Review - "Conquest" by B.V. Larson

I have now completed the fourth novel in the Star Force series. It was a bit downhill from the last "Rebellion" so it fits me perfectly well that the author hasn't finished his fifth book yet. I need a break...

A bit about the book

"Conquest" is the next chapter in the intergalactic war between living beeings and the Makros, the machines. In this fourth novel Riggs has brought peace to Earth, but again for a price. The Makros don't trust him anymore and have decided to get rid of both him and Earth once and for all. The war about Earth starts up again and this time the war scene is Star Force's main base on Andros, Bahamas.

At the same time as the Makros returns Riggs gets into trouble with his girlfriend Sandra. She is convinced there is romance in the air between him and his comm's leutenant. On top of that somebody tries to assasinate Riggs. Is it one of his own marines? While the battle between humans and machines goes on at Earth, Marvin - the willfull robot - has been equipped with a space ship and creates strange happenings around the galaxy. Earth gets unexpected help and Riggs takes even bigger risks. Will human kind and  biological beings survive the machines this time?

My evaluation

This is the first time in the series where I get disappointed. I have maybe had too high expectations about this book? I do like the concept very well and the humour which Larson so successful has incorporated as a valid part of the story, but - this fourth book makes me seriously wonder if I want to continue reading. It gets tiring reading about killing the Makros again and again. Tactics of war takes over from clever humor and fairytale replaces Science Fiction.

Marvin, which earlier was as unpredictable as a teenager in full bloom, is now predictable. The relationship between Riggs and the two "leading ladies" - Sandra and Jasmine - gets foolish after a while and is not very credible. On top of this the digital version I've got of this novel is full of writing errors, strange sentences and completely wrong words. It seems like the last editions aren't done and I feel I read an unfinished book. A few times this gets so annoying it takes my focus away from the action.

I don't know if I'll try out the next one in the series, "Battlestation". Time will show..

My rating

(-) of 5


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 523 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006LX3QP6

Pic of the day: View from our tent - Safari Botswana

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Review - "Rebellion" by B.V. Larson

Just finished the third novel in the "Star Force" series. This is something as original as a funny Sci-Fi series, and I haven't seen any of those for some years now.

A bit about the book

Kyle Riggs is still the head of Star Force, a group of more or less volunteers who defends Earth against invasion from space. To keep the peace with the Macro's - a race which entirely consists of machines - Riggs has made a deal with them. The result is that Star Force for a short period of time will act as assasins for the Macros. After the deal is fulfilled the Macros will leave Earth in peace. This, however, does not happen. Instead Riggs & Co. are forcibly sent on a new mission to do genocide towards the Centaurs.

"Rebellion" is the turning point in the great galactic war between all living creatures and the machines. Star Force is still, forcibly, fighting for the Macros, but for how long? In this third novel Kyle Riggs learns just what kind of war Earth is involved in, and now he is going towards loosing his conscience. Should humans do genocide towards another race to save themselves? Riggs and the Star Force are in for a challenge, and in addition to the war going on they have a brain box which completely does its own stunts - the robot called Marvin...

My evaluation

I caught myself laughing out loud several times on the plane reading the book. Maybe it's just me, but I find a hilarious hero in Kyle Riggs. He isn't a super human "knows it all - does it all", but with his enhanced body he surely knows how to survive. And in between he has some really good ideas. This is actually something as rare as a funny Sci-Fi novel. The story is compex enough, even if Larson writes in a very easy and sometimes naïve way. Here you don't find greatly described worlds with lots of details. This is more hands-on combat, tactics, humor, a little love, sarcasms and improbabilities mixed with action scenes and a strange robot going his own ways.

