More December 06 (4)

Christmas will be here soon and as we think about others, here are a couple of thoughts on friends and friendship:
Like any other kind of love, friendship can be lost within our lives due to misunderstandings, neglect, anger or sometimes simply circumstances. However it is lost, we often lose a part of ourselves that can never be quite recovered.


December ‘06

"Frankenstein" Book One; Prodigal Son Dean Koontz
Over two hundred years old, the "monster" created by Frankenstein lives in monastery in the high mountains of Tibet. He calls himself Deucalion after the brother of Prometheus; he has studied extensively and has learned to control his rage. He attributes his long life to "something" in the lightning that brought him to life; he traveled the world as a carnival freak and made one good friend who he told his story to. The man sends him a newspaper article showing the face of Victor Frankenstein, still alive in New Orleans and a letter explaining that strange things are happening in New Orleans and they might be connected to Frankenstein who now, uses another name. Deucalion leaves the monastery.
In New Orleans, two homicide detectives, Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison are investigating a serial killer who is removing limbs and internal organs from men and women. So far they are perplexed. Various creepy humans and non humans are introduced as they commit heinous crimes and we find Frankenstein, now Victor Helios, still relatively young, extremely wealthy and doing advanced research. He is growing specially structured "non Human" people who come out of a tube wherein their intelligence and knowledge is directly downloaded to their brain. They are fully developed, much stronger and faster than humans and specifically programed for different tasks. Some of "non humans" have been placed city jobs including the Police Department. They are really pitiful creatures, totally controlled and with enate faults (much to the chagrin of Helios) that surface and cause them to question their existence. Helios has also made a few clones that he has inserted into the Clergy. Victor has some kind of a "Huxley" "Brave New World" idea where he intends to do away with the "imperfect" human race and people the world with his own creations. He will create a class system with "Alphas" at the top; with social graces and keen intellect, "Betas" to keep things running and "Omegas" to do the menial and dirty chores.
The story tells the adventures of several of Victors creations including his fourth wife (the previous ones had faults and were destroyed), how Carson and Michael work to solve the crimes and the mystery continuing how they meet Deucalion and and learn his history and how Deucalion decides to help them find and attempt to destroy Victor Helios.
This was an interesting and suspenseful novel: a little gore but not too bad, good interplay between the main characters and it wets your appetite for the next volume.


"thirteen moons" Charles Frazier
This was a bit of a disappointment; Frazier’s first novel, "Cold Mountain" was such a wonderful story that I expected more of an odyssey, more of a heartbreaking and beautiful story. "thirteen moons" tells the story of a boy who started as an indentured servant and made his way as a tradesman. As a trader, he was introduced into the life and culture of some Cherokee Indians.
The story is narrated by an old man in his nineties ,Will Cooper, who recalls his life as that young boy as he grew and educated himself, was adopted by an Indian Clan he remembers and tells of his efforts to help the Indians when the U.S. Government decided to move the Cherokees out of Virginia and Tennessee to the land further West This was called "The Removal". He tries to buy as much land as he can to create a "Nation" for his Indian brethren. The Civil War and Reconstruction foil those plans and his lobbying efforts on behalf if the Indians with all manner of politicians up to the President fail to protect his adopted clan. Frazier portrayed the climate in the Capital as uncaring with a "what’s in it for me" attitude coupled with greed. Frazier paints marvelous characters and his descriptions of the people and interaction between Will Cooper and those he meets are beautifully crafted and detailed and there is a strange but intriguing and continuing love story with a part Cherokee girl called Clair. The stories of the various characters in the novel were too numerous and sometimes too lengthy; I wanted the novel to move on with the thread of the tale. Frazier uses language and descriptive phrases like the master he is and while "thirteen moons" is no "Cold Mountain", it is a very interesting and complete story of a youth who grows to a man who cares very much for his people and the land.


"Dragon Fire" William S. Cohen
The former Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton, William Cohen has written a taut, exciting thriller. A new Secretary of Defense has been appointed; he is a war hero and former Senator known for independent thinking. His world view is pragmatic and differs considerably from that of the Chairman of Homeland Security who has the ear of the President and also has higher political ambitions. The U.S. posture towards China with it’s growing economy and trade dealings and of course the "one compromise" position the U.S. talks about while, at the same time, we give Taiwan military support is one issue. The middle East, Russia, and Germany with powerful and devious political figures who use and are being used by the United States spin their plots to gain or contain power in the world. Cohen uses his Washington experience to open the mysteries and intrigues of political infighting between the Congress, The CIA, the FBI, the White House and the Pentagon. The situations and the characters seem so real that you forget that this is fiction although I suspect the novel reflects much of Cohen’s thinking. The action moves back and forth from Washington, Berlin, Beijing, Munich, Moscow, New Mexico and the North Pacific. There is suspenseful climax when the New Secretary of Defense defies Presidential orders and flies to China in a SR-71 Blackbird to meet with their President to avoid an invasion by the U.S. of North Korea bases on misinformation developed by the Homeland security chairman. The SR-71 Blackbird was a stealth aircraft capable of Mach3+ with a ceiling of 85,000 feet (16 miles) and capable of taking a photo of a golf ball from 80,000 feet. It was the fastest air breathing aircraft ever developed cost $34,000,000. This was a great yarn!


