last reads

DEAD or Alive by Tom Clancy and Grant Blackwood Publishing information: Paperback; 950 pages Publisher: Putnam; 1 January 2010 ISBN: 9780399157233 Series: The Campus #2 Copy: Out of Pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Jack Ryan, the former president of the United States, is out of office, but not out of the loop about his brainchild, the Campus, a highly effective, counter-terrorism organization that operates outside the Washington hierarchy. But what Ryan doesn't know is that his son, Jack Ryan, Jr., has joined his cousins, Brian and Dominic Caruso, at the shadowy Campus. While a highly effective analyst, young Ryan hungers for the action of a field agent. The Campus has now turned their sights on the Emir, the number one terrorist threat to western civilization. A reclusive figure and mastermind of vicious terrorist acts, the Emir has eluded capture by the world's law enforcement agencies. But now with the help of ex-CIA agent John Clark and pro Marine Colonel Ding ...

Age of Blood by Weston Ochse Publishing information: Paperback ARC; 337 pages Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 15 Oct 2013 ISBN: 78-1250036629 Series: SEAL Team 666 #2 Copy: Provided by author Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Tom Clancy meets The X-Files in Weston Ochse's SEAL Team 666 series starring the Navy SEALs who handle supernatural threats When a Senator’s daughter is kidnapped by a mysterious group with ties to the supernatural . . . it’s clearly a job for SEAL TEAM 666. As Triple Six gets involved, they discover links to the Zeta Cartel, a newly discovered temple beneath Mexico City, and a group known as Followers of the Flayed One. International politics, cross-border narco-terrorism, and an insidious force operating inside the team soon threaten to derail the mission. Forced to partner with several militant ex-patriots and a former Zeta hitman-turned-skinwalker, Triple Six is the world's only hope to stop the return of the Age of Blood." In the last SEAL ...

Soul for Trouble by Crista McHugh Publishing Information: Kindle Publisher: Self Published; 7 Feb 2012 ISBN: 9781468158748 Copy: Provided by Author Series: Soulbearer #1 Reviewer: Tyson Synopsis: "When you’re a witch named Trouble, chaos follows. Arden Lesstymine (known to everyone as Trouble) likes attention as much as the next girl, but this is getting ridiculous. When an insane stranger is murdered at the inn where she works, Trouble becomes the next Soulbearer for the disembodied god of chaos, Loku. Yes, it comes with the ability to channel the god’s limitless power, but at the cost of her sanity — literally. Now she has a sexy but cynical knight claiming to be her protector, a prince trying to seduce her to his cause (and his bed), and a snarky chaos god who offers a play-by-play commentary on it all, whether she wants to hear it or not. To make matters worse, a necromancer wants to capture the soul of Loku for his own dark purposes, and the only way he can get it is by killi...

It has been a few months since the challenge was issued by Mark Lawrence and I am finally able to report that I have finished reading all 26 books that were assigned to me. Shortly following this review I will post my favorite read of the challenge and then await part 2 of the challenge where all 10 of the reviewers will submit their favorite book and have the other 9 reviewers read their choice and with luck, proclaim a winner. But before that can happen, I have to let you know about the last books that I read: PART 4 17. Disciple by L. Blankenship The saints favor her, else-wise a peasant girl like Kate Carpenter would never be apprenticed to the kingdom’s master healer. But her patron saint also marks her ready for the duty of tending to a mission that must cross the ice-bound mountains. Their little kingdom faces invasion by a vast empire and desperately needs allies; across the snow-filled pass, through the deathly thin air, is a country that’s held off the empire and may be willi...

If I had to keep this blog entry as short as a tweet I could simply write " Richard Anderson is an amazing artist. He's been producing some of the best book covers I've seen in recent years." His covers make me want to read a book without even checking the blurb. And the cover of Daniel Polansky 's highly-anticipated novella The Builders is no exception. Just look at how beautiful it is: You would certainly recognize some of Anderson's earlier works:

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney Publishing information: Paperback; 464 pages Publisher: Jove; 29 September 2009 ISBN: 978-0515147018 Series: Gray Man/Court Gentry #1 Copy: Out of Pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Courtland Gentry is a good man. But he’s a great assassin. To those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive…" I love a good thriller and have a special place in my heart for Tom Clancy. When Clancy's health started to go down hill, he brought in Ma...

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly Publishing Information: Kindle Publisher: Gallery Books; 27 January 2015 ISBN: 978-1476749556 ASIN: B00J69Y52K Standalone Copy: Provided by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles. The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong. Of course it can’t… GET READY FOR ACTION ON A GIGANTIC SCALE." Matthew Reilly, what can you ...