Tag: 2015 Reads

The Martian – Andy Weir

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The Martian – Andy Weir – Book 27 of 2015 No 4 of Science Fiction Reading Challenge

 

One of my resolutions for 2015 was to read more science fiction. It is a genre that I have read and loved in the past  I have read the classics by authors like Frank Herbert, Arthur C Clarke and Robert Heinlein along with authors like David Brin and Orson Scott Card, but  through the years that amount of SciFi that I read dwindles down to almost nothing. I say almost because I have read several boos by John Scalzi. Anyway, back at the beginning of the year I went looking for new science fiction to read and one book that kept appearing on several of the list of the Best Science Fiction was The Martian Andy Weir’s. The Martian became the 27th book I’ve read in 2015, and the fourth in the science fiction genre. Now I know what everyone has been raving about! The Martian is a terrific read!. It is by far my favorite SciFi read of the year and up there among my favorite overall reads!  My current SciFi read Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher is a close second!

For those of you who like me know little about The Martian, it is a Robinson Crusoe, Tom Hawks Cast Way type tale set on Mars. The Cast Away is Engineer Botanist Mark Watney  who is part of the third manned mission to Mars. After touchdown and setting up their base a violent sandstorm hits the base. The mission is canceled and the astronauts are ordered to leave the planet. As they are making their way to the shuttle craft, Mark is swept away by a 170 km/hr gust of wind and lost. The crew is unable to find him and he is assumed to be dead and buried. The crew reluctantly leave Mars. Only Mark IS alive and here’s what he thinks about his chances of surviving. From the opening paragraphs of The Martian.…..

chapter 1 - The Martian

When I started the book I didn’t;t think that Weir could make Watney’s tale of survival on Mars as compelling and interesting as he did. Watney would have to survive almost 4 years until the return of another manned Mars mission! He faced challenges like getting food to grow on a barren planet and making water without blowing himself up!  He battled everything the planet could trow at him with humor, ingenuity, duct tape, 70s disco music and TV shows!!

Some of my favorite lines from the book include……

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”

“Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be “in command” if I were the only remaining person.”
What do you know? I’m in command”

And as a Granddad I love this one…

“I can’t wait till I have grandchildren. When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!”

Bottom Line Rating ***** The Martian is everything that everyone says that it is, a compelling and suspenseful story of survival against incredible odds! One of the themes of the book is the question of whether it wise to save one person at an astronomical cost or to put more lives at risk for one man!

A movie based on the book is set for release in November with Matt Damon starring as Mark Watney, so hurry and go out and read the book. So that, when you see the movie you can say that the movie was good, but the book was better!! You can check out information about the movie here

Links for Further Exploration of The Martian and Andy Weir

Author”s Website
Goodreads: The Martian
Goodreads: Andy Weir

Brimstone – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

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Brimstone – Preston & Child – Pendergrast and D’Agosta chase down the Devil?

 

Preston & Child’s FBI Agent Pendergrast investigates those curious cases, so when Brimstone opens with art critic Jeremy Grove found burnt to a crisp in a locked and barricaded room in the attic of his mansion in the Hamptons, you knew Pendergrast would be there soon. Grove is found burnt to death from the inside out, amid the smell of brimstone. And next to him is the devil’s hoof print burnt into the floor! Soon the question arises: Had Grove really made a Faustian pack with the devil and he came to collect???

In the hours before his death, Grove called three names. One of those names turns up dead in the same manner as Grove, with the devil’s likeness burnt into his NYC apartment. Then the case really gets exciting!
Soon Pendergrast is out to determine the earthly cause for these murders, before the killer can collect the souls of the last two names on the list! Aiding Pendergrast in his quest, and he is going to need all the help he can get, are Vincent D’Agosta and Laura Hayward ,who have helped Pendergrast on past cases..(Relic and Reliquary) Vincent is now a Sargent in the Southampton police department, while Laura is a Captain in the NYPD.

The quest will take Pendergrast and D’Agosta from the mansions of Southampton, to the townhouses of New York and ultimately to the city of Florence, Italy and the Italian countryside,where four young men may have made that pact with the devil!! While Laura faces a preacher and a newspaper man. And they have NYC residents believing that the end of days are here!

Oh No! – I Read Books Out of Order

Brimstone book five in the Agent Pendergrast I series and the first book to feature Pendergrast’s brother Diogenes. I read this book after I reading Dance of Death, Book 6 in the series. I mistakenly thought that Dance of Death was the first book of three that featured Diogenes.
Anyway,I would recommend that Brimstone be read before reading Death of Dance and The Book of the Dead. As Brimstone does provide background for the various relationships in the books!

Bottom Line: Brimstone was another terrific read from Preston & Child. Easily four plus stars out of 5. Once again I enjoyed all of the wonderful characters especially Pendergast. I think is one of the most interesting and unique characters in the genre. The storyline kept the pages flying by, the suspense mounting, and the authors provided an ending that would have left me starting Dance of Death immediately had I not screwed up!! As it is I can’t wait to start  The Book of the Dead!!

Endangered by C. J. Box Joe Pickett Series # 15

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Endangered - C.J. Box Joe Pickett

 

Stealing an idea for a friend of Goodreads, I am going to start this review with the first paragraph of Endangered the latest Joe Pickett novel from C.J. Box….

When Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett received the call every parent dreads, he was standing knee-high in thick sagebrush, counting the carcasses of sage grouse. He was up to twenty-one

That simple paragraph sets the stage for the whole book and tells the new reader a lot about Joe Pickett. For those who don’t know Joe it lets you know that he lives in Wyoming and he is a game warden, but it also tells you that he is a caring parent Throughout the fifteen plus books in the series, Joe’s wife Mary Beth and children Sheridan, Lucy and April have been there, along with Joe’s mother-in-law Missy.now Templeton and Joe’s right-hand man and the families protector Nate Romanowski..If you do know Joe you know that the presence of those dead sage grouse will not make Joe happy and he won’t quit until h discovers who killed them. Oh and also that their slaughter may be associated with the book’s title Endangered.

The call Joe received told him that a young girl was found badly beaten in a roadside ditch and she looked like his adopted daughter April. April had runaway a while back with a young rodeo star Dallas Cates. Joe never liked Dallas who was a member of a family that Joe has had numerous run ins with as game warden. Dallas of course is the prime suspect and Joe is out to make sure he pays for his crime!!

Meanwhile Joe’s friend Nate Romanowski, an ex-special forces soldier is set to be released from prison and used as bait to flush out the missing Wolfgang Templeton whose murder for hire business Nate had worked for (see Stone Cold) Soon after Nate is released he is ambushed and shot!!

Soon Joe has a lot of problems – will April survive and did Dallas beat her? To solve that puzzle Joe has to go up against the Cates family and that is no easy task. Led by Mama Brenda the family is about as dysfunctional as you can get. Dallas brother Bull lost his livelihood thanks to you know who – yes Joe Pickett.and brother Timber is in prison!!

Joe also has to worry about Nate. Could what happen to Nate and April be related??? And don’t forget those sage grouse. The species were ready to be placed on the endangered species list so a lot of people have a reason to eliminate members of the dwindling species, but who did it??

Joe won’t quit until he finds out and this time finding out just may cost Joe his life!!

Bottom Line: Endangered is a winner!! Several books ago I set aside Cold Wind. I just couldn’t get into it and I thought that I would quit this series. But since then C J Box has come back roaring with four great books and Endangered may be the best of the four! Bookpage says….

“C.J. Box moves from strength to strength with each new installment. I would say that he is at the top of his form, but the top just keeps moving ever upward”

How true. Endangered was a real page-turner for me. The plot kept me in suspense to the last pages, and of course the characters that Pickett has created along the way are a vivid and real as it gets. You know, it’s hard some time to remember that Joe and his family are not real!! Since I have to wait a bit for the next Joe Picket book I think I’ll check out The Highway a stand alone that features Cody Hoyt from previous Joe Pickett books!!.’

Links for Further Explorations of C J Box

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon

Dreamless – Jorgen Brekke

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Dreamless (Book 2 – Odd Singsaker Series)

 

Dreamless is the second book  from Norwegian author Jorgen Brekke and it’s a good one. The setting of the book is Trondheim Norway and the main character of the series is Chief Inspector Odd Singsaker. The book follows up where book one Where Monsters Dwell left off. Odd is still recovering and ,dealing with the effects of his brain tumor. He is now married to former American police officer Felicia Stone. All of the characters are still dealing with the aftershocks of the prior murder investigation, only to be immersed in an even more bizarre investigation, The new investigation starts when a young woman is found murdered,  her larynx has been removed and a music box stuffed in its place!!  The music box is playing a beautiful lullaby that no one has ever heard!

When the killer snatches another victim this one a teenage girl with a beautiful voice, Odd and his force know that they must find the girl quickly or she will meet the same fate as the first victim. But the question is why?? What is the ultimate objective of the killer? Is it murder for murder’s sake or does he want something more from these women something that revolves around the lullaby and its history??

The history of the lullaby is told in a series of flashbacks side by side with the modern story. That story involves the solving of another murder that of a young troubadour from Sweden who is found dead in Trondheim in 1767! The troubadour is the composer of the lullaby whose claim to fame is that it sends any listener into a long and blissful sleep. The mystery of the troubadour’s grisly murder must be solved by the Chief of Police Nils Bayer. Bayer not only fights to discover the murderer but also his addiction to alcohol!

Bottom Line: Dreamless is a great read and I can’t wait until I can get my hands on the next adventure of Odd Singsaker. See while Odd was tracking down the killer he was also having person problems stemming from his actions in book one of the series, and at the end of  Dreamless things were not resolved between Odd and Felicia! We need to know!!

I enjoy the way Brekke has blended current events with history in both books. The characters Odd and all his friends and co-workers are great and the mysteries are intricately plotted and the action fast paced with the final resolutions of both story lines finishing on the final pages, leaving you gasping and ready  for more!! Fans of Jo Nesbo, and Karin Fossum will love this one!

Links for Further Explorations

Website: MacMillan: Odd Singsaker
Amazon: Jorgen Brekke Page
Dreamless
Goodreads:Jorgen Brekke
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Book 16 for 2015 – 10 on a goal of 23 for the Cloak & Dagger  Reading Challenge!