.99.  Arthur Slade has several other series for your Kindle.  The e-books in those are generally in the $0.99-$4.99 price range.

 

“I don’t cough,” she said.  “I expel air daintily.”  (pg. 57)

    Finding things to quibble about was difficult.  As was true for the first book, there is zero cussing in The Dark Deeps.  Ditto for adult situations, although I wouldn’t be surprised if some affection eventually develops between Modo and Octavia.

 

    The book is written in “Canadian”, which means us Yankee readers will occasionally run into some odd spellings, such as marvellous, tonnes, centred, and defence.  Interestingly, both centimetres and meters were encountered, which seemed inconsistent.  The editing is topnotch; I only spotted one typo—a capitalized “Stopped” that should have been the lowercase “stopped”.  I'll blame the printer for that.

 

    But enough of the quibbling.  The Dark Deeps was a page-turner for me, despite it being in labeled a “Teen and Young Adult” book.  Yes, it is clean enough for kids.  Yes, it’s fast-paced, and filled with lots of action-intrigue, a YA requirement.  But adults will enjoy it just as much, because skilled authors are capable of accomplishing that.

 

    8½ Stars.  One last thing.  The Latin phrase in The Dark Deeps was “Plus Intra Plus Extra”, which Modo translates as “The Deeper The Better”.  Really?!  My Latin skills suck.

Small Favour - Jim Butcher

   2008; 437 pages.  Book 10 (out of 17) in the “Dresden Files” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Paranormal Thriller; Urban Fantasy; Action-Intrigue.  Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    It’s all rather bizarre.

 

    Someone has kidnapped Chicago crime boss “Gentleman Johnnie Marcone”.  They literally tore the entire front off the building he was in and whisked him away.  Chicago Police want the city’s resident wizard, Harry Dresden, to investigate.  But that’s not the strange part.

 

    Queen Mab, aka "The Winter Queen", aka "The Faerie Queen", drops in on Harry, and calls in a small favor that he owes her.  She too wants him to investigate Marcone's kidnapping.  That’s the strange part.

 

    Why would the paranormal community care one bit about the whereabouts of a Chicago gangster?  I don’t know, but any mortal, even if he’s a wizard, who sticks his nose into this, will probably get it chopped off.

 

    Good luck, Harry!  You're gonna need it.

 

What’s To Like...

    The title does not contain a typo; the paperback I read was published in England, hence “Favour”.  The text was in “American” though, so I guess Orbit Books prints its books both ways.

 

    Small Favour is an Action-Intrigue story, and there is an abundance supply of both in the storyline.  Harry’s investigation seems to trigger all sorts of attempts on his life, which in turn keeps him wondering whether ulterior motives are in play, and if so, what those are.

 

    A slew of new creatures and characters are introduced here, including Hobs (servants of the Winter Faeries) and Gruffs (as in “three Billy Goats Gruff” and servants of the Summer Faeries).  Those creatures have evil intentions, but are puny in power compared to the Denarians, aka “The Fallen”, who are now demonic in nature but still retain their magical powers.

 

   An impressive cast of recurring characters including Thomas (Harry’s half-brother and a vampire), Michael (Harry’s friend-in-arms and Knight of the Cross), Molly (Michael’s daughter and apprentice wizard being trained by Harry), Ivy (also known as The Archive), and Karrin Murphy (a Chicago Policewoman who looks after the city’s interest in these magical shenanigans).  They all have significant parts in the storyline and do their best to keep Harry alive.

 

    Things build to a nail-biting, twisty, and desperate—for both the Good forces and the Evil ones—ending.  The Good Guys prevail (c’mon, you knew they would) but it comes at considerable cost in terms of bloodshed and trauma.  The last of 46 chapters is 30 pages long, and serves as both an Epilogue for this book and a teaser for the next one, Turn Coat.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.7*/5, based on 8,659 ratings and 691 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.43*/5, based on 112,931 ratings and 3,295 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Anybody with an ounce of sense knows that fighting someone with a significant advantage in size, weight, and reach is difficult.  If your opponent has you by fifty pounds, winning a fight against him is dubious proposition, at best.