"When Gods Die" C. S. Harris
This is Her second novel (her first was "What Angels Fear") and it is a great one. We are back in England in 1811 just a couple of months since Sebastian St. Cyr proved his innocence in the murder of the woman in the church. Another murder has occurred; this time it is in the sitting room of His Royal Highness George of Wales, now Regent of Great Britain. A prominent woman has been stabbed in the back and found with the Regent in a compromising situation. George is greedy and self indulgent but, perhaps, not capable of doing murder. Those close to the Regent need to cover up what happened and find out who actually did the deed. Sebastian is asked to find the killer; he is persuaded to do this because the dead woman was wearing a neckless the belonged to Sebastian’s. mother who supposedly died in a boating accident years ago. Ms Harris bring back many of the characters of her previous novel and weaves them into a wonderful political/historical tale of Great Britain, in the 1800s touching on the Torys, the Whigs, Britain’s enemies in France,the Stuart reign and the people’s need for a change in government. C.S. Harris is one smart woman; she got her Doctorate in European history. We will read more of her novels, I am sure.


"Cross" James Patterson
Alex Cross, former N.Y. City detective and now working for the F.B.I is back’ he and his pal John Sampson are tracking a serial rapist working the Washington D.C. area. He shows his victims of mutilated women as a threat to keep them silent. It works every time.
Alex’s wife Maria was shot some years ago and the "Cross stories" always emphasize how important his children and his grandmother, who takes care of them, are in his life. If Alex Cross has any vulnerability, it is his family. The antagonist is a mob hit man who calls himself "The Butcher"; one Michael Sullivan. He is a sadistic killer who mutilates his victims ( he is also the serial rapist). Alex learns that "The Butcher" was responsible for the death of his wife so the hunt is on with the good guys following sparse clues and Michael Sullivan getting rich doing hits for pay. The action is fast and suspenseful; a few rough scenes but over all, not a bad read. The best Patterson/Cross novels were "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss The Girls".


"Unnatural Exposure" Patricia Cornwell
I was prowling through the books for sale at the library and found this earlier "Kay Scarpetta" novel that I some how missed. This is a real thriller!
Scarpetta, as Chief Coroner , examines the body of a murder victim whose limbs and head had been severed by someone who has knowledge of anatomy and expertise with surgical instruments. The body also has a rash that Scarpetta, later, discovers to be a mutation of the small pox virus. The mutilation is the signature of a serial killer that she and the police have been investigating but there are inconsistences between the woman with the rash and the other killings. Police Chief Marino, long time friend of Scarpetta, plays his usual confronting role, Her niece, Lucy, is brilliant as usual as the computer savvy FBI agent and Kay’s love interest, FBI profiler Wesley Benton is there to lead and advise the various agencies that must track down a killer who is also infecting his victims with the small pox virus. This is vintage Cornwell with strong characters in a fast moving tale of terror, danger and suspense.


"Rebecca" Daphne duMourier
This novel was published in 1938; the price on the jacket was $2.75. This was a classic of the time from a very popular author. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" is the opening sentence of the moving and mysterious story of a young and unsophisticated girl who marries an older man, Maxim de Winter and becomes the uncertain mistress of a great house in Cornwell," Manderley". Maxim’s first wife, the glamorous and socially adept, Rebecca, died in a boating accident but her presence and memory is reflected through out the house; the furnishings, her stationery, her clothes and even the ridged and sinister Mrs. Danvers the housekeeper who was Rebecca’s personal maid are all reminders of Rebecca and her life at Manderlay.. All of this surely intimidates the frightened girl. There is an eerie mystery connected to the death of Rebecca whose body was never found; as the story unfolds, Caroline, encouraged by Mrs. Danvers, has a gown especially designed for the most important social event held at Manderley but when she makes her entrance, Max is wrathful and orders ger out of the room. It seems that the gown was an exact copy of the gown that Rebecca wore. This causes a rift between the two and Caroline soon feels that Max can only think of Rebecca. There is a mystery in connection with Rebecca’s death and suspicion had been cast on Max; the eerie happenings towards the climax of the novel will keep the reader guessing.


