Review: Blue Descent

Blue Descent by David Wood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ***

All the elements were there for a casual summer read that was entertaining, but not particularly deep. The narration made it easy to just let the story develop from a simple mystery to some more … paranormal. Not exactly believable, but still interesting and fun way to pass the time with a little treasure hunting mixed in with a few legends (rumors of the fountain of youth and monster sea creatures play a significant role here) and conspiracies (standard missing persons) that sort of magically all work out (almost predictably). That also makes it easy to come and go pretty much at will and not really miss much. As an intro to the series, it was okay … a little choppy, but a good introduction to the characters and story telling style that might be hit or miss for some folks.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Viva McHugh!

Viva McHugh! by Jay M. Flynn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book: **

Performance: **

A Short, Silly, and Sometimes Fun Spy Story

Super Spook McHugh is on a mission … on an unnamed island with an hispanic despot looking to extract a missing asset. I would go as far as naming Cuba is the inspiration … giving the authoritarian bend (with inquisitors to test/enforce compliance and “loyalty” … sort of like communist political kommissars). The story itself is pretty basic and predictable, even a bit unrealistic at times as the MC and his buddy careen through the countryside with the occasional help of local rebels and a lot of bluster and gun play. If you are looking for any finesse … you won’t find it here. The narration was choppy and often unnatural, which made it hard to get into what is arguably a simple and very basic thriller that was not all that interesting for much of the story (it is hard to enjoy a thriller that doesn’t generate much suspense).

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Shadowmaker

The Shadowmaker by T.J. Champitto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ****

A Solid Crime Adventure/Thriller Story

This is the first of a new action/ thriller series. The main character, Henry Sirola, is a master thief working for an eastern European mob organization. He and long time bestie, Darius, are recruited for the score of a lifetime, which naturally seems too good to be true. Henry’s old flame (Isabell) is also along for the ride and gives us the possibility for a little romantic reconciliation. When it all inevitably goes sideways, the team scrambles to fix everything, going up against government corruption and a Brazilian crime syndicate. Along the way, we see secrets/mystery and betrayal that keeps you guessing with a few late reveals, but nothing too surprising. Henry is a very likable, and somewhat flawed, anti-hero that is also and FBI informant (making him sort of a good guy - right?) … which to be honest, I am not clear on how that advances the plot, which for most of the story seems to be a legitimate salvage and sale … the only question is why are crime lords involved at all. At any rate, the action and pacing is good enough to easily pull your through the story without losing interest and keep it entertaining. The ending was a bit ambiguous, although for the most part satisfying.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: House of Cards: Dead Men Tell No Tales

House of Cards: Dead Men Tell No Tales by Theodore Jerome Cohen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: **
Performance: ****


A Silly Ole’Timey Detective Story

The best thing this recording has going for it is the narration; from a completely nostalgia aspect it reminds me of the old radio detective dramas in the 50-60's ... which I still listen to. That was what hooked me when I listened to the sampe and what ultimately saved the book. The series follows an NYPD detective (and military vet with a prosthetic leg) who plays fast and loose with the rules to get the bad guys ... not a plus in my book as it typically lends to lazy writing. 

In this episode, Martelli falls into a conspiracy involving a terrorist organization and a fraudulent hedge fund scheme Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDOs) and Credit Default Swaps (which were at the center of the financial crisis of 2008 ... of which the author apparently needs to go into great detail using info dumps thinly disguised as dialog. Too much unneeded detail is the watchword for this piece as the author shows off his mastery of jargon and testosterone replacements. 

For some reason not completely clear to me (outside a typical manly measuring contest), the Martelli also needs to stay clear of the FBI (they guys that would normally get involved in this kind of thing) , so he engages in various hijynx to make them the rube here while he himself engages in extrajudicial activities that somehow never taint the case. Just for fun, he also throws in a few pontifical monologues a a jab or two at the HYPD administration ('cause they got nuttin' better to do than get in the way of real police work). Then you have the cheesy ending that is cleaned up in the Epilogue …

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Secret of Scripture

The Secret of Scripture by Felix Alexander
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ****

A History Book Disguised as a Mystery

This is the second of the series following The Secret of Heaven; however, it can be read by itself (just don’t think too hard about any of it).

