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Pandora’s Succession by Russell Brooks – Book Review

Posted on October 23, 2010
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“The blow to the side of his head dropped Ridley Fox to the floor. The cold surface against the side of his face, the jarring pain, and the spinning were the last things he remembered before he blacked out. When he awoke, the throbbing pain remained as he was dragged by his legs across the floor, the concrete scraping the back of his scalp. He opened his eyes, only to stare into the barrel of a Russian AK-108 assault rifle that was less than a foot above him.”

Pandora's Succession by Russell BrooksRussell Brooks’ book debut “The Pandora’s Succession” launches digitally on October 24th, 2010 – a superb non-stop action thriller set in the world of bio-weapons, chemical warfare and espionage.  I enjoyed the novel, Russell’s style is engaging and considering this is his first book is well executed. As most authors will tell you, writing the first book is extremely hard work – the second is even harder in many ways. Amazon US & Amazon UK

Since Lee Child exploded on the scene in March of ’97 we have seen a spate of enigmatic, no-nonsense action heroes, I see no reason why Russell can’t continue in this tradition and develop Ridley Fox as a character – dependent on Brooks of course!

The story begins on the outskirts of Grozny, Chechnya in an old bunker – Ridley Fox, a likeable leading man, is captured, beaten and in poor shape. Someone has set him up. Sveta Stechnia, an informant helps him escape but inevitably pays the ultimate price and the CIA operative leaves alone.

A hyper deadly microbe called “Pandora” has ruled out ancient civilisations and has returned. A deadly and virulent microbe, Pandora takes no prisoners, leaves anyone behind – Pandora is a desirable commodity and there’s no shortage of …

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Caro Ramsay’s Dark Water – book review

Posted on August 10, 2010
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Dark Water begins at a furious pace. A young woman on her way home from a New Year’s Eve party in 1999, 40 minutes before heralding in the new millennia. Driving conditions are poor and visibility is at a dangerous level on slippery roads. Suddenly a car drives into view and forces her off the road. The time is 23:25.

Caro Ramsay was born and educated in Glasgow. Now in her late thirties, she lives in a village on the West Coast of Scotland with an odd selection of stray dogs including Emily, the demented pit bull terrier. Dark Water is the third book in the Costello/Anderson series it follows Absolution (2008) and Singing to the dead (2009).

One of the main advantages with starting a new book is you really have no idea what you are going to get. We all, as readers, have expectations. However, until you begin the literary journey held within the covers you can never be certain if the pages contain a gripping and well told story or not. Available in Paperback from Penguin.

Dark Water had me from the very first page, the Prologue. It set the scene for the entire book. It was atmospheric, descriptive, suspenseful and gripping.

When a hideously disfigured body is found in the attic of a deserted tenement it began a journey full of discovery and pain that with each turn of the page seemed to multiply. Little do investigating officers DI Anderson and DS Costello know then that the murder would open up old wounds long since closed.

Partickhill police station is on its last legs, DCI Rebecca Quinn is close to retirement and has one big case left in her, solve it and Partickhill’s future is assured, fail and they lose not only the rundown station …

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Amazon UK launch new Kindle Book Store

Posted on August 6, 2010
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Great news just in (and it’s about time too) Amazon.co.uk have now launched the UK Kindle Store with the biggest selection and lowest prices of any e-bookstore in the UK.

Over 400,000 books are now available from the UK Kindle Store, including 84 of the 100 Nielsen UK Bestsellers.

The UK Kindle Store features a vast selection of titles – including New Releases and Bestsellers – from UK authors including Terry Pratchett, Ian Rankin, Martina Cole, Sophie Kinsella and Ken Follett. The selection includes exclusives to the Kindle Store such as contemporary classics from the Wylie Agency’s new Odyssey Editions imprint including Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, John Cheever’s The Stories of John Cheever, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead, and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.

Over 170 top UK and international newspapers and magazines are also available in the UK Kindle store for single purchase or subscription. UK titles in this selection include The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Economist, The Independent, The Financial Times and The Evening Standard. Kindle customers can also subscribe to over 9,000 blogs. All subscriptions are auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle and start with a free 14-day trial.

On July 29, Amazon.co.uk started taking pre-orders for the all-new Kindle featuring a new electronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast than any other e-reader, a new sleek design with 21 percent smaller body than the previous Kindle, while still keeping the same 6-inch-size reading area, and a 15 percent lighter weight at just 247 grams (8.7 ounces). The all-new Kindle with Wi-Fi is available for £109 and with Free 3G wireless and Wi-Fi for £149.