This novel is, as both of the previous ones in the series, an easy read without it never getting bad for that reason. Larson engages me totally with his writing, and even if I personally ain't a huge fan of details of star wars and war tactics the novel doesn't overdo it at all. This is a Sci-Fi series for those who find Peter F. Hamilton and his likes too heavy and detailed. This is also a series for those who wants to try the Sci-Fi genre but are allergic to too much technical stuff. This series is not complex at all! I liked this novel very much, and I think Larson just writes better and better as the story develops. I have already started book 4 in the series - "Conquest" - the preliminary last one.

Review of the first two books in the series you'll find here:

1. Swarm
2. Extinction

More books from the same author - B.V. Larson - you can find HERE and you can click the above youtube link to hear the author talk about his books and his experience with publishing with Amazon.

My rating

of 5


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 535 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005IQZ8UI

Not quite spring yet - but promising..!!

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Review - "Purity" by Douglas Clegg

This is my first horror novella, and that is not bad! I am widening my horizon, as was one of my objectives with jotting down my reading challenges for 2012. I wasn't disappointed! I didn't know Douglas Clegg, but with some active reading on Amazon.com I found enough reviews to convince me to try. Maybe a touch of Dean R. Koontz? One can only hope..

A bit about the novella

Owen is the teenager son of the gardener who tends the gardens to the rich and famous house owners at Outerbridge Island. He lives with his father and mother in a small house which belonges to the Montgomery family. Owen is so in love with the rich Montgomery girl about the same age as himself. She visits the island every summer holiday and spends a few weeks there every year. Owen gets really upset when she brings her new boyfriend, Jimmy, to the island the same year they are going to celebrate their 18th birthday.

Owen decides to win Jenna back by seducing her sexual frustrated boyfriend. Owen is mentally a very complex person and his mother starts to fear the evil that now more often comes to the surface. Owen has also a secret that he has hidden in one of the ponds in the garden, a scary god-like statue which means a lot to him. He realizes, that if he cannot compete against Jimmy to get Jenna, stronger measures need to be taken. Even if it means murder...

My evaluation

What the author has accomplished  is to give the reader an in-depth knowledge of Jimmy's mental health, and this characterizes the whole story. Normally in novellas I feel that the characters are a bit shallow, due to the fact that novellas are short stories, but in "Purity" Clegg really manages to build a very believable main character, Owen. You get drawn into Owen's world and don't think about that this is a novella. The story has a very surprising end, I like it!

The only thing I react to is that this story is classified as a horror novella. I don't think it is, even if Owen's psyke isn't actually standard business. Yes, he worships the ugly, fishlike statue Dagon and Dagon was the fishgod to the Philistines - a people who in medieval times lived by the Mediterranean - but the statue doesn't intervene in the history enough to affect it much. This is more a disastrous triangle love story with some dark undertows, well developed characters and a surprising end more than anything else. No horror, in my opinion. This is not a must-read, but a good novella. I am, however, tempted to check out some of Clegg's novels. From the reviews I have read they seem more horrorlike.

My rating

of 5



Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 460 KB
Publisher: Alkemara Press (April 10, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B00267RC60

Review - "Prince of Wolves" by Quinn Loftis

Genre: YA/Romance

2012 is the year when I try out new genres! In this story werewolves are the main ingredient, since I testet out vampires just before Christmas... I am going to try it all!

A bit about the book

Jacque is 17 and her senior year in highschool is coming up in just a couple of weeks. When a very good looking new student moves in with the neighbours accross the street Jacque and her friends Sally and Jen have quite another finish of their summer holiday than expected.

From the moment Jacque meet Fane's eyes she feels a very strong connection with him without knowing exactly why. When his voice appear clearly in her head she gets really thrown off her feet. They can talk - soul to soul! Jacque doesn't understand that Fane is a werewolf and that she happens to be his mate! The problem is, however, that Fane isn't the only werewolf in Coldspring, Texas. Just when Fane and Jacque get to know each other a bit, Lucas shows up and claimes that Jacque is actually his mate. Fane has to challenge Lucas to keep Jacque. And only one of the werewolves will survive the challenge. Who wins? And, will Jacque accept being a werewolve's mate?