"Hannible Rising" Thomas Harris
Harris takes us into a study of Hannible Lecter. Hannible is a young boy, son of a Count, living in "Lecter Castle". He has a younger sister who is very close to him; Mischa. The time is early world war II; Germany is invading Russia and tanks and troops will inevitably reach Lecter Castle along with the cruel and barbaric looters that roam the land. Hannible witnesses the death of his parents, servants and he and his sister are traumatized and held capture through the harsh winter. There is little or no food for the looters or the children; Hannibal, finally escapes but not before seeing his sister killed and eaten by his captors. He is unable to speak after the experience and by chance, an Uncle finds him in an orphanage and takes him to France. During Hannibals "better life" he was extremely bright and his father brought tutors to guide him. In France, his Uncle, a famous painter, and his wife an Oriental help him and Hannibal goes to Medical School. The adventure of Hannible Lecter facing what happened to him, how he finally got his revenge (yes, he traced down his former captors)and found himself, finally, in America makes an interesting prequel to Harris’ other novels.


"Takedown" Brad Thor
al-Qaeda has put together an insidious plot of terrorism in response to the capture of a very high ranking member of their group. He a WMD expert that the government will, secretly, hide someplace in New York to try to find out everything he knows .The plot includes, not only destruction and terror at various locations in New York, city but a bold and complex plan to collect sensitive intelligence data and to rescue the al-Qaeda agent. Since the 9/11 attack, the various presidential cabinet agencies and the new ones have come up with their own ways and ideas of fighting terrorism but communication between the agencies is lacking and in some cases, everything they do is totally secret. The manner in which captured "terrorists" are interrogated, the degree of torture allowed and wether or not it takes place in this country or in another country is a matter of considerable discussion and argument. It goes on none the less. The FBI, the Navy and Homeland Security put together a team of specialists to make sense of the happenings and finally figure out what the terrorists’ final goal is and stop it. Good action thriller, a lot of blood and gore and some disgusting torture scenes that makes one wonder how anyone could think that torture is ever justified and how anyone could actually administer it. The ending is interesting and not totally surprising.


"Sam’s Letters to Jennifer" James Patterson
This is an audio book read by Jane Alexander and Anne Heche.
Patterson has written a lovely, heartwarming, sad but hopeful story about the loves of a girl, Jennifer and those of her Grandmother, Samantha. The setting is the Lake Geneva area which is outside the Great Lakes of Chicago. Jennifer is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune called to Lake Geneva because her Grandmother is in a coma . Jennifer stays in her Grandmother’s lake house and discovers several packets of letters addressed to her that tell a poignant storyof her Grandmother’s life. Jennifer’s own life needs repair; she has suffered loss and heartache and has always had her Grandmother’s support. She meets a childhood friend, a doctor who is staying on the lake; they are very much attracted to each other but he finally confesses that he is terminally ill. Patterson, to his credit did not turn this into a weepy "Love Story", it will bring a few tears, to be sure, but there is a message of hope, acceptance and unconditional love. The story can be read but I thought the reading was particularly moving. Good job James Patterson; us squishy romantics enjoyed your effort!


"The Dream of Scipio" ` Iain Pears
Laboring over this love story of three complex men and three complex women; the story moves back and forth in time through the Roman Empire, the Plague and into World War I and in the final analysis what happens to these people does not seem not very important in the light of all the happenings. The characters are interesting; I liked the women; they were strong and kept things going. It was just a hard story for me. The plot is not clearand the constant moving back and forth doesn't give the reader enough time to really understand what is going on. Is it OK to sacrifice the innocent few for the greater good?? I may pick it up again.


"The Audacity of Hope" Barack Obama
Interesting view of Obama, his history and his ideas. He has a future but I hope he goes slowly.


"The Brotherhood of The Holy Shroud’ Julia Navaro
Julia Navaro is a Spanish writer, Andrew Hurley did the translation.
Mysterious fires at the Cathedral of Turin where the authentic (according to many believers) burial shroud of Jesus Christ is supposed to be located. A team of "art history" cops tries to uncover a plot to steal the holy shroud. Flash backs to the time of the early church, secret societies, the Knights Templar, the Crusades and the Council of Nicea all play a role in this kind of mixed up story.


"The Machiavelli Covenant" Allan Folsom
An exceptionally well done thriller. Nicholas Marten a former L.A. cop and expatriate living in England gets a call from woman he was very close to who is dying and wants him to come to California because she thinks that she was given a deadly virus. Her husband, a California Congressman and her son were recent victims of an airplane crash; the woman, Caroline, thinks it was no accident, but murder. As the tale evolves, Marten finds himself involved in an international conspiracy where the President of the United States’, entire cabinet, influential business men and politicians around the world have a plan to solve the "Middle East problem" by wiping out the lot of them with a biological weapon. The plan is also to assassinate the Presidents of Germany and France in order to consolidate power among "those that think alike". The President is not willing to go along and is forced to escape from the group who pursue him with all of the forces of the Secret Service, the military and the FBI. The group who belong to a very old and powerful order founded by Machiavelli call themselves "The Covenent" explain the disappearance of the President as a foiled terrorist attack that caused the President to be taken away for his safety. The action takes place in England, Germany, and Spain. Thrilling and exciting action, indeed; while the President and Marten try to evade capture and find a way to stop the assassinations and inform the world of the conspiracy. Interesting and evil bad guys and at the end, there just may be some major ones left.
Author Allan Folsom has written two other novels that I must read:
"The Exile" and "The Day After Tomorrow"


"A Man Called Trent" Louis L’Amour
A reformed "gunman" does good!