    If your opponent has you by eight thousand and fifty pounds, you’ve left the realm of combat and enrolled yourself in Roadkill 101.  Or possibly a Tom and Jerry cartoon.  (pg. 207)

 

    Thomas frowned.  “You aren’t just running your mouth, here, are you?  You’re serious?”

    “It’s a worst-case scenario,” I said.  “But Nicodemus could do it, so we’ve got to proceed under the presumption that his intentions are in that category.  The Denarians want to disrupt civilization, and with the Archive under their control, they could do it.  Maybe they’d use biological or chemicals weapons instead.  Maybe they’d crash the world economy.  Maybe they’d turn every program on television into one of those reality shows.”

    “That’s mostly done already, Harry.”  (pg. 342)

 

“Punctuality is for people with nothing better to do.”  (pg. 345)

    Small Favour doesn’t skimp on the profanity.  I noticed 20 instances in the first 10% of the book, of which three-quarters reference the Underworld.  But only one of those twenty was an f-bomb.  I’d call this par for the course for a Dresden Files book

 

    It’s difficult to find anything else to whine about.  Nevernever, the Faerie world, and Bob the Skull, which are two of my favorite tropes in this series, play almost no part in the storyline.  That’s all I can complain about.  The lofty Goodreads rating of 4.43 is fully justified.

 

    Small Favour is both a standalone novel and part of a (completed) 17-book series.  I’ve now read the first ten books in the series and Jim Butcher hasn’t lost his knack for spinning out captivating tales of Harry Dresden keeping Chicago safe from falling victim to various Dark Forces.  Heck, Chicagoans aren’t even aware that any paranormal creatures exist.

 

    9 Stars.  One last thing.  I was impressed by the way Jim Butcher portrays the mob boss.  Most writers would just cast him as a ruthless, totally-evil thug; but here we discover that Marcone has a noble side as well, even if he rarely gets to show it.  I love it when the characters in a story are “gray”.

Blasphemy - Douglas Preston

   2007; 505 pages.  Book 2 (out of 4) in the “Wyman Ford” Series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Thriller; Action-Intrigue.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    It cost forty billion dollars, but the United States government has built a world-class particle accelerator.  They’ve named it “Isabella”.  It’s out on a Navajo reservation in Arizona and will out-perform the one called CERN, presently in operation in Switzerland.

 

    Curiously, a lot of people are upset about this.  The President is ticked off because it’s election year and a lot of voters think it’s a waste of money because thus far, Isabella isn’t even up and running.

 

    The Navajos on the reservation are mad because they were promised lots of jobs and lots of scientists spending lots of money there to but food, gasoline, and other necessities.  None of that has happened.

 

    The scientists at Isabella are frazzled because they’re working long hours trying to debug the process, and don’t have a clue as to what the glitches are.

 

    A televangelist claims the whole project is demonic, since particle physics and the Big Bang Theory runs contrary to God’s Word in the Holy Bible.

 

    And a fundamentalist preacher has been personally told by God to gather up an army of believers and destroy Isabella because doing so will usher in the End of Days.

 

    Well, it’s true that Isabella is way behind on getting up and running.  Something’s going wrong out there, the scientists are keeping it secret, and the President wants to know what it is.  Hey, let’s send a federal agent out there, undercover, to nose around and find out what the problem is!

 

What’s To Like...

    Douglas Preston is half of the “Preston & Child” writing team that authors the 22-book Agent Pendergast series.  Blasphemy is from one of Preston’s solo series, featuring Wyman Ford, a widowed, ex-monk anthropologist who’s still trying to come to grips with the death of his wife.

 

    The storyline is first and foremost a Thriller, but it also takes an in-depth look at how God might talk to people of various religious/philosophical beliefs.  The evangelicals, fundamentalists, and Native American theologies are cited above; and the ex-monk Wyman can put forth the Roman Catholic viewpoint.  Most of the rest of the scientists at Isabella are agnostics, the notable exception being their charismatic team leader, Gregory Hazelius, who’s an atheist.