My evaluation

This is difficult! I really wanted to like this book, because I was facinated by the plot before I started reading. I am not a werewolf-lover to begin with, but wanted to give this particular novel a chance. It was, at least for me, a waste of time.. The start was actually quite good, but after a few chapters I  started loosing interest in the story and instead got more and more annoyed with the writing.

As a reader I had to read about the same happenings again and again. If that had added something to the story, fine! But it didn't. I couldn't believe in Fane and the way Jacque and her friends Sally and Jen were communicating was generally very annoying! I think the idea with all the dialogues were meant to be funny and add humor to the story, but they just ended up being foolish!

I can read unrealistic novels if the author manages to build a realistic environment and credible characters. Here both lacks. And I cannot believe that both Jacque, her friends and neighbours just accepts all the supernatural stuff that happens around them. They seldom question a thing.. For me the characters are all uninteresting, one-dimentional and directly foolish in their never ending dialogues. This is the author's debut novel and his first in "The Grey Wolves" series. I am not going to read the rest of them..

My rating

of 5


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 334 KB
Print Length: 256 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005983WCQ
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Lending: Enabled

My own wolf equivalence Toby the dog

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Review - "Scarecrow Returns" by Matthew Reilly

It feels like I have been hit by a train, thrown into the air and landed in a rollercoaster, bullets flying and a muscular James Bond-like hero just beyond reach coming to save me. The adrenaline is pumping and I think - WOW, I'm definately alive!

No, I haven't watched a movie, I have just read Reilly's new action novel. In one day. Yesterday. And my heart is still racing!

A bit about the book (from Amazon)

Deep in the Arctic, a long-forgotten Soviet military base enshrouds a weapon of unimaginably destructive force, a Cold War doomsday device with the power to obliterate the planet.

When a mysterious and brutal terrorist group known as the Army of Thieves seizes control of the remote base and unleashes the weapon upon an unsuspecting world, there is only one team close enough to sabotage them: a ragtag band of Marines and civilians led by Captain Shane Schofield, call sign “Scarecrow.” Outnumbered, outgunned, and with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, Scarecrow has only a few short hours to bring down the Army of Thieves, or see the Earth go up in flames.

Filled with nonstop action and told in Matthew Reilly’s characteristically white-knuckle prose, Scarecrow Returns is a work of gripping suspense and complete exhilaration.

My evaluation

Reilly strikes again! No one writes hard core action thrillers like this author! I am thoroughly amazed and gets totally blown away! This novel contains non stop explosions, bullets flying, rocket launchers boom'ing, a litte bit conspiracy, a touch of romance and our hero Scarecrow handles it all. People with heart problems should be warned about this book, and action junkies should definitely try out this one. There are no slow parts in this book anywhere! I couldn't stop reading this book. I started and ended it yesterday - in one go. And I want more! Much more!

There are no author who manages to pump my adrenaline as Reilly with his Scarecrow hero. I have to admit I am very hooked on James Bond-, Mission Impossible- & Die Hard movies to mention just a few. If you have the same tendencies - buy this book! If you love action you should definately not miss this novel. Keep them coming, Reilly!!!

My rating

of 5
No one above, no one even close when it comes to action thrillers!!!

Other novels in the Scarecrow series

Ice Station (1998)
Area 7 (2001)
Scarecrow (2003)
Hell Island (2006)

I addition Reilly has written three books about Jack West Junior. These are even better than Dan Brown's! Conspiracy theories on a high level combined, of course, with action. This series is also very very good:

The Seven Ancient Wonders (2005)
The Six Sacred Stones (2007)
The Five Greatest Warriors (2009)




Scarecrow Returns:

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 1229 KB
Print Length: 370 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1416577599
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 3, 2012)
Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
Language: English
ASIN: B004T4KWYM

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Review - "Box of Rocks" by Karla Telega

I wish I had saved this for my winter holiday! This is a fun read :-)

A bit about the book

Maggie and Cher are both 50+ and try to find something to fill their days. Maggie suffers from nervous breakdowns and therefore has no job. Cher is also without work, but she on the other hand has a lot of money and have just finished studying journalism. They decide to start collecting local stones as a hobby, and maybe find gold?