"Riders of The Dawn" Louis L’Amour
Protecting a cattle ranch and family against a ruthless group that dominates a town.


"Rumpole and the Reign of Terror" John Mortimer
Rumpole is back at the "Old Baily" but this time he is defending a suspected terrorist. A Pakistani doctor has been imprisoned, without charge or trial under suspicion of aiding Al Qaeda in it’s plans for a terrorist attack. Rumple is appalled by the turn of events in the court system since the attacks in London; he feels that the new laws are hindering justice. Try as he may, he can not get the anti terrorist organizationl to reveal the "evidence" against his client and they refuse to take the case to a juty. It is only by blackmailing a very high ranking minister that Rumpole gets his trial. Satire and irony is used to describe the posture and bumbling of the government as they try to defend the people against terrorism by limiting the people’s rights.
Rumpole has, also, had a falling out with the Timpson family, the friendly group of thieves that he has relied upon for so long to keep him in Pomeroy’s fine wine and Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed) in cleaning supplies. Further, Hilda is writing her memoirs in secret and is stepping out a bit; she is even considering divorce. Rumpole is always a lot of fun to read and he can be counted on to keep the situation well in hand.


February 2007
"Chiefs" Stuart Woods
An excellent piece of work; one of his earlier novels which traces the history and the lives of three generations of Police Chiefs in a small town called Delano, Georgia. Colorful and strong characters, small town politics and state politics and some gruesome murders.
"The Alexander Link" Steve Berry
I always look forward to this creative and prolific author. His novels are well researched and dripping with intrigue. For centuries, guardians have held and passed on the secret location of the "Library of Alexandria". Each generation, one of the guardians tries to find a person who seeks knowledge and who will use any knowledge he gains from the library to do good for humanity. A cartel of wealthy individuals are looking for the knowledge that will give them control of the middle East and also challenge the three major religions. The information and the documentation is located in the library; there is a race between the good guys and the bad ones to find the library. Good characters some nice puzzles and a great adventure. Also, an interesting idea of the actual location of the Israel of the old testament and some major tinkering of the gospels by the early church leaders.


"Pilate’s Wife" Antoinette May
A splendid, well researched story combined with imagination about Claudia. The wife of Pontius Pilate. Her younger years as the independent and somewhat rebellious daughter of a prominent Roman who is close to the Emperor Tiberious, her ability to "see things" before they happen, and her marriage to the ambitious Pilate.
The politics, the family rivalries, the assassinations and the religions of the time are explored and we learn that Claudia was a follower of the Egyptian Goddess "Isis" rather than one of the regular Roman Gods. Her friendship with Meriam of Magdala (Mary?) Who is enamored with a radical religious man called Jesus is explored; Claudia goes to the wedding of Meriam and Jesus and it is at this wedding that water is turned into wine. Claudia has a vision where she sees Jesus arrested by priests who fear his power. She "sees" the crucifixion and hears the words "suffered under Pontius Pilate". She tries to save the martyr. This is an interesting tale; so many authors have brought forth the marriage of Jesus but this is the first that I have read that discusses the good possibility that Jesus was saved from death and hidden away.


"The Prestiege" Christopher Priest
An intriguing novel about two competing magicians who once were partners but become bitter enemies. The novel is a bit difficult to follow because it tells the story from the point of view of both people and the chronology moves back and forth. The story is both interesting and eerie. The ending is scary. They made a splendid movie from this book; staring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.
******
March 2007

"Murder In Montmarte" Cara Black
One of six "Aime LeDue" mysteries recommended by my friend Jim Bradshaw. Aime is a lady investigator who, with her partner Rene a dwarf run a computer fraud investigation agency. The problem is; she gets involved in messy murders that are life threatening to both herself and her partner. The setting is Paris, France and we get grand descriptions of the city and the major and the tiny streets and the people and places of Paris. I was in Paris after WWII and I can remember some of the places she describes. Easy reading, thanks, Jim.
"The Grave Tattoo" Val McDermid
In a peat bog in the Lake District of England the body of a man was found; the body carried black tattoos such as the kind that sailors got in the South Sea islands a couple of hundred years ago. Legend in the country suggested that Fletcher Christian after escaping from Pitcairn Island managed to seek out William Wadsworth, a poet and native of the Lake District, and ask him to tell what really happened aboard the "Bounty" in an epic poem. A London Wadsworth scholar, after learning about the discovery, travels to the area in order to prove her theory that Fletcher Christian did, indeed, meet with Wadsworth and that the manuscript actually exists. Other people are also interested and greed, deceit and murder are all a part of a very interesting story.

