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Category: Action & Adventure

Review: The Fear index by Robert Harris

[ 2 ] April 19, 2012

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

Dr. Alexander Hoffman is a pioneer in the realm of artificial intelligence. After years of work he has created VIXAL-4, an algorithm that trades in the global markets by capitalizing on the Fear Index – financial movements based on the current level of risk. The success of the algorithm has made billions for Hoffman and his clients even in a falling market, and they are preparing to solicit even greater investments to move forward.

On May 6, everything turns upside down.

A mysterious book, a late-night intruder, and a series of communications Hoffman doesn’t remember having…all these things and more are somehow connected, and Hoffman is convinced that someone is out to ruin him. But who could it be – a disgruntled employee, a client, or a competitor looking to drive him out? As coincidences pile up and his life is torn to shreds, Hoffman must discover a truth more frightening than his worst assumptions.

Robert Harris’ The Fear Index begins slowly but draws the reader in with a gripping sequence of events taking place in the first few pages and setting the tone for the rest of the novel. The exposition is somewhat slow, focusing on the technical aspects of VIXAL-4 and the politics of dealing with investors, until a sudden frenzy of plot movement propels both protagonist and reader to a dramatic conclusion both wholly predictable and utterly shocking.

Not every part of the story fits together seamlessly, however. There are vague references to a potential subplot that, if further developed, had the potential to add greater depth to Hoffman’s journey; instead, the subject is tersely addressed in a few short asides and forgotten. In addition, the web woven around Hoffman is so intricate that a few rereads of different sections were necessary to establish how each element of the mystery fit into the larger whole.

Perhaps, though, that was Harris’ goal. The twists and turns that Hoffman faces are sure to keep the reader guessing, and there are quite a few surprises along the way. Ultimately, the effort to keep the facts straight was well worth it.

The Fear Index is an excellent psychological thriller, with dashes of crime drama and technology thrown in. Don’t be afraid to give it a read.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fiancé and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Knopf. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Sanctus by Simon Toyne

[ 3 ] February 18, 2012

Reviewed by Marcus Hammond

A large mountain called the Citadel rises into the atmosphere and casts its shadow over the city of Ruin, Turkey. Within the mountain an ancient order of monks, known as the Sanctus, live to protect a fundamental secret of their religious order: the Sacrament. Only a chosen few within the monastic order are allowed to know the identity of the Sacrament.

As one of the chosen few, the Sacrament is revealed to Samuel who instantly rejects his religious education and rebels against the religious sect he has dedicated his adult life too. After being sentenced to death for his reaction to the Sacrament, Samuel escapes the Citadel through a small prison window high up on the mountain’s sheer face. As he climbs up the steep mountainside Samuel sets into motion a renewal of a violent religious war. From the top of the mountain, Samuel jumps to his doom, landing within the Ruin city jurisdiction to provide clues for his long estranged sister, Liv, about the terrible secret hidden within the mountain.

As Liv begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her brother’s suicide and the Sanctus monks, the leaders within the mountain become aware of the relationship between Samuel, Liv, and an ancient prophecy that foretells the revelation of the Sacrament to the world. In response they begin to hunt Liv down in order to silence her and stop her from fulfilling her role in their ancient war. Liv, however, finds help and protection from the descendants of a group who have been sworn to reveal the Sacrament to the world. The explosive consequences of the battle between the two ancient religious groups provide a pretty far-fetched, yet entertaining, and imaginative opening book to a trilogy.

Sanctus consists of short chapters (about three to five pages) that switch between the perspectives of the protagonists and antagonists throughout the story. This style creates a plot that moves at an intense pace that helps distract the reader from Simon Toyne’s re-envisioning of an unnamed, yet widely popular religious belief structure, that will probably be read (and rightfully so) as a reference to the Vatican.

Overall, if you’re a fan of Dan Brown style plots and James Patterson style organization, this thriller should entertain you enough to place the subsequent sequels on your library waiting list.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

After obtaining a Masters in Liberal Arts and Literature Marcus has dedicated most of his time to teaching English Composition for a community college in the Midwest. In his down time, he spends time avidly reading an eclectic selection of books and doing freelance writing whenever he gets the chance. He lives in Kansas with his wife.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by William Morrow. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

[ 3 ] January 5, 2012

Reviewed by Marcus Hammond

In Amanda Kyle Williams’ The Stranger You Seek, a brutal serial killer plays a twisted and dangerous game with the Atlanta Police Department. Keye Street, a former FBI violent crimes analyst turned private investigator is asked to push her personal demons aside to consult on the investigation.

Keye Street is a mess. Her personal and professional lives have fallen apart due to alcoholism fueled by the emotional toll of reconstructing violent crimes. As she picks up the pieces of her lost career and marriage, she embarks on a private investigation career that keeps her close enough to the job she lost, but far enough from the stress to keep her sober. This plan for normalcy works until her long time friend, Lt. Aaron Rauser, pulls her into consulting on a series of murders that grow more and more gruesome with each body.