An archaeology student has apparently found evidence of an indigenous ancient tribe in one of the National State Parks, and this can be the really big thing - both for him and his university.

Bear has also found something interesting, and he guards his finding with whatever means. This can be his ticket to another life.

These three stories are connected, and with Maggie and Cher as the main characters in the novel. They find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation, and since Cher can be tied to one of the persons in this case both of the women are involved - maybe more than they bargained for when they started rock collection?

My evaluation

This is a fun novel to read! I don't find myself laughing on top of my lungs, but I more or less chuckle throughout the whole story. The narrative angle is from Maggie and Cher's point of view and the humor evolves around the fact that these two women are just about to pass their prime. Almost.. At the same time they want to do something with their life, to have a purpose, and this characterize the whole story. Incontinence, tendencies of a nervous breakdown and murder investigation is mixed with two crazy dogs, archaeology digging and previous adultery.

This is an easy read, and you don't find a very intricate and complex murder investigation going on. Even so, this was a book worth my time. As several other new authors I have read lately Telega doesn't do the same mistake of getting off track with tedious elaborate details. Her dialogue is spot-on without any nonsense. A result of few details is however, that the story feels a bit "thin". Then again, this novel may not need that. I would like to read more from this author and see how she develops her characters! This is a good start!

My rating

with a "+" behind it :-)


Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 309 KB
Print Length: 290 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0615497977
Publisher: Adoro Books; 1 edition (July 20, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005DOZZS0

Lots of traces from the Viking's in my area - the reason behind our monument

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Review - "To Desire a Scoundrel" by Tracy Sumner

The heat is definately on! It's not often that I read Romance, but I have decided to widen my horizon and read some other stuff too in addition to my Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Crime books. It also helps towards my new challenge to read 52 novellas in 2012. Romance is ok in smaller doses :-)

A bit about the novella

Katherine Peters has fallen in love with Tanner Barkley, a scoundrel and flirt who always gets what he wants. When Katherines realizes that Tanner shows interest in her only because she sits on information about a news scoop which propells Tanner's career in the news business she feels used and it breaks her heart.

A few years later they meet on their way to the same little village to celebrate Christmas with friends, and at a pre-Christmas party Katherine gets seduced by Tanner again. Caught between rationality and lust and a Tanner who claims that he has actually loved her all the time Kathrine travels back home to the man she is expected to marry. How it ends? That is for me to know and you to find out :-)

My evaluation

This is hot! But it is also a rather charming story about love and the power of desire. The language is actually very good and propells me on. This isn't too sweet, more sexy than anticipated and an interesting change from what I usually read. Even if this is a (rather long) novella, the main characters come alive and are very believable and the scene - early 1900 century - is cleverly used and very well done. This is not quite Hamlet, but a rather nice diversion from my other books.

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 482 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Tracy Sumner (December 12, 2011)
Sold by:  Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006LPHE8O

Pic of the day: an imported rose from Tanzania

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Review - "A Feeling in my Bones" by Gervase Shorter

Genre: Crime/Mystery

A bit about the author 

Born in England, Gervase spent his military service hunting terrorists through the forests of Mount Kenya. After studying medieval history at Oxford he caught the Transiberian train to Vladivostok on his way to Japan, where he lived for four years. He travelled back to Europe overland and then spent three years in Lisbon, moving in 1973 to Rio de Janeiro where he now divides his time between an apartment overlooking the lagoon and a farm 3,000 feet up in the mountains where he grows bananas, avocados, persimmon and pecan nuts. He is married with four adult children.