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Face of Betrayal (Lis Wiehl) – book review

Posted on August 5, 2010
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Every once in a while a book comes along, unexpectedly, that you just can’t put down despite your best efforts. Life goes out the window as each character magically comes to life and every scene a page turner. Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl is that book.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I managed to read my way through an entire novel (320 pages) in one day but the engaging characters and mysterious sub plots had me hooked from the very first chapter. Food yesterday was secondary to a gripping mystery novel of whodunit, betrayal, love and murder.

Lis Wiehl best known for her stint as a Fox News commentator and legal analyst in the United States, teams up with mystery veteran Henry (Buried Diamonds) on a sizzling political thriller.

When 17-year-old Senate page Katie Converse goes missing on her Christmas break near her parents’ white Victorian home in Portland, Ore., law enforcement and media personnel go into overdrive in a search for clues.

Published by Thomas Nelson the book is now available in the US (paper and Kindle versions). The current UK book launch (paperback) is not expected until 6th December 2010.

The novel centres around three friends – Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor; Cassidy Shaw, a crime reporter; and Nicole Hedges, an FBI special agent – together they are “The Triple Threat Club”.

They discover Katie’s “private” and cryptic blog and despite the best efforts of a 17 year old it doesn’t take Nicole Hedges long to decipher who the young girl was writing about. Senator Fairview is thrust into the limelight with allegations of improper relations surfacing; allegations that threaten to derail his career in the senate.

Was Katie kidnapped, did she run away or was she murdered? It takes a while …

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Lee Child’s “Die Trying” Book Review

Posted on August 2, 2010
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Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is back in Lee Child’s second instalment “Die Trying”. Following on from his first novel and critically acclaimed “Killing Floor” Child is not only back on form but is better than ever!

In the “Killing Floor”, Jack Reacher stumbles upon a web of corruption, murder and money laundering. Unable to escape due to corruption at the highest level of the local police Reacher is hell-bent on proving his innocence and bringing those guilty to his own unique level of justice.

Similarly in “Die Trying” Reacher is minding his own business when he walks past a small dry cleaners in Chicago and bumps into Holly Johnson, an attractive FBI agent new to the agency. Holly, recovering from a knee injury sustained while playing soccer, stumbles and Reacher is on hand to stop her from falling. At that very moment the pair are hurried into a waiting car, kidnapped at gunpoint and taken far away.

Reacher is once again a victim of circumstance but once he gets to know Holly he commits to the “relationship” and is determined to look after the rookie agent.

Child’s is at his descriptive best, effortlessly filling in Holly’s back-story as their journey unfolds.

We discover the truth about Holly and her family, why she is critical to Borken’s master plan of destruction and why despite kidnapping her he is adamant that no harm comes to her. Beau Borken is the enemy. There’s something different about his character, as a reader you want to side with Reacher (and you do) but I can’t help thinking some level of admiration for the cult leader for his ingenuity and guile. Borken is a clever but ruthless enemy who will stop at nothing to achieve the end game.

Full of twists and …

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Amazon’s Kindle available for £109 in the UK

Posted on July 29, 2010
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Kindle is Amazon’s #1 bestselling item for two years running. It’s the most-wished-for, most-gifted, and has the most 5-star reviews of any product on Amazon.com. Now it’s even better. Two models are available in the UK (Wi-fi) and (Wi-fi +3g) at a cost of £109 and £149. Both models will be available on Augst 27th, 2010.

  • All-New, High-Contrast E-Ink Screen – 50% better contrast than any other e-reader
  • Read in Bright Sunlight – No glare
  • New and Improved Fonts – New crisper, darker fonts
  • New Sleek Design – 21% smaller body while keeping the same 6″ size reading area
  • 17% Lighter – Only 241 grams, weighs less than a paperback
  • Battery Life of One Month – A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off
  • Double the Storage – Up to 3,500 books
  • Built-In Wi-Fi – Connect at home or on the road
  • Books in 60 Seconds – Download books anytime, anywhere
  • 20% Faster Page Turns – Seamless reading
  • Enhanced PDF Reader – With dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights
  • New WebKit-Based Browser – Browse the web over Wi-Fi (experimental)

Gone are the days of buying from US Amazon, the Kindle can be bought from UK Amazon at either £109 (Wi-fi) or £149 (Wi-fi & 3G). The prices mark a significant drop and show the power of buying.

Lighter & Thinner – Only 241 Grams
When reading for long periods of time, we know that weight matters. That’s why we worked hard to make our newest Kindle lighter than ever – only 241 grams – so you can read comfortably for hours with just one hand. Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback, and thinner than a magazine. Just 8.5mm in profile, Kindle fits perfectly in your hands.