Preach Brother … This book is a historical conspiracy wrapped in a mystery presented through pontificating data dumps thinly veiled as dialog. There is no doubt that a lot of research went into this story; unfortunately the author seems compelled to beat the reader about the head and shoulders with all of it. The plot itself revolves around a murder of a mathematics professor on the eve of a tech conference in Tel Aviv … and apparently sets in motion events that are designed to bring about the fall of the Zionist State of Israel. While a fair amount of the information presented was accurate (more of less), there was little to no nuance and/or context presented with it, allowing the author to weave an entertaining, if improbable, conspiracy that subscribes to a number of obscure and mostly heretical interpretations (you have been warned). With historical and scriptural interpretations designed to titillate more than to inform (much like National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code), it can be fun to play with these "what if" concepts so long as you don’t take anything at face value. Of course … with all of this exposition, the plot moves at a glacial pace that is mostly saved by an excellent audio performance. With an awesome array of character voices and near perfect delivery, the only [minor] critique I would raise about the narration simply highlights some imaginative pronunciations that didn’t conform to the more conventional forms that I am familiar with … but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment at all.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Palladium

Palladium by Leigh Turner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ***

Set in Istanbul, a mysterious group known as the “Elders” has recruited several terrorists teams to “End the West” through a terrorist attack on the city. There is a loose connection to an ancient artifact known as the Palladium, which must first be obtained to ensure the attack would succeed, so one team steels it and abducts the archeologist that found it (the rationale for the latter is a bit thin when it is revealed much later). Fortunately, her brother Orhan is a Turkish policeman and her lover is a former British SIS officer who are on the job to get her back. Along the way they seem to always be just a step behind as the story drags on and on. Frequently there was way too much detail injected into the story and then continually repeated while doing little to advance the story, with some of the details were a bit questionable; but not enough to really detract from the overall enjoyment of the story … just don’t think about it too much and you will be fine. Over all, the lot was fairly predictable and the story mechanical enough that I had difficulty connecting to characters and plot; however, it was decent enough for light entertainment.

The narration was also pretty average … every now and then the pacing was a bit off to feel natural and the performance had difficulty differentiating the voices, but it wasn’t too hard to keep it all separate.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Amber

Amber by David Wood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Performance: ***

Story: ***

A Simple Treasure Hunt Story

An origination series for the Dane Maddock Adventures, which are fun escape adventures good for an airport read.  Here we get a look into the adventures of Dane and Bones as Good Ole Boys/Navy SEALS (and is so totally not believable … so take that for what it’s worth).  This series pretty much follows the same formula found in the original series, so it you likes the first series, you will not be disappointed here either.  It is certainly an entertaining way to explore some of the historical trivia (which was definitely an appeal for me).  The narration was decent, but wasn’t really a break out performance even as it matches the tone of the story as a whole.

In this case … Amber has the team chasing down rumors of the Amber Room with basic information on what it was and what happened to it (and when it disappeared).  The details are pretty basic and the story doesn’t really offer much beyond what a google search might turn up, but that is really just a backdrop for a character driven treasure hunt that is a silly as a National Treasure movie … just sit back and enjoy it.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Undying Kingdom

The Undying Kingdom by Matthew James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ****

This story was a solid adventure; one cut above the average for the genre typically found in the airport newsstands to pass the time while traveling. The audible narration was also better than average and made the whole story a lot of fun. The fourth of the series, I started here and I want to go back get the rest … although that is by no means required since it appears that each adventure stand on its own …

Jack, the titular character, teams up with two others in a race to the legendary Shangri-La ahead of a powerful Chinese cabal … and comes face to face with a few other myths along the way. Despite the predictable {feel good) action … it was well done and fun as they followed the clues and dodged the bad guys in a roller coaster ride to paradise.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Caucasus Cauldron

The Caucasus Cauldron by James Lingard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book: **
Performance: **

An Awkward and Confusing Action/Adventure

This book didn’t work for me. To start, the cadence and emotive performance didn’t seem natural to me, and it exacerbated the uneven prose, awkward dialog (including several internal soliloquies) within a plot that struggles to find traction. The bulk of the story is a contrived hunt for two uninspiring agents (from MI6 and FSB) … and I can’t for the life of me understand why they are working together. So while dodging Georgian and Chechen thugs …. er …. soldiers, the duo stumbles from one encounter to another without rhyme or reason outside of a strange need to add even more gratuitous violence and manufactured outrage to hide the general lack of any finesse (I lost count of how many versions of now you die English that pops up in this story). Unfortunately this was not evident in the short sample I listened to. Nominally they are looking for Sergei (a former British agent now separatist leader). Oh … let’s throw in a dysfunctional mr & mrs smith style romance to stitch together all the action. Honestly, I had a hard time following the story as very little made sense to me.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Christmas on the Nile: A Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mystery