A bit about the book

Jake and Sally meet at the university and falls in love. Later they get married and live in the English countryside. Jake works as a consultant, a "fixer" between larger companies and Sally works as a book editor. On one of Jake's jobs abroad he disappears while on an assignment for a reclusive billionaire. Rumors says he's off to Africa, but Sally doesn't know his whereabouts. Everything is very secret. A month later Jake reappears in a mental clinic in Miami suffering from a nervous breakdown and their life changes dramatically.

What happened to Jake when he was abroad? Did he really go to Central Africa? Why does he behave so distant and strange? And where does all the money Jake suddenly inherited from the now dead billionaire really come from? Little by little Sally discovers the truth, and what she finds is so frightening that she has to run for her life.

My evaluation

This is a novel with a potentially very interesting story line! I get, however, more and more disappointed the further I read. Instead of building suspense around the main plot, the story gets off track again and again with uninteresting information and side stories.

Parts of the writing is very good and keeps me turning the pages. It is as if the author's enthusiasm comes and goes in waves. But overall I don't really get to know the main character and narrator of the story, Sally, even though I get a lot of information about her. She doesn't engage or intrique me. Jake's character seems also very vague. When I loose interest in the main characters I also loose interest in the story. Do I really want to know what this is all about?

The biggest disappointment however is the end of the novel, which could have been very interesting with the sketched main plot in mind. But I find it too rushed and abrupt finalized compared to the very good parts which lead up to "the grand finale". The end is as if the author lost the spark again - a little too soon. Again I am left thinking.. "what was this?" Not convinced.

My rating

of 5 

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 414 KB
Print Length: 252 pages
Publisher: Amazon; 2 edition (September 7, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005UNJDFA

Pic of the day: Reminder of Summer

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Review - "Missing daughter - shattered family" by Liz Strange

Genre: Crime

My evaluation

I was pleasantly surprised! This was my first novel by Liz Strange, and I read it in one go. It was not fast paced action or heavy suspence that actually kept me turning pages, more the authors captivating writing and the always new twist and turns of the story. Strange manages to build a very stong set of characters in this book, without making it too complex. David, the PI and main character, is a very convincing ex policeman working on a missing daughter case - and there is, of course, much more to the story than we are led to believe at the beginning. The writing is easy going, without ever being slow, boring or superfluous. I just found myself reading on and on, eager to see if my own conclusions through the novel matched the end.

A nice touch to the story is the parallel development of David's relationship to a prosecutor and how the existing investigation affects his personal life. This adds depth to the novel instead of taking the focus away from the original plot. It's difficult to review a crime novel and avoid spoilers, so I just have to say - Give it a try, because this is a very good read! :-)

My rating

of 5

Paperback: 292 pages

Publisher: MLR Press (September 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 160820412X
ISBN-13: 978-1608204120

Pic of the day: Happy New Year from snowy Norway :-)

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Review - "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

This was actually something as rare as a cool book! I'm not a "gamer", but this novel was really for me after all! Who could imagine.. I just loved it, and read it in just 2 days.

A bit about the book

"Ready Player One" takes place in the nearest future. The world has changed to a far worse place to stay, but luckily there is the enormous virtual game called Oasis. Here humans can log in to play, go to school, earn money and even meet other peoples avatar. Oasis substitutes real life, and it is in this virtual world people socialize and live their preferred lives.

For Wade Watts, the novel's main character, Oasis is a far better place to spend time than in his aunt's trailer in a trailer park stack several stories high. His family is dead, and it's only because Wade can supply his aunt with some money earned in Oasis that she lets him stay - in a little cupboard on a mattress..

Together with millions of other people on earth, Wade dreams about finding the three keys hidden somewhere in the enormous Oasis universe. The founder of the virtual game, James Halliday, is now dead. He has left his whole fortune to the fortunate one who can solve the puzzle, find the keys and open the final Oasis gate. The challenge is to find these keys, and stay alive! Because even though your identity in Oasis is thoroughly hidden, dangerous things happen around Wade and his fellow contestants.