"The Book of Names" Jill Gregory & Karen Tintori
A fantasy that the end of the world as we know it will happen if 35 specifically named people either die or are killed within a specified time. In this story, Adam (the guy who lived with Eve) wrote a list of names in a huge volume . This volume was hidden for a long time but was discovered by Gnostics and an offshoot cult of the Gnostics who see all of the corruption and evil in the world today as an indication that it is time to end everything so they begin to kill the people on the list. The premise and the story is so far fetched and bizarre that the novel made no sense to me..


"Blow The House Down" Robert Baer
The author spent 20 years with the CIA running agents against Al-Qaeda and Hizballah and, clearly, knows the middle East. He wrote another book; "See No Evil" , a book of memoirs which I must read and another "Sleeping With The Devil" which tells how Washington sold our soul for Saudi crude. I must get this one!!
In"Blow The House Down", Robt Baer tells the story of a Veteran CIA officer who is obsessed with the murder of his agency mentor, John O’Neil. John O’Neil was Deputy Director of the FBI who two weeks before 9/11 quit his job because he believed that the Bush administration had stymied the intelligence agency’s efforts on terrorism. He took a job as head of security at the World Trade Center and was killed in the north tower. Baer writes a taught thriller as his protagonist tries to hunt down the facts. Baer pulls no punches in his condemnation of the various intelligence agencies and goes so far as to state in his notes to the book that 9/11 was avoidable because we had the intelligence but did not act upon it and, just maybe, there were some that profited by it.


"The Covenant" James Michener
This is a wonderful history and story of South Africa. It starts some 15,000 years ago with a clan of small people called "Bushmen" who must move to another location across a hostile desert. It tells the story of the Huguenots, the "Treckboers",the "Missionarys",the occupation of South Africa by the Dutch, the French, the English, the various African tribes including Shaka Zulu and finally the concept of apartheid and modern day South Africa (to the 1960s). A long book; 875 pages but it is hard to put down once you get into it. This was a "reread" for me; I was going to lend it to some one but I opened it up and spent the next three days reading.

"The Rising Tide"
The battles in the Pacific between the American Admirals and The Admirals of Japan. A very detailed and interesting account of the war in the Pacific from the viewpoint of the two opposing sides. Lots of history; We had a very tough time out there and almost lost the war. What struck me most was the intelligence and experience of those in charge. These were older men steeped in history. I saw the same thing in the commanders of the European battles – seasoned old pros. I do not recognize the same breed in out current conflicts.


"Kiowa Trail" Louis L’Amour
After a long, hard cattle drive, the men of the "Tumbling B" finally reach town where the herd will be sold and the men can celebrate but the rule is that no "cowboy" is allowed on the North side of the town because they were thought to be too coarse to be near the homes and families of the town folk. Kate Lundy, owner of the herd and her foreman Conn Dury try to discourage Tom Lundy, Kate’s brother, from meeting with a town girl he becomes infatuated with but Tom is young and stubborn. He is shot by the girls father the leading citizen and Kate takes revenge by trying to "kill the town". A great L’Amour novel with his usual strong good guys and bad guys where honor and decency tries to out do mean spirited people.


"The Book of Renfield" Tim Lucas
I just can not seem able to get away from those vampire people; Claudia will want to read this one. The story begins shortly after the long chase through Transalvania and the death of Dracula and Quincy.
Dr. Seward, Jonathon Harker, Mina and Arthur are suffering from shock after their terrifying experience and finally get together to decide that they must face their terror by compiling all their notes and diaries and talk the thing out. This helped; then they decided that the world must know about the horror so they found a novelist by the name of Brahm Stoker to cobble together all the notes and diaries and create a novel they would call "Dracula". Stoker was to pretend that the novel was fiction because they knew that the story would not be believed.
After publication of "Dracula", Dr. Seward took his professional and private note and those of his patient Renfield and created a history of his own life and that of Renfield. The author, Tim Lucas, tried to create parallels between the two; Seward was depressed most of the time he took drugs and he never, really, got over his rejection by Lucy and, generally, was not a very fine character. The novel got rather involved in religious and moral actions to the point that it became rather muddled. I believe that whatever mystery surrounds Renfield is good for the "Dracula" plot and we do not need this story.


"Havoc" Jack DuBrul
A page turner; the Hindenburg disaster, Nicloa Tesler, Albert Einstein, Alexander The Great, a hunt for a strange and powerful weapon that can cause mass destruction and battle after bloody battle are all part of this novel. This story takes two strong characters around the world following clues left by a strange character who actually found Plutonium in a natural state in Africa and tried to get the evidence to America to ward off WWII or worse. Some interesting Lewis Carroll doublets; changing one word into another in so many steps in order to determine which word to read in a coded message and a dash of Homers "Odyssey" paraphrases the different locations and characters - if you work on it. I thought the battles over long and too frequent but overall a good read!!