 

    The bulk of the story takes place on the reservation, and I liked the way the author portrays the Navajo nation.  A couple of Navajo phrases are also worked into the text, including chindii, Bilagaana, Diné, and my personal favorite, Ya’at’ eeh’ which I became familiar with many years ago in college.

 

    I chuckled at the thought that God has chosen my home state, Arizona, as the starting point for both Armageddon and the Apocalypse.  Balanced against those doomsday events is the scientific possibility that Isabella will accidentally create black holes, which will immediately start disintegrating Earth, starting with, yep you guessed it, Arizona.

 

    Everything builds to a big climax featuring clashing factions, the resolution of which is suitably exciting, twisty, and open-ended.  At the end of the day, any or all of the disparate groups could claim to be right and everybody else is wrong.  Yet something has changed.  Read the book to find out what.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.2*/5, based on 2,354 ratings and 402 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.73*/5, based on 11,228 ratings and 866 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    “What kind of research are you doing over there?  I been hearing weird stories.”

    “Investigating the Big Bang.”

    “What’s that?”

    “That’s the theory that the universe came into existence thirteen billion years ago in an explosion and has been expanding outward ever since.”

    “In other words, you people are shoving your noses into the Creator’s business.”

    “The Creator didn’t give us brains for nothing.”  (pg. 92)

 

    “Everyone will be underground.  When you and your riders arrive, I’ll be the only one there to meet you.”

    “We aren’t doing a meet and greet.”

    “I didn’t want you to think we were being disrespectful.”

    Begay patted his horse and stroked his flank.  “Look, Mr. Ford, we got our own plans.  We’re going to set up a sweat lodge, do some ceremonies, talk to the ground.  We’ll be peaceful.  When the police come to arrest us, we’ll go quietly.”

    “The police aren’t going to come,” said Ford.

    Begay looked disappointed.  “No police?”

    “Should we call them?” Ford asked quietly.  (pg. 253)

 

“He can’t help it.  His doctorate was in horse’s-assery.”  (pg. 74)

    The profanity level is moderate.  There are 16 cusswords in the first 10% of the book, but most of them are eschatological ones.  Later on, a racial slur is used, and there was one adult situation.

 

    In the back of my book, there's a “Note on the Paperback Edition” wherein Douglas Preston recounts the righteous indignation that came out after this book was first released in hardback format.  It is short and well worth taking the time to read.

 

    I have high expectations for any novel by Preston & Child, both as a team or writing solo, and Blasphemy did not disappoint.  Yes, I was trying to deduce which band of religious zealots would be revealed to be the “chosen ones”, but after reading the blowback alluded to in the previous paragraph, I think Douglas Preston opted for the best way to wrap things up.

 

    8 Stars.  One last thing.  At one point, one of the characters decides to prove he’s right by citing a single cryptic name: “Joe Blitz”.  The group of scientists reading this is stymied, and so was I.  Have fun trying to figure it out.

The King's Deception - Steve Berry

   2013; 624 pages (and including a 140-page bonus novella).  Book 8 (out of 18) in the “Cotton Malone” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Thriller; Action-Intrigue; Historical Thriller.  Overall Rating: 8½*/10.

 

    Way back in January, 1547 the English king, Henry VIII, on his deathbed, reveals to his final wife Katherine Parr, that he was a stash of fabulous riches hidden nearby.  More than 450 years have since passed, and nary a trace of that fortune has ever been found.

 

    Several months ago, a British secret agent was pushed to his death onto subway railway tracks.  Security cameras show a teenager at the scene of the crime, holding a flash drive that he pickpocketed from the agent.  MI6 desperately wants that kid taken into their custody, along with that flash drive.

 

    A couple weeks ago, Cotton Malone’s ex-wife disclosed to him that he’s not the biological father of their son, Gary.  It’s done a number on his head.  It did the same to Gary when she told him as well.

 

    The Scottish government is finalizing details to release the convicted Libyan airplane bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, from prison for humanitarian reasons.  Megrahi has very little time to live, due to terminal cancer. The American government has found out, is outraged, and wants someone to talk Scotland out of this release.