My evaluation

Here are no spoilers! The novel was SO well written, that it would be a shame to reveal the storyline. It is not as expected - that is all I have to say :-) Again, this is really a cool story! It is packed with action, puzzles, nerd romance and nostalgia from The Eighties. And it is this heavy 80s nostalgia that really captures me. I worked for IBM from 85-92, and have known the PC since its very first beginning. I remember games played on huge floppy discs with 128k RAM. And the novel picks it all up.

This super energetic cyber quest will give any data nerd the feeling of being the authors twin soul. I feel so at home with the puzzles about 80s music, movies and actors. To read this book was a great joy! A must-read for data nerds and lovers of the 80s !!!

Rating

of 5

I have been really lucky with picking great books lately !!! :-)

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Crown; First Edition edition (August 16, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030788743X
ISBN-13: 978-0307887436

Pic of the day: Lovely sunset from the beach just accross the road from our house

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Review - "The Race" by Clive Cussler

Genre: Action/Adventure

Why can't I learn a simple lesson? Clive Cussler writes superb action/adventure books. Clive Cussler when using co-authors, in this case Justin Scott, does not write superb action/adventure books! This is all for the money.. Baahh... It gets me every time, and I make the mistake again and again - hoping, maybe this time, that things have changed. Well, they haven't..!

A bit about the book

The story takes place in 1910 and we are at the beginning of the aviation era. A news publisher, Preston Whiteway, offers $50.000 to the first aviator/aviatrix who is able to cross the States in less than 50 days. Whiteway even sponsors one of the favourite candidates, a tough and highly competitive girl - Josephine Frost - and this is where Cussler's/Scott's chief investigator Isaac Bell gets into the game.

Josephine's violent and convicted husband has just killed her lover and have tried to kill Josephine as well. There is no doubt that he will continue trying till he has succeeded. Isaac Bell has met Harry Frost before and he knows that Frost has built his fortune on gangs with thieves and murderers in every city and state accross the continent. Bell also knows that Frost not only will come after his wife, but also the news publisher Whiteway. And if Bell takes the case, well - then he'll also be on the list.  

Spoiler alerts...

The aviation race starts and what must happen happens. Isaac Bell manages during the whole competition to prevent every attempt of killing Josephine and himself. The attempts aren't even specially creative, and Bell - who has never been in an aeroplane before, manages to fly his own (!) as he hasn't done anything else in his whole life but flying. No instruction, nothing. Fantastic! He even wins the race! Yeeyyhh...

At the beginning of the story it is clearly visible that Josephines lover who is killed by Harry Frost will survive the attempt and somehow reappear. And of course he does. You'll find so many obvious subplots that it is pathetic. At the same time the novel is slooooooow. When has ever a true Clive Cussler novel been slow?!? 


My opinion, and

...my advice? Use your money more wisely. I was at least very disappointed - again! As mentioned, I used to find Cussler a very competent action/adventure storyteller, and his Dirk Pitt books are among the best in this genre. They are up to speed, are very exciting although easy to read, but creative and highly infectuous. Cussler mixes past "history" with present activities and has always a couple of parallell stories and subplots which always blend perfectly together in the end. There are always exciting twist & turns when you least expect it, and this fantastic mix has made Cussler to one of my favourite action/adventure writers. In the past, that is....

Cussler HAS written some good novels with another co-author, but he is the exception. This is the NUMA files with Paul Kemprecos. The first 8 books in this series holds in my opinion Cussler standard. However, I see that the 9th book "Devils Gate" he has swapped Kemprecos with the new Graham Brown for some reason, so here we go again...

How can Cussler accept this? He has now celebrated his 80th birthday, and yes - he is getting old. But why not end his career while on top? Why drag his own name through this co-author mud of destruction? I have now bought my last Clive Cussler novel! An era is over, I salute the author he used to be, and will probably re-read the whole Dirk Pitt series at one point in life. You were great, Cussler!