"The Fifth Profession" David Morrell
The Fifth Profession is something called "Executive Protection" wherein the "protector", a person highly skilled in weapons, martial arts and trained in the "Samurai philosophy takes total responsibility for his "principal" and is willing to protect him to the death of himself. The novel is somewhat interesting and a lot of early Japanese history and the ways of the Samurai are included and explained as well as the author’s thoughts about the considerable pain that the Japanese still feel as the result of the A- bomb and the occupation of Japan and the strong negative feelings they still have because the US forced the emperor to denounce the long tradition that he was a god. The author thinks that their way of retaliating is by trying to win the "economic war" with the US. The book is way too long and it gets bogged down in melodrama and trite philosophy. I kept skipping on to see how it would end.


"Deep Storm" Lincoln Child
An exciting and tense novel about the discovery of "something" discovered deep in the earth’s crust thousands of feet below the surface of the water. Using a monster drilling rig as a cover, the government has built an undersea complex, a virtual city to house the scientists and engineers who will dig and study the discovery. Everything is top secret; security is enforced by the military. The cover story to those in the city is that the lost city of Atlantis has been discovered but only a few know the real secret and as it turns out they were, also, wrong. A terrible, world wide, disaster is eminent unless the drilling is stopped and and the folks find out what the "something" actually is.
Lincoln Child, also, co authors with Douglas Preston and, together, they write some of my favorite novels; Claudia and I have read every one of them from "Relic" to "The Book of The Dead". This is a splendid thriller; it flows so well and keeps your attention to the end. Well done Lincoln Child!!!


April 5th 2007
"Jesus For The Non Religious" John Shelby Spong
(Also wrote:"The Sins of Scripture", "A new Christianity For a New World")
You gotta read this guy; his views are very like mine although I might be even more critical. His views towards the origins and writings of the old testament and the various gospels of the new testament have been well researched and can stand up to argument radical as they may seem to some folks.

"Gideon’s Badge" J. J. Marric
Marric wrote a very popular series of the adventures of George Gideon, Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department of Scotland Yard back in the 1960s. He did about ten of them; I thought I had read them all but I found this one at a library sale. Gideon was a smooth, articulate copper who rose from the ranks as a London Bobby to the top office of the CID. He has two difficult cases in London; one of a serial killer who poisons women and the other involves a large robbery. While George should leave the details to his long time assistant "Lemaitre"he can not keep his hand out of the cases. In this novel, George has been invited to a conference in New York City where he will study New York Police Department procedures and work with them on a case that has international consequences. His wife Kate will go with him. One has to read several of the "Gideon" novels to understand the relationship of Gideon and Lemaitre. Marric always gave his reader a tour of the back streets and the main streets of London as well as the outlying areas and over time, we got to know George Gideon as a husband and a father.


"Those Three Remain" Pamela Aidan
Ms Aidan is a librarian and long time fan of Jane Austin. So much so that she wrote a trilogy giving more color and depth and history to the characters of "Pride and Prejudice" and even made up a few more people. As it usually happens, I found and read the last in her series subtitled "Fitzwilliam Darcy - Gentleman".
This novel picks up the story when Mr. Darcy makes his horribly stupid proposal to Elizabeth Bennet and he is, of course rejected. Darcy decides that he must change his attitude and ways and become a person that Ms Bennet could admire and, perhaps, love. The novel is fair and faithful to Jane Austin’s work and includes many of the original, poignant passages but it also creates some reasonable scenarios and details relating to what Darcy actually did to help the Bennet family (all for the love of Elizabeth) and gives plausible answers to questions one might have about what went through Darcy’s mind. I enjoyed it a lot probably because I liked the original novel so much. I will not, however, go back to the earlier novels of the trilogy.



"Death of A Cad" M. C. Beaton
Hamish Macbeth has another problem to solve; this time, there are two murders and they take place on the estate of Priscilla Hallburton-Smyth’s parents. Priscilla has become engaged to a London playwright and she has brought him home to Lochdubh to meet the people and have a grand party. Numerous and interesting guests including Hamish (who was invited by Priscilla but was uninvited by her father who sent him a note that he was not welcome - which was not delivered in time). One of the guests, an obnoxious but handsome and dashing Army Captain is found shot the morning after the party; every one thinks it is an accident except Hamish. To prove Hamish wrong, Priscilla’s father calls in the detectives from London and Hamish’s nemesis Inspector Blair (bumbling Blair) portrays on the scene to take charge. Hamish is taken off the case and Blair populace that the shooting is an accident. Hamish, of course quietly acts on his suspicion and we have a fine mystery with many suspects and in the background we see the tension between Hamish and Priscilla who really care for each other very much. Good detective work by Hamish and while he solves the crimes, Blair, as usual, finds a way to take credit for everything. Always fun to read about the people of Lachdubh.


"Love and Friendship" Jane Austen
Ms Austin has filled a small volume with delightful letters going back and forth between ladies of the time. If you enjoy Jane Austin’s irony and humor and the different letter writer’s obsession with men, love, money and marriage you will get a lot of laughs.