 

    Somehow, Steve Berry is going to tie all four of these plot threads together into a Cotton Malone action-thriller.  And maybe throw a bit of crossdressing in, just to spice things up.

 

What’s To Like...

    The King’s Deception follows the tried-and-true Steve Berry thriller formula: a bunch of good guys and bad guys, plenty of plot threads, and an interesting historical setting tied into the present-day mayhem.  The “teams” of white-hats and black-hats get shuffled around here, with some of them changing hat colors along the way.  We know Cotton Malone will come out on top, of course, the fun is figuring out how he’s going to accomplish this.

 

    The book’s title references the codename of a ongoing covert CIA operation in England.  The intrigue starts immediately with Henry VIII's confession, and the action kicks in shortly thereafter in the first chapter.  Most of the story takes place in the greater London area, including nearby Windsor Castle, which brought back pleasant memories of my touring the grounds in the wind and rain there some years back..

 

    The storyline builds to a suitably exciting climax as the various characters, which have been scattered about for most of the story, are all brought together via some fortuitous timing (another Steve Berry trademark).  All the plotlines get tied up; the good guys prevail, the bad guys are vanquished, and some secrets are successfully kept secret.  A heartwarming epilogue closes things out.

 

    My paperback version included a 140-page novella called The Tudor Plot, which takes place seven years before the events in The King’s Deception, and features a bit of an alternate timeline involved none other than King Arthur, which is definitely not the norm for a Steve Berry tale.  There’s also an informative “Writers Note” in the very back, wherein the author lets you know which parts of the historical portions are factual and which are fiction.  We history buffs love that kind of stuff.

 

Excerpts...

    A few hours ago she’d been dispatched to the Inns of Court precisely at the same time Blake Antrim had been present.  Everything had been coordinated, timed with precision.

    Which wasn’t so shocking.

    After all, she was dealing with the Secret Intelligence Service.

    In Middle Hall she’d thought herself a knight or a rook on the chessboard.  Now she carried the distinct feel of a pawn.

    Which made her suspicious.

    Of everyone.  (pg. 166)

 

    “What did Thomas Mathews want with you?”

    “So you know the good knight.”

    “He and I have met.  In a past life.”

    “He told me you were an ex-agent.  CIA?”

    Malone shook his head.  “Justice Department.  An international investigative unit, for twelve years.”

    “Now retired.”

    “That’s what I keep telling myself.  Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be listening.  What’s Mathews’ interest here?”

    “He wants me dead.”

    “Me too,” Ian said.  (pg. 237)

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.4*/5, based on 3,965 ratings and 1,078 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.99/5, based on 13,987 ratings and 1,211 reviews.

 

“[Stephanie Nelle] said you were once her best agent.”  “I pay her to tell people that.”  (pg. 448)

    The nitpicking is minor.  Cussing is sparse: just 5 instances in the first 40% of the book (185 pages), and those were of the “mild” variety.  I don’t recall any “adult situations” cropping up.  I only caught one typo: sight/site on page 246.

    If you’re not a history buff, the amount of details about the Tudors' long reign as the monarchs of England might get a bit tedious.  And trying to keep track of who's turning into a turncoat for and against whom can be a bit of a challenge.

 

    That’s all I can come up with to gripe about.  Overall, I enjoyed The King’s Deception, for its quick pacing and abundance of both action and intrigue.  This is the tenth Steve Berry book I’ve read, and as usual, was an exciting and informative read.

 

    8½ Stars.  FWIW, there is a brief scene-change early in the book, where we get to travel to Brussels, Belgium in order to be introduced to one of the main characters.  He mentions seeing a famous statue called the Manneken Pis.  I had the opportunity to see it on a business trip years ago.  The statue certainly has a unique pose, and if you're ever in Brussels, be sure to go see it.

Stonehenge - Bernard Cornwell

   2000; 482 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Historical Fiction; English History; Ancient Historical Fiction; Action-Intrigue.  Overall Rating: 9*/10.