For you who want to read his good novels, check the list of his series HERE. I recommend all 21 novels in the Dirk Pitt series, and the first 8 NUMA files. The rest you can safely leave!

Pic of the day which goes with the novel: The de Havilland dual wing
Source: http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk

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Review - "Soul Protector" by Amanda Leigh Cowley

Genre: Paranormal

Gracie's boyfriend just left her after cheating on Gracie's younger sister Michelle, and she is now alone and depressed. It doesn't make the situation better when one of the evenings she is out with her friends two of them get engaged. Gracie is so overwhelmed by both her own sad situation and envy towards one of her best friends that when she gives Lydia a hug to congratulate her with the engagement she suddenly switches into her friend's body! She quickly manages to switch back, but fears that she can't tell anybody without them thinking she has gone completely insane.

The next time Gracie switches body it is planned. She needs to do it both to confirm to herself that she wasn't crazy the first time, and second to see if it really is possible for her to just decide to switch. It works perfectly fine, but this time Gracie gets abducted when switched, by a monitor - Dan. He clearly sees an orange aura coming from Gracies switched body. Dans job is to hunt down corrupt Soul Protectors who steal bodies for their own benefit, and the orange aura reveals that this person has gone over the recommended time limit for switching. When Dan finds out that Gracie is just not quite aware of neither her own Soul Protector situation nor the rules applied to a switched person, they become friends. Dan teaches her what the Soul Protectors are and their mission on earth.

Gracie falls in love with Dan, but there are complications on both sides. Gracie refuses to become a professional Soul Protector despite Dans recommendations, and continues in her present job. Dan himself is fully occupied with hunting down the corrupt Soul Protectors. How the story continues with Gracie, her friends, family and Dan is for me to know and you to find out, and I strongly suggest that you do!

My evaluation

This is a very good read! When I find myself not being able to put down the book even though it's in the middle of the night I just know I have found myself another pageturner. It is not high speed action that keeps me enthralled, it is more Cowleys way of developing her genuinely believable characters. They all have their strong and weak sides, and even though body swapping (still) isn't known to man, Cowley none the less manages to describe a perfectly sane attitude towards the phenomenon from Gracie's standpoint. This makes the story truly credible. Can this actually be done?

The whole idea of Soul Protectors are new to me. I found the plot very engaging and interesting and there are surprising twists and turns throughout the novel. It never gets slow! The lovestory between Gracie and Dan is also sweet, without me revealing any spoilers on the subject. This is only the first book in a series, and I must say I really look forward to the sequel. I am thoroughly curious about the developing of the characters and the soul protecting business going on. This novel I highly recommend, and I am amazed by the fact that this is Amanda Leigh Cowleys first novel!

My rating

(+) of 5

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: YouWriteOn (July 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1908481714
ISBN-13: 978-1908481719

Pic of the day: Jakarta by night - where I read this novel :-)

Review - "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice

Genre: YA/Paranormal

Well, now I have read my first ever vampire novel! It will not be my last, because this was definately something else than expected. This novel was first published in 1976. This is decades before vampires became popular main characters in both books and TV series. This story is unique! There are more novels following in the same series, "The Vampire Chronicles". I already have them installed on my Kindle :-)

A bit about the book

Having suffered a tremendous personal loss, an 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner named Louis Pointe du Lac descends into an alcoholic stupor. When he really reaches a low point in his life, he is confronted by Lestat, a charismatic and powerful vampire who chooses Louis to be his fledgling. Lestat convinces Louis that the world is a much better place to stay as an immortal vampire, and after only a short periode of time Louis accepts the offer and moves with Lestat to Louisiana.

The two prey on innocent people, but Louis still isn't satisfied with his life. He fells in love with the daughter at the nearby plantation. When she finds out that Louis is a vampyre she throws him out of the house, and Louis enters a new depressive periode. To enlighten his life, Lestat gives their "dark gift" to a young girl. Louis and Lestat become "fathers" and life reaches new heights. They are a happy "family" for many decades.