"Black Monday" R. Scott Reiss
This is a scary and prophetic novel. Someone, not the "Terrorists" we immediately think of, has created a microbe that when introduced into the oil fields will "eat" the oil and cause the oil to break down and become unusable. The microbe is immune to the great heat that is used in the refining process. The microbe was discovered in the deep ocean where there are heat thermals of unbelievable intensities. The microbe has also contaminated any delivery pipeline it encountered.
Imagine the United States, the world, for that matter, without energy or oil to lubricate machinery. Chaos exists, people run out of food, and heating oil, they begin to loot and kill people. Gangs of scared people and gangs of thugs threaten the populace but the Government can do very little except declare marshal law.
Jealous bureaucrats show their ineptitude while a few dedicated scientists try to find an answer to the problem; who was responsible, how was it done and why was it done and how can it be fixed. The novel is a fast moving "microbe hunt" with some very likeable and unlikable characters. Read this one for it’s realistic portrayal of how people will act if such a crises actually happens. It wouldn’t have to be a microbe, some fools could nuke the oil fields with a dirty bomb!! That could, very well, happen in the tense times that we live in now!


"Triple Cross" Kit Ehrman
This reading was a very pleasant surprise. A story about a young man, Steve Cline who is a barn manager at Churchill Downs in Louisville at the time of the Kentucky Derby. The author knows horses and racing and at one time was a groom himself; he imparts fascinating information about what goes on in the barns and the exercise areas at the race track. The horse he and another groom are watching is a "Derby" contender; twenty million dollars worth of horse! There are other owners and horses, of course, and a great story and mystery including a murder is developed. The writing is very clean, fast paced and with just the right tension. I enjoyed every page of it! Ehrman has, also, written "At Risk" and Dead Man’s Touch" which are Steve Cline mysteries. I want to read more.


"Hunter’s Moon" Randy Wayne White
A thriller; improbable situation and characters but a good read with lots of action. Randy White has created a character he calls "Doc Ford" a former something or other for the government, highly skilled and so forth who hangs around a bar on Sanibel Island, Florida when he is not working as a marine biologist. White has written thirteen previous "Doc Ford" novels; one is enough for me. Ford is a "formula" writer, kind of like Stewart Wood.


"The Gospel According to Judas" Benjamin Iscariot
A collaboration; Jeffrey Archer and Professor Francis J. Moloney with guidance from Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. An interesting but disappointing attempt to put the fragments of the actual text into a form that for the most part tries to support much of the text in the new testament. From my reading of other texts relating to the Judas Gospel this effort was a poor and biased job. Cute way they named the author; supposed to be the son of Judas. Considerable effort to redeem Judas and make him a good guy but they made it a point to keep the whole thing in line with the Jewish texts.


"The Sun Over Breda" Arturo Perez-Reverte
After "The Fencing Master" and the first two "Captain Alatriste" novels, I expected much more; this was a disappointment. The story, as usual, is narrated by Igno Balboa, Alatriste’s young servant but it is more a tale of the war that Phillip IV of Spain is making against the Dutch Calvinists ("heretics all and may they burn in hell or wherever they finally end ") and the battle for Flanders. Alatriste plays a very minor role and there is no real adventure; just war and battles, interesting and detailed but Igno hogged the limelight; we just did not see very much of our famous Captain in this story. I think that "The Fencing Master" and "Purity of Blood" were much superior.

"The World is Flat" Thomas L. Friedman
This is the "second writing" of Tom’s novel. Technology and communication are the key words to Tom Friedman’s idea of the world flattening out; globalization and "outsourcing" are explored in detail. More detail than many would want. When Tom takes you into computers you almost get a didactic course in the use of some of the more popular software products. The manner in which India and China and other countries have prepared for outsourcing and are preparing for more and how businesses and individuals benefit from the practice are explored. Friedman feels that governments, businesses and societies must adapt to the "lightning swift" changes we are experiencing. We are rapidly approaching a time where everyone will have the tools and knowledge available to create a better world if imagination and the desire are present. He is a little pollyannaish but we sure need a "better world".It is not the easiest book to read but Friedman’s anecdotal way of writing keeps it very interesting. It is an important book although a lot of people think just the opposite regarding world trade. If you like statistics you will love this book.


"Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid" Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter bought himself a lot of criticism with this book but it is a story that has to be told. While peace between Israel and Palestine is critical, Carter emphasizes that it must bring justice and dignity to the Palestinians and it must be a lawful and fair peace. Carter has great empathy for the plight of the Palestinians and he is very critical of Israel’s violation of U.N. resolutions, U.S. Policy and the international "roadmap". Israel’s continued occupation and settlement of land and the oppression of the Palestinians and the "wall" are very troubling. Apparently, our present administration does not feel as strongly. It took a lot of courage for Carter to write this; I applaud him for it.