Christmas on the Nile: A Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mystery by Anna Elliott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ****

The is the finale of the storyline begun in "The Curse of Cleopatra's Needle” and left hanging in "The Coded Blue Envelope.” The fact that it is a continuation of a cliffhanger means this story starts in the hole (not only because I dislike cliffhangers, but because the mid-story start was a tad disorienting). This is now my 12th Lucy James adventure and the two voices on the narration is very enjoyable and pretty much continues to “save” there series. If you are truly looking for a Sherlockian mystery, this series won’t be very satisfying (they seem to be more adventure and international intrigue for most of them). Strangely enough, even though this is a continuation from a previous story, it still takes awhile to get going as it tries to weave two distinct plot lines together … one in England with Flynn, Becky, Jack and Mycroft chasing down plans by the Sons of Ra to throw the government into Chaos (in a rehashed and somewhat unbelievable conspiracy) while Watson, Lucy, Holmes and Zoe prose their new arch nemesis to Egypt to foil a similar plan there. Frankly it seems that the series is a bet long in the tooth now (as it is repeating elements from previous stories now); however, as previously indicated, the narration was good, the characters are fun and the over all story unmemorable if suitable for a quick diversion.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: INCA'S DEATH CAVE

INCA'S DEATH CAVE by Bradford G. Wheler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book: **
Performance: ***

Info Dumps R'Us

I like history … and I like action/adventure stories, especially ones that have history as a backdrop. That is what I thought this was. This story is more like a history textbook with some action/adventure in the background. I appreciate the well researched details; but I didn’t need to know all that to enjoy this “thriller." Even so, using wikipedia style info dumps to present ancillary context and detail is a rookie mistake; especially when a lot of this doesn’t seem to actually advance anything in the story. It might be more interesting to those readers that enjoy historical trivia and travelogues. In addition, the simple, and often limited, dialog interspersed amongst the extensive narration was made even more awkward and unnatural by the frequent use of I said, s/he said, etc. (even when not needed by the poor character voice differentiation).

Ok … so we have an archeology professor and his research assistant sent to Peru to do a little historical investigation looking for the proverbial treasure of the Inca’s Death Cave. Unfortunately … the story is actually a little too true to form here as the initial setup is extremely long and boring while the team works to digitize the relevant conquistador records. I suppose that it is natural to make the Catholic Church one of the boogeymen in story; queue the typical critiques and moralizing on why the Vatican is evil. Despite the opinionated preachiness, the basic underlying facts were pretty accurate even as interpretation leaves something to be desired and the Vatican is redeemed in the end (as a non sequitur). It a multi prong effort, there is also some data mining and programming hijinks (aka hacking) and some sensor drone mapping to identify probably locations for the cave … and about as exciting as watching paint dry. I mean, it was interesting from an academic point of view, just not a thriller yet. In the mean time, let’s bring in a total unrelated conflict with a drug cartel so that we can shoot at our heroes (which is basically the only action/conflict of the story). Finally … the end comes up quickly and is pretty much anticlimactic with an epilogue to fill in the happily ever after expectation. Over all, this is a very simple story that would probably only appeal to those with an interest on that specific time and location.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Magic Mirror

Magic Mirror by Sean Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: **
Performance: ***

A simple and boring mystery

The story centers around the mysterious disappearance of a creative genius and the subsequently finding of his car in the middle of a lake far away from his last known location. The primary characters are the diver that found the car, who for some reason becomes a key part of the reopened investigation … and an FBI agent sent in to ride herd. The diver has a dark past and the FBI agent some personal drama that provide nearly all of the conflict until the end, where the story does pick up the pace somewhat. For most of the story, the only villain in sight is a tech billionaire that provides the author with an opportunity to preach and moralize about society today and they are some issues with how some of the tech actually works that seem to defy conventional science. There are also some new agey elements that bookend the story and a few minor plot surprises, but this is unfortunately undermined by the complete lack of any reader suspense for most of the book. In fact, there is way too much of the “narrator” within the story talking (aka info dumping) that there is actual action or true dialog, making the whole about as exciting as a Great Courses lecture. The performance was solid though.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Moon Knight: Age of Anubis: A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook

Moon Knight: Age of Anubis: A Marvel: Multiverse Missions Adventure Gamebook by Johnathan Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an adventure gamecock based on the Marvel Character Moon Knight where you (the reader) team up to stop a rampaging mummy and the plague it brings to NYC (with a few other mythological encountered on the way) … I haven’t don’t one of these for so long that it gets +1 just for nostalgia. The only downside here is that you have to keep track of stats, objects, boons and achievements on a separate piece of paper to play this game right (and you need two 6 sided dice), so it is not just choosing options (so replayability is good +1). And of course you are playing alongside a superhero in NYC. There are 300 scenes to piece together with 15 possible endings and only 4 ways to win (so there are a lot fo dumb ways to die). I played through a few scenarios (win/loss 1:2 … die rolls were horrible) and had fun each time (+1). The storyline was interesting and fast paced (if not particularly detailed). There is an added advantage with reading on an ebook/kindle because the links to jump to the next part of the adventure are right there with the options (so you don’t have to fumble back and forth for the pages). YMMV (it's meant to be a cheesy comic book type story), but I am giving this one two thumbs up!

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: True Winter

True Winter by Q.K. Petty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the premise … a secret organization (The House of David) that travels the world to collect powerful artifacts in order to sequester them away in some “warehouse” in order to protect us all from the people that would abuse them (yes … I know it has been done before but I still love the concept). The twist here is that there is a counter organization that works toward free access to these same artifacts despite the danger (aka caveat emptor). The House is organized with an absolute head of house that priorities and assigns tasks and goals for the org. Four (4) Tennins armed with weapons of Archangels. Twelve (12) Judges imbued with splinters of the cross (aka Fingers of God) that grants them superhuman abilities … with each Judge training an Acolyte. And various support elements such as clean up crews in the background. Seditio, the opposing organization, is more nebulous and apparently run by a mysterious Mary with a psycho-terrorist second known as Whiteface.

The book opens with a mission to retrieve the “Chains of Peter” in Mobile AL; after which we see a flash back to the MC’s (Eden Dowler aka The Grim Reaper) first mission to retrieve the “Blood of Mary,” both of which are deadly to the unworthy/impure. This pretty much sets the [fast] pace for the first half of the book as the House attempts to retrieve the Aegis of Zeus and the Sword of Joan of Arc before the story turns extremely (and somewhat unexpectedly) dark for the last half of the book. By the end you see something of a personality switch between Eden and his acolyte Orion (which quite frankly was not done that well). There are a few twists and turns, much of which is signaled ahead of time if you are paying attention, until we get to the tragic end with a hint of things to come (it is a series after all).

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Shadow Society

The Shadow Society by Jay Bonansinga
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I am a huge fan of Marvel movies, I am pretty much hit or miss with the comics themselves. The Shadow Society is written more along the lines of a novelized comic book without the cool illustrations. The idea of a team of anti-heroes is pretty standard stuff and the members of the quintet pretty [stereo]typical … so don’t expect a PC story here. Since this is the second of the series, let’s meet the main characters. Spur is muscle bound cowboy that is the nominal leader of the “ very special unit” and has the ability to duplicate or match his opponent’s main advantage. Boo is “petite” ninja assassin who earned her code name from her ability to ambush folks from the shadows (as in Boo, you dead). Pin-up (yeah, they went there) is a sexualized Latina who can shape shift (of course). Ticker is a dapper African American who can stop time and Hack follows the trend with his legendary cyber skills.