 

    Stonehenge.  There’s a mystique about it even now when it lies in ruins.

 

    Thanks to archaeology, we know a fair amount about the “when” of Stonehenge.  It went through several iterations over the centuries and first arose around the Third Millennium BCE.  Thanks to geology we have a good idea about the “how” of Stonehenge, most importantly where the stones of Stonehenge originated.

 

    We know a lot less about the “what” of Stonehenge.  What was it used for and what did those stone arrangements signify?  The “why” of Stonehenge is almost a complete mystery to us.  We know that some of the stones are carefully aligned to greet the Summer and Winter Solstice, but why was that done?

 

    Bernard Cornwell’s book Stonehenge presents one scenario where the “how” and “when” are adhered to and a plausible “what” and “why” are presented.  Yes, it’s fictional, but it conforms to what we know about Stonehenge, and generates a literary aura all its own.

 

What’s To Like...

    Stonehenge traces the lives of three brothers – Saban, Lengar, and Camaban – who are cast as the main protagonists.  In nature, they correspond closely to the titular roles in the Clint Eastwood oater The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.  Most of the time we follow the “Good” guy, Saban, but there are occasional digressions into the lives of his two brothers, as well as several other secondary characters.

 

    There are two main storylines.  One of course it the building of Stonehenge from its very beginning.  The other is the internecine struggle between the three brothers to see which one will succeed their father, the ruler of a local nondescript tribe called Ratharryn.

 

    The tale takes place sometime during the span of 2000-3000 BCE England, during western civilization’s Bronze Age.  There were no kingdoms back then, just local villages raiding and trading with neighboring settlements.  Sorceresses and priests aided the village elders and family ties were flimsy at best when it came to being the group’s leader.

 

    I enjoyed watching as the Stonehenge temple gradually grew into the structure whose ruins we see today.  That might sound tedious, but Bernard Cornwell is a fantastic writer and storyteller, and the three brothers spark enough fighting and intrigue to keep the reader from getting bored.  I also liked the way various characters discerned the signs the various gods sent to their worshippers here on earth.  Divine communication methods have not changed much over the last 4000 years.

 

    The ending is logical and satisfying.  Stonehenge gets built, the fraternal squabbling comes to an end, and several characters relocate and/or shuffle off their mortal coil.  Stonehenge is not part of any of Cornwell’s series, nor AFAIK is there any sequel.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.1*/5, based on 2,613 ratings and 479 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.67*/5, based on 11,702 ratings and 735 reviews.

 

Kewlest New Word…

    Plangent (adj.) : (of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often melancholy.

 

Excerpts...

    The gods talk by signs.  It may be a leaf falling in summer, the cry of a dying beast or the ripple of wind on calm water.  It might be smoke lying close to the ground, a rift in the clouds or the flight of a bird.

    But on that day the gods sent a storm.  It was a great storm, a storm that would be remembered, though folk did not name the year by that storm.  Instead they called it the Year the Stranger Came.

    For a stranger came to Ratharryn on that day of the storm.  It was a summer’s day, the same day that Saban was almost murdered by his half-brother.

    The gods were not talking that day.  They were screaming.  (pg. 3)

 

    Ever since he had left Sul he had been wondering why he was making this journey and he had found no good answers except for the dictates of instinct and duty.  He had a debt, and life was full of debts that must be honored if fate was to be kind.  Everyone knew that.  A fisherman was given a good catch so he must offer something back to the gods.  A harvest was plump so part must be sacrificed.  A favor engendered another favor and a curse was as dangerous to the person who pronounced it as to the person it was aimed against.  Every good thing and bad thing in the world was balanced, which was why folk were so attentive to omens—though some men, like Lengar, ignored the imbalance.  (pg. 252)

 

“It isn’t wise to pick a fight with wolves.”  (pg. 248)

    I thoroughly enjoyed Stonehenge, so finding things to nitpick about was a challenge.