"God’s Spy Juan Gomez-Jurado
The Pope has died, the camerlengo is in charge and the College of Cardinals have been called to conclave. A high ranking Cardinal has been found brutally murdered; his body terrible mutilated. An Italian police profiler, Poala Dicanti, has been invited to the Vatican to assist in the case where she learns that there has been another grisly murder. Because of the conclave and all of the people attending the event, the Vatican did not want either of the murders known. They actually tried keep the other murder, the first, a secret from the profiler. There are more deaths and the nub discovers that a former priest who was, at one time, sent to rehabilitation for abusing children is the killer. The police have a very extensive file on him.This man is very disturbed and his meanness and tactics are vile; he has a long history of violence but the profiler has questions as to motive. As the story develops, we learn of a conspiracy relating to the succession of the next pope. They begin to wonder if the killer might be an assassin. The efforts of Poala and her team are hindered by the Vatican secret police who are trying to keep every thing under wraps and, also, seem to have a political agenda of their own. Strong and interesting characters and wonderful descriptions of Vatican City carry this well written novel to an exciting and surprising climax. A good thriller; Dan Brown introduced us to opus dea and Juan Jurado tells of another secret society established several hundred years ago; Santa Alianza, whose motto was "The cross and sword" and whose mission was to enforce by any means, including torture and killing, the edicts of the church. Back in the 1500s Anglicans and heretics were challenging the Church as a spiritual entity and they had to be dealt with.


"All That Remains" Patricia Cornwell
This is a reread of the first Patricia Cornwell novel I read. Actually, it is her fourth and a terrific story. Her protagonist, County Coroner Kay Scarpetta, is right in the middle of what appears to be a serial killer’s mayhem (four mutilation deaths of young couples) when the bodies of the daughter and boyfriend of a prominent Washington figure are discovered. The crime scene is similar to the other but there are slight differences and the FBI and the police are withholding information from every one, including Scarpetta. National politics are involved because the woman whose daughter was killed is close to the President and recently appointed "Drug Czar. Marino, Scarpeta’s detective friend, Benton Wesley, profiler for the FBI, Abby Turnbull, columnist and,of course a couple of wise ass cops all interact in a fast moving thriller. Cornwell develops and uses her characters and plots in a masterful and suspenseful way. This is vintage Cornwell; I don’t know how or why she "lost it" in her later novels.


"When the Light Goes" Larry McMurtry
The author of "Lonesome Dove" and some 29 other novels has written an interesting and funny story about one of his characters from an earlier novel "The Last Picture Show". Duane Moore, now a retired oilman, financially secure, widowed and around 62 years old rides his bike around Thalia, a little Texas town and contemplates his life. He meets and becomes attracted to a young geologist named Annie and life becomes a new sexually charged adventure for him. A totally new experience for him. McMurtry tells a charming story; some what racy but with humor. Enjoyed it a lot ( Oh to be 60 again!!)


"The Far Blue Mountains -The Sackets Louis L’Amour
We have read a lot about "The Sackets" in L’Amours novels but this one goes back to the time of one of the original Sackets. Barnabas Sackett, was an Englishman who spent some time in the "new world" at the Raleigh colony and he felt very strongly about the opportunities the great land offered further West. He decided to return to England to get Abigail, his bride to be, and take her back to the "new world". Barnaby had been a sailor, a smuggler, a craftsman and a farmer as well as a woodsman. He ran afoul of the Queen while he was settling his affairs and became a wanted man in England. Barnabas managed to elude his pursuers and with the aid of some good friends who decided to accompany him, he and Abigail made it back to America by a very circuitous and adventurous route. Once there, he settled on the East coast for a while, built a stockade and formed a small colony which prospered for a while but they were attacked by Indians and pirates . L’Amour can not resist the telling of mighty battles by courageous men. Barnaby’s stockade was destroyed by the pirate raid but the timbers and minerals they had collected were salvaged and their ship was repaired so they took off for Europe again to do some trading - more tense adventure - Back to the New World again and this time Barnaby and Abigail went further West, always seeking the "far blue mountains" . Over time, he begins the genesis of the Sacket family that L’Amour wrote about so often. This was an interesting history.


"Straight Into Darkness" Faye Kellerman
The story takes place in Munich shortly after World War I; Germany is suffering under the severe sanctions of the treaty of Versailles and the German people are very bitter. Their economy is very poor and the British, the Americans and the Jews are blamed and hated. Adolph Hitler and his Brown Shirts are coming into their own, the Communist party is making an attempt at power and the people are in conflict and confusion.
Axel Berg is a detective living in these times investigating the bizarre murder of a beautiful socialite. The killing is unique and horrifying and then another murder occurs. The people of Munich begin to panic, a fear that is made worse by the tactics of Hitler in his rise to power. This is a "page turner" made extremely interesting by Kellerman’s on going commentary of the times and circumstances leading into the "darkness" of World War II.


I came across an interesting tid bit about words: benign, cagey, decay, enemy, envy, excellency, excesses, expediency and foreign – – all are pronounced with letters or digits (B9, KG, DK, XS, 4N) I guess the folks that do text messages on their cell phones are good at this.