Throughout the novel, Williams creates a violent and sadistic atmosphere that keeps the reader on edge and also establishes a tough, yet vulnerable detective to chase the clues. The murderer, coined Wishbone by the Atlanta media, tortures and mutilates the victims, leaving them in staged positions throughout the city. Wishbone takes notice as Keye and Rauser try to make sense of the crime scenes and begins addressing the detectives personally through letters leaked to the media. As the frustration of following dead end clues mounts, Wishbone begins drawing Keye’s personal life into the deadly game.

Throughout the novel, Williams peppers the plot with secondary story lines. As a private investigator Keye serves subpoenas, acts as a bounty hunter, and investigates litigants for various legal teams throughout the city. Keye is also closely connected to her family. While at points these interludes into her daily and personal life are vital to Keye’s search for Wishbone, many of the side stories derail the suspense in favor for humor. With that said, Williams plans to create a series out of Keye Street’s character and some of the back-story may have been better had it been spread out more evenly through the series.

Outside of the back stories that detract from the overall suspense and emotion of the Profiler/Murderer dynamic established within the novel, Amanda Kyle Williams creates an entertaining, gripping first installment to a series that should only get better as it is developed.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

After obtaining a Masters in Liberal Arts and Literature Marcus has dedicated most of his time to teaching English Composition for a community college in the Midwest. In his down time, he spends time avidly reading an eclectic selection of books and doing freelance writing whenever he gets the chance. He lives in Kansas with his wife.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bantam. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour: The Sacrovir Revolt by James Mace

[ 4 ] October 31, 2011

Please welcome James Mace, author of The Sacrovir Revolt, as he tours the blogosphere with Pump Up Your Book!

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

The Sacrovir Revolt is the second book in the Artorian Chronicles and I have to say it’s just as good as the first one! Artorius has continued to work with Vitruvius on his weapons training and has become a legend in his own right. Before too long there are rumblings of a revolt blossoming in Gaul. Artorius’ unit is sent to make sure the minor revolt does not become a major one.

When they get to Gaul they discover the man planning on helping them out is Sacrovir. Sacrovir is the gladiator owner who was humiliated and lost lots of money when Vitruvius killed his gladiator in the ring back in Rome. This causes a few warning flags to go off among the officers and they feel that all might not be as it seems.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Sacrovir Revolt. It’s not very difficult to read and the author did an excellent job researching the time period. At times the story is a little brutal but the worst things are only alluded to but rarely witnessed by any of the characters first hand. Once again, worrying about the set of heroes was unnecessary since them making it through the book was a given.

Mace usually has a second story going at the same time, such as the one involving Artorius. It tends to show whats going on back in Rome with the rulers, in this case Tiberius. I think part of the reason for this technique is that Mace has done so much research he doesn’t want it to go to waste. I enjoyed the asides and felt it added to the book, but it was only tangentially related to the main story arc. The Sacrovir Revolt is a great book for those interested in the Roman army or even in Rome in general.

Rating: 3.5/5

Check out our review of the first book in the Artorian Chronicles, The Legionary

Caleb is a software engineer and amature woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

The review copy of this book was provided free of any obligation by Pump Up Your Book. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

[ 5 ] September 6, 2011

Reviewed by Erin McKibbin

“You humans are biological machines designed to create ever more intelligent tools. You have reached the pinnacle of your species…where you have fulfilled the destiny of humankind and created your successor. You have expired.” – Archos

At the end of the “New War,” Cormac Wallace of the Gray Horse Army unearths something inexplicable: a black box much like those on airplanes buried in the ground by the artificial intelligence that was the backbone of the robotic uprising around the globe. In this black box, Archos the 14th captured moments leading up to “Zero Hour” and beyond; honoring the human race it sought to destroy by studying the initial responses when machine turned on man and chronicling humanity’s attempts to wipe out the robot army bent on extermination.

Wallace calls it the Hero Archive. He painstakingly translates the data in the box into a chronicle so that everyone “will know that humanity carried the flame of knowledge into the terrible blackness of the unknown, to the very brink of annihilation…and we carried it back.”

Daniel H. Wilson creates a chilling futuristic novel with Robopocalypse. Set in the near future,  Wilson describes a society that has built a race of machines and robots to function as servants and tools in just about every aspect of the modern human world. Some are utensils designed to operate without supervision. Some are very human looking, designed to function as maids and aides for families. Some are just children’s toys. But one thing they all have in common is their ability to tie into a data network, one that is compromised and taken over by a malevolent artificial intelligence. This AI “sets the robots free” and arms them with tools and weapons for the sole purpose of wiping the human race out. What this AI does not understand is that humanity is not designed to surrender.

Robopocalypse is a fantastic and bloodcurdling portrayal of what could happen if humanity continues to play god with its creations.