 

    Foul language is close to nonexistent; I counted only four cusswords in the entire book.  At one point, where swearing was called for, Bernard Cornwell resorted to “improvised cussing”, coming up with the delightful slam “toad-dung made flesh.”  I loved that.

 

    I only saw one typo in the Harper Torch Publishing paperback version: though/through.  Kudos to their editors and beta readers.  There are a slew of gods and mortals to keep track of, so a Cast of Characters would’ve been nice.  Ditto for a map to show where the various settlements and spheres of influence were located.

 

    But I quibble.  For me, Stonehenge was a perfect blend of historical fiction with action-adventure.  The character-building was excellent, the world-building was convincing, and the Bernard Cornwell’s writing was, as usual, impressive.  Here’s hoping that he someday decides to write a sequel, chronicling Stonehenge’s impact on the next generation of early Britons who lived in its shadow.

 

    9 Stars.  Tacked onto the end of the tale is a 13-page “Historical Note” section, wherein Bernard Cornwell discusses what is known about Stonehenge, including a brief reference to its sister structure, Woodhenge.  The discussion was enlightening to me.  I have a non-fiction book on my Kindle, titled Stonehenge - A New Understanding, by Mike Parker Pearson.  Perhaps it’s time to read that tome.

The Deaths of Tao - Wesley Chu

   2013; 460 pages.  Book 2 (out of 3) in the “Lives of Tao” series.  New Author? : No.  Genres : Action-Intrigue; Sci-Fi Fantasy; Humorous.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

 

    Right now, there’s a global war going on, and not many people are aware of it.  That’s probably because it involves two factions of an alien race that was marooned on Earth a long time ago when their spaceship crashed here.  How long ago, you ask?  Well, the dinosaurs were walking around back then.

 

    Our planet’s atmosphere is toxic to them, but they’ve found an effective way to overcome that.  They simply “inhabit” the body of a living creature.  It could be a human being, it could be a shark, it could be a brontosaurus.  The earthly creature is referred to as its “host”.

 

    Nowadays, the two alien factions—the Prophus (the good guys) and the Genjix (the baddies)—both utilize humans almost exclusively as their hosts.  But the Prophus view the arrangement as sort of an equal partnership (kind of like roommates), while the Genjix consider it a master-slave relationship.  Guess which one’s the master.

 

    So the next time you hear voices in your head—well, just a single voice, actually,—choose your words back to it carefully.  You don’t whether it’s a Genjix or a Prophus.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Deaths of Tao is the second book in Wesley Chu’s (completed) trilogy called “Lives of Tao”.  The Prophus-Genjix conflict is heating up, and the Prophus continue to get the worse of it.  The protagonist from the first book, Roen Tan, is back again, along with his Quasing (that’s what you call an alien that’s inhabiting your body) Tao.  This time he shares the spotlight with his wife Jill (although they're separated now), who’s Quasing is named Baji, and an up-and-coming an bad guy named Enzo, who’s Quasing is named Zoras.

 

    There are 45 chapters covering the 460 pages of the story, and for the most part, they cycle among the three protagonists.  There are a bunch of plotlines, but the three main ones mostly take place in Taiwan (Roen’s), China/Tibet (Enzo’s), and the US (Jill’s).  The Taiwan setting became my favorite, because you very rarely find a novel set there and because it is where the author was born.

 

    If you’re a lover of Action-Intrigue stories, The Deaths of Tao is the book for you.  All three storylines have plenty of it.  The fight scenes are well-written and easy to follow: you can feel the punches, kicks, bullets, and deaths.  The intrigue is equally fascinating – why are the Genjix so concerned about US trade sanctions, why is a Quasing prison camp in Tibet so crucial to their long-term plans, and where in the world did Dylan disappear to?

 

    Each chapter opens with a short “intro” written by one of the Quasing.  It’s not crucial to the story, but it is a clever way to give the reader their version of “history” here on Earth.  I chuckled at the mention of durian; I once had an opportunity to partake of this fruit when I was traveling in Asia, but passed on it.  I think I would do the same with the “stinky tofu” mentioned here.