The years go by and a dramatic episode alters the life of the vampires resulting in Louis and the girl seeking soulmates in Europe. Without revealing too many spoilers the story gets worse and Louis ends up alone.  

And here the story actually begins, because...

The whole novel is an interview with the vampire Louis! He is interviewed by a sceptical young boy who to begin with doesn't believe in vampires at all.. The story is mainly written from the vampires perspective, and this transforms more or less Louis from a terrible murderer to a very sympathetic, seductive and too human figure..

The other very interesting aspect of the book is that by presenting the story from the view of an immortal raised as a catholic, Rice could freely explore the nature of evil, the reality around death and dying and above all the human limit of perception of what actually happens when one die. This is truly a different vampire story which mixes a childish facination for the supernatural (from the interviewers perspective) and a more inquiring look at the human condition from the vampires point of view.

Being not too fond of the idea of vampire novels to begin with, I found this one intrigueing. It made me definately want to read the other books in the series. The speed of which I read a book tells more about the book than anything else. This one was done in only a few days. A promising start for sure :-)

My rating

of 5



Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 18, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345409647
ISBN-13: 978-0345409645
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches 

Pic of the day: Winter slowly creeps up on us - perfect days for reading ahead :-)

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Review - "In Her Name: Dead Soul" by Michael R. Hicks

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Romance

I got the welcoming opportunity of being one of the beta-readers of this book, and boy was I happy being chosen. I have been anxiously awaiting Hick's new book in the "In Her Name" series, and I was far from disappointed!!

About the book (from Amazon)

Three years after the brutal first contact encounter with the alien Kreelan Empire, the human Confederation is desperate for a victory. With over a dozen worlds under siege by legions of Kreelan warriors, President McKenna orders the Confederation military to deliver a victory to give humanity hope.

Roland Mills, Valentina Sikorsky, Ichiro Sato and his wife Steph, along with the irrepressible General James Sparks are once again at the sharp end of the spear in a mission to take back the colony of Alger’s World from the alien invaders before it’s too late.

But overwhelming firepower may not be enough. For leading the invasion of Alger’s World is Ku’ar-Marekh, a Kreelan warrior priestess with dreadful powers, whose spirit is trapped between life and death. Feared by the warriors of the Empire, she is known as the Dead Soul...

My evaluation

Hicks has done it again. This is an excellent novel, and one among the very best I've read in this genre! This sixth book in the "In Her Name"-series holds the same quality as my favourite Sci-Fi/Fantasy trilogy, which also happens to be Hicks first three novels in the same series - "In Her Name: Empire, Confederation & Final Battle". Thinking of it, I may put "Dead Soul" on the very top! This is a true pageturner, and I only had a short night between the first and last part of the book. I could not put it down!

The new Kreelan warrior - Ku'ar Marakh - is frighteningly scary, even compared to her blue companions. Allison as an early teenage "mini-heroine" develops beautifully throughout the story. I was very happy to meet Valentina Sikorsky again - the girl with the enhanced body and extended functionality from the previous book "First Contact". And Roland Mills, he is the perfect hero! The humans can finally match the blue warriors in warfare, with Ichiro Sato as "the chosen one" commanding fleet officer.

Hicks has his own beautiful way of developing unique characters, and it is brilliantly done! They have a wonderful depth to them, and they are so credible you may wonder where he picks them :-) In this novel you get everything - the fight between the Kreelan race and humanity, love and sacrifice, tactical warfare and hand-to-hand combat. You don't have to read the other books in the series to thoroughly enjoy this one, it stands very well on it's own two feet, but I recommend you spending time on each and every one "In Her Name" books. You will not be disappointed! 

No one above, no one even close! Being a reader is so enjoyable and rewarding when you find authors like Hicks!

Happy read! :-)

My rating

of 5

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 441 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Imperial Guard Publishing, LLC (October 1, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005S0WJ7Y

Yes - Hicks definately nailed it... :-)

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