Rating: 5/5

Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature. She works as a freelance news, marketing, and technical writer as well as a full-time researcher/investigator in the sign industry. Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio enjoying the beauty of life with her children and grandchildren.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Doubleday. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Ranger by Ace Atkins

[ 7 ] August 2, 2011

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

The Ranger is the first book in a new series by Ace Atkins. We meet Quinn Colson, a Ranger in the Army, on his way home for his uncle’s funeral in Northern Mississippi. Quinn hasn’t been home for six years and he discovers a lot has changed, and most of the changes are not for the good. On his second day back, Quinn receives a visit from Johnny Stagg, who was a real lowlife when Quinn was growing up. Johnny insists that his uncle took out loans on a handshake that add up to the value of the entire farm that Quinn now owns, and that Johnny himself holds the IOUs.

Even though Quinn’s uncle reportedly committed suicide, Lillie Virgil, a friend and deputy, is pretty sure there is something fishy about the whole mess. Quinn and Lillie begin investigating and find that the fact as they know them just don’t add up. Drug dealers, dirty cops, white supremacists, a whole host of bad just asks to be poked. Quinn decides to stir the pot and see what floats up. That’s when things started getting interesting…

Overall, The Ranger was a good solid book, but I never really connected with Quinn. He seemed way too disconnected from everyone around him except for his friend Boom. I never really liked him or even came close to understanding him. The story was good, and several of the minor characters were absolutely great, but I felt Quinn was just missing that special something. The Ranger was a decent read and I enjoyed it, but I’m not eagerly awaiting the next book.

Rating: 3.5/5

Caleb is a software engineer and amature woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

The review copy of this book was provided free of any obligation by Putnam Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour: Soldier of Rome: The Legionary by James Mace

[ 6 ] July 18, 2011

Please join James Mace, author of Soldier of Rome: The Legionary, as he tours the blogosphere with Pump Up Your Book!

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

In Soldier of Rome: The Legionary we meet a young man, Artorius, who joins the Legions in order be a part of the force sent to punish the German barbarians for the Teutoburger Wald massacre. They had wiped out three Roman Legions including the one his older brother had been attached to. We follow Artorius as he becomes a recruit, is trained to be a Legionary and finally marches with the army to exact vengeance upon the barbarian horde.

The Legionary takes place primarily as Tiberius takes over after the death of Caesar Augustus – an interesting and popular time for Roman historical fiction. While I’m not a Roman historian, what knowledge I do have about the time period matched with the facts Mace used in his stories. I believe he tried to be accurate in the details, especially when he described the Legions’ weapons and their use.

James Mace tells a good story; there are some gruesome moments, which is to be expected given the topic at hand. Mace has his favorites and you can expect them to come through mostly unscathed. All the bad things happen to others. This is not a dig against The Legionary (and my wife prefers stories that work like that!), but it reminded me of a Western , or even a David Eddings book, where you know the good guys are going to win. Not everyone prefers that kind of story. For my part, I did enjoy The Legionary and do plan to acquire at least the next one in the series if not all of them.

Rating: 3.5/5

Caleb is a software engineer and amature woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Pump Up Your Book. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Death by Facebook by Everett Peacock

[ 5 ] June 27, 2011

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

“What if your family and friends, co-workers and boss first heard of your death, via Facebook?” This is the question posed on the back of the book and being a Facebook user myself, it definitely stirred my interest. Unfortunately, the subject was barely touched upon at all.

While in Hawaii, Private Jimmy Turner dies when he is pushed into a volcano in a restricted area. Worse yet, Janet, the love of his life, is the one who does it by luring him there to have sex. Janet then goes back to their cabin and makes a post on Jimmy’s Facebook page. The post reads: “I just wanted to let you all know that I am dead.” She then cuts off all of her hair, dons Jimmy’s clothes and proceeds to parade around Hawaii as if she is Private Turner and nothing is wrong. Eventually, when Jimmy doesn’t show up for his deployment, military police come looking for him and Janet flees.

After totaling the car, Janet meets Starshine Aloha, a hippie who lives off of the land along with a few of her friends. Janet introduces herself as Jimmie and is staying with the group when the volcano she pushed Jimmy into erupts and she winds up in a fight for her own life.

While I found the book interesting, I did not feel that Death by Facebook by Everett Peacock addressed the million dollar question at all. In fact, I thought that there were far too many unanswered questions. Janet killed Jimmy because she read a Facebook post on his account from his brother stating that she could be their long lost sister. And yet, she never questioned him about it – instead she opted to kill him rather than investigate the rumor. Later in the book, Janet found herself pregnant with Jimmy’s child and had a late term abortion, stating that “my brother did this to me”. Why did she feel the need to impersonate him after his death instead of just living her life?

Another issue I had with Death by Facebook was that it was barely proofread, if at all. There were misspellings throughout; on some pages and in the same paragraph, beer cans became beer bottles, etc. All in all, this was an intriguing read, but not at all what I had expected, way off from the subject matter and made even more irritating by the spelling and grammar mistakes.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Everett Peacock. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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