 

    The ending, or “endings” to be precise, are okay but incomplete.  Each of the three main storylines closes with an exciting battle, but none of the plot threads are resolved.  That’s “none" as in "zero”.  The Prophus are still in dire straits, only they’re more dire now.  Both sides have suffered some deaths, including both Quasing and humans, but the losses by the Prophus are far more grievous.  The human world has become more aware of aliens amongst us, but discover there’s not much they can do about it.

 

    Oh well, that’s why there’s a Book Three, The Rebirths of Tao.

Kewlest New Word ...

    Ghillie Suit (n.) : a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble the background environment such as foliage, snow, or sand

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.3/5 based on 216 ratings and 150 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.91/5 based on 3,580 ratings and 329 reviews.

 

Excerpts...

    Zoras watched with disdain as Enzo played the crowd like a politician walking the rope line.  Keeping his face stoic, he touched the outstretched hands and made eye contact with the worshipping masses.  It was a far cry from how Devin, who played the role of an isolated Egyptian Pharaoh, treated his people.

    You are a god.  Remember that.

    “A god who leads, Guardian.”

    To lead is a human trait.  A god demands obedience.  (pg. 79)

 

    Sixteen behind you.  Ten on both sides.  All armed and probably awful shots.  Four bosses in front.  Oh, and you have Hutch, the narcoleptic guard.  You got a plan to get out of this?

    (…) He shrugged.  “I got nothing.”

    I find it ironic that you had a plan to fight your way out of Prophus Command, but not out of a triad warehouse.  I am starting to doubt your loyalties.

    “Or intelligence.”

    Or will to live.

    “Or delusions of invincibility.”  (pg. 166)

 

“He should be alright when he wakes.” (…) “Ground hit him in the head when he jumped out of a second story window.”  (pg. 223)

    There are some nits to pick.

 

    There’s a moderate amount of cussing in The Deaths of Tao, 16 instances in the first 20% of the book.  That’s not excessive, but given that I didn’t note any adult situations or other R-rated stuff, it has to be asked whether the cusswords could've been omitted.

 

    More serious is the abundance of errata, something other reviewers also pointed out.  Spelling miscues such as eying/eyeing might be shrugged off as choices of British-vs-American English. But grammar boo-boos like “Sure buddy”/”Sure, buddy”, “several startled crewman”, and “could happened” are just sloppy proofreading.

 

    So are continuity issues such as a guy named Jim showing up (page 432), followed one paragraph later by Roen asking where Jim is, and being told one paragraph after that that Jim was blown out to sea by a grenade.

 

    The most egregious typo is the misspelling of “Genjix” on the back cover of the book, where it is rendered as “Gengix”.  Sheesh.  Angry Robot Publishing is already rivaling Tor Books as the publishing house with the worst set of copy editors.

 

    At the other end of the Picky-to-Egregious Scale was a chemical cited on page 315 as “Osmium Quintoxide”.  We’ll forgive the chemistry issue regarding Osmium’s possible/impossible valence states.  But calling those five Oxygens “quintoxide” instead of “pentoxide” is like fingernails-on-the-chalkboard to a chemist.

 

    Still, cusswords can be tolerated when they’re used in moderation, typos and grammar can be corrected by copy editors, and if you aren’t a chemist, you won’t care whether it’s quintoxide or pentoxide.  True, the ending doesn't tie up any plot threads, but the story has lots of action, significant character development of all three protagonists, and a rapidly deteriorating outcome for the Prophus that now seems inevitable.

 

    7½ Stars.  In summary, The Deaths of Tao didn’t captivate me the way Book 1, The Lives of Tao did (and reviewed here).  But that doesn’t merit the 1-star and 2-star ratings that some reviewers gave it.  Book 2 in any trilogy is mostly just tasked with linking the first and third books together in a coherent, if forgettable, manner, and The Deaths of Tao does that successfully here.

 

    For comparison, consider J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.  You probably remember the epic endings in both The Fellowship of the Ring (Book 1) and The Return of the King (Book 3).  But how much, if anything, do you recall about the ending of Book 2, The Two Towers?