The story opens with a little demonic possession and satanic cult weirdness that it hopefully meant as a caricature the exorcism tradition of the Catholic Church. It is designed by be repulsive and it does a fair job without being too silly. Next we get some sleight of hand and the characters all move around the board without any apparent rhyme or reason other than bad guys gotta be bad guys. Frankly that makes Part I a bit of a drag to get through. We don’t get to the actually plot until Part II when we realize that Satan has some very specific plans to bring about Armageddon … and there really are no surprises here … after all, the prophecy is over 2 thousand years old by now. Part III is where the team springs into action to head off the Devil at the pass … with a [moderately] surprising incentive on top. This is where the super hero genre finally comes through and it was just okay when all was said and done. If you are a big comic book fan, feel free to add a star.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Apocalypse Atlantis: Historical Archeological Action Adventure

Apocalypse Atlantis: Historical Archeological Action Adventure by Jay C. LaBarge
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you liked the previous installation in the Nick LaBounty series, you will like this follow-up as it is more of the same.  You got a dual timeline with Nick in present day and an Atlantean/Minoan timeline prior to the eruption fo Thera and the collapse of the bronze age.  Not entirely sure how a trained expert in Mesoamerican migration ends up on a grecian archaeology dig, but if it works for Indiana it can work here.  In this case, Nick is on the outs with the love of his life (see book 1) and just needs a distraction (if you thought that would spare you the frat boy hijinks and personal drama … think again).  

Like the previous story, you still get way too much drama and detail here so the story takes forever to really get started.  The big bad is yet another agent of the secret criminal cabal intent on ruling the world because there is only room for one ego on this planet.  Still not clear on why we needed the imagined Minoan story … maybe a story about a Nazi U-Boat will make it all better … because Indiana/Nick is always running into Nazis.  Ultimately all of the pieces for a decent story are here, they way it was stitched together didn’t work very well for me.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Aztec Odyssey: Historical Action Adventure

Aztec Odyssey: Historical Action Adventure by Jay C. LaBarge
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Performance: ***

Story: **

Nick, a presumed archeologist in Mesoamerican migrations (an apparent excuse to info dump historical tid-bits for the reader but little else) with his new indigenous girlfriend investigates the death of his treasure hunter dad.  A big bad drug runner dreams of restoring the Aztec empire beyond its historical boundaries.  A legendary Aztec treasure, long hidden from Conquistadors … this story has all of the elements for a fun and interesting diversion ...

I did NOT expect the drama (I was hoping for something more like a Cussler action story).  The historical POV was mostly as expected, with a little moral preaching that was a blatant appeal to emotion, but over all pretty decent if you don’t mind revisionist history.  The current day POV (the bulk of the story) was a frat party drama that was totally unexpected and didn’t really appeal to me much.  Not only was there way too much trivial detail and pointless dialogue … which made the story drag significantly (hard to skim over these as an audiobook, but you can tune out a bit).  Seriously … we don’t need all of that background for each character dumped on us all at once (and we def don’t need you to repeat it later).  I suppose that could be somewhat expected in what amounts to an origin story for the main protagonist, but there are enough tropes throw in that the story comes across as a mechanical paint-by-the-numbers piece that was interesting, but lacked any plot tension to really pull the reader/listener into it.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Archangel: The Book of Mammon

Archangel: The Book of Mammon by Black Mike
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A solid urban fantasy that leverages the christian mythos well. You get angels and demons in a quasi police procedural vs powerful oligarchs driven be greed (aka mammon). The story itself doesn’t really go into much detail about anything, but that is actually a strength because the story moves along nicely and doesn’t get bogged down anywhere. It is also what prevents the story from being exceptional … in that the story doesn’t really wander far from a fairly predictable plot-line. Still, it is better than most in this niche genre, so I am rounding up my score and will probably pick up the sequel if and when it comes out.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Marauder

Marauder by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is pretty standard Cussler; it reads more like a super hero story (think Batman) where the good guys are Mary Sue(s) with unbelievable toys and the bad guys are Bond villains with money to burn. In other words ... it is pure entertainment that requires more than a healthy does of suspension of disbelief, especially if you have any experience with the stuff they are playing with (yeah ... some of the tech here just doesn't work that way, sorry). So if you are in the mood for the kind of light reading you might pick up in the airport gift shop with a side of Jingoism, this is actually a fun read.

The bad guys work for a rogue Chinese industrialist with an interesting take on world domination. The good guys are a 'private' security firm in the image of the Kingsmen (in fact if you like the Kingsmen, you will be right at home for this story). Bad guys put the "plan' in motion and the good guys stumble across it my accident. Now the game is afoot and despite a few minor set backs, you KNOW how this story is going to end, but you still find yourself cheering them on as the piece everything together until the final showdown. Of course, what really keeps you engaged is the humorous relationship between the main characters. In pure escapist tradition, I can't help it ... I like them and I want to be them ... so the dream just works (YMMV).

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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