Ergonomic Design
Kindle is easy to hold …

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No Mercy by John Gilstrap – ebook review

Posted on July 13, 2010
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No names. No feds. No trace evidence. That’s how Jonathan Grave operates. As a freelance specialist in covert rescues, he has to work outside the law to get things done—especially in highly sensitive hostage situations. But when an Indiana college student is abducted, and Jonathan’s meticulous plan explodes into a deadly shooting spree, the local authorities are out for blood—and they’re not alone. Someone wants to control a devastating secret… someone rich and powerful… someone willing to capture, torture, and kill anyone to get it. Even the people he loves most…

I have to admit I’d never heard of John Gilstrap before picking up this book. When I say “picking up” I do actually mean downloaded from Amazon for Kindle via the iPad! The wonderful gadget, albeit expensive gadget has re”Kindled” my appetite for ebooks and No Mercy is my first via the Kindle application. No stranger to the wonderful and elegant ibooks application I came across “No Mercy” as a free download and thought why not! Available in Paperback

Gilstrap is a New York Times bestselling author known for thriller’s including Nathan’s Run, Scott Free and Six Minutes to Freedom which in itself gave him the idea for the Jonathan Grave series. I wasn’t sure what to expect, you never are when you pick up a book from a new author. I’m always excited when I pick up a new book from an unknown author (by me, not the New York Times I add!). You never know what to expect. Will the author’s writing style suit your personal tastes? Is the hero or heroine believable? How will the book flow?

No Mercy (June 2009) is a wonderful read. The characters are believable, true and colourful. Jonathan Grave, known affectionately to his friends as Digger is a …

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No Mercy Ebook – John Gilstrap

Posted on July 4, 2010
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Buying an iPad was the best thing I’ve done in a fairly long time (apart from fitness) and every day I find something else to do, a new use for the iPad or download another book to read when I get some downtime.

I downloaded ibooks and Amazon’s Kindle and started investigating the world of ebook literature. There are obvious differences between the two applications, mostly the differences in price and volumes on offer. In terms of value for money and the amount of books on offer Amazon Kindle wins hands down. The books are a lot cheaper and as long as you are happy with how the Kindle application works then that’s the one to use.  I love ibooks despite the prices and will use it now and then but until they lower the prices Kindle will win.

With that said I searched the download chart for Kindle and noticed they have a number of books on offer at no cost, granted the majority of free books are either classics or modern romance novels. However once in a while they list free novels worth buying and the latest one I have downloaded is “No Mercy” by New York Bestseller John Gilstrap.  No Mercy is currently free until July 5th (tomorrow) so grab it quickly! Amazing read, you have to download it!

Bestseller Gilstrap (Nathan’s Run) launches a thriller series following PI Jonathan Grave. Much like Bruce Wayne, Grave is single and rich, uses expensive gadgets and has a vigilante alter ego. Hokey dialogue (I respect anyone willing to die for a cause…. My goal is to help [terrorists] die for their cause. But I still respect them) hampers an otherwise entertaining read as Grave investigates the disappearance of investigative reporter Tibor Rothman, husband of Grave’s ex-wife, …

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The iPad cometh and boy is it good!

Posted on June 26, 2010
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After a lot of soul searching, procrastinating and wondering if I could justify the expense I finally made the decision to buy an ipad. Once I had made that decision, little did I know that that wasn’t the end to my dilema! Should I go for a 16Gb, 32Gb or the daddy of them all a 64Gb. Oh and did I forget to add that you then have a choice of wi-fi or 3g?!!!!

With my decision made I made the trip to the local apple store and within 10 minutes I was on my way back to work with a 64Gb 3g in my hand! I’ve noticed I’m using the net and apps more than I use my iphone for calls and decided to give the new iphone 4 a miss and get the top ipad model!

The ipad is a thing of beauty and although a little over a week old I can’t put it down! It does everything I want and mode, looks absolutely stunning and the operating system is super fast making browsing a dream and video’s a delight. I’ve downloaded over 50 books and they happily sit on the ibooks bookcase and Amazon’s Kindle offering.

Without doubt, ebooks is the way forward, only thing I want now is for the publishers to lower the price for these books and make them a realistic and competitive option to the real thing.

My new leather case arrived today and it really completes the look. Classy. Not tempted by the new iphone yet despite seeing it in the flesh at work yesterday – thanks @maxrunning

Only time will tell if I fall into temptation!! More thoughts on the ipad later but for now, here’s a couple of pics of the new leather case and the ipad!

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