Book Review- Tim LaHaye and Greg Dinallo- Babylon Rising

Tim LaHaye and Greg Dinallo- Babylon Rising (Dell Publishing 2004) 3.25 Stars

Michael Murphy, a Biblical archaeologist, has stumbled upon a secret that has been buried for thousands of years. Now he finds himself surrounded by danger, hunted down by evil in its purest form. He must go to the ends of the earth to hunt down pieces of an artifact that once put together could spell disaster for the earth if they fall into the wrong hands or it could mean saving the earth if Murphy gets a hold of it and puts it into the right hands. The question is can he survive long enough to complete his mission?

The introduction for this book was odd, I couldn’t quite figure out if I liked it or not. I was up and down with this one right from the beginning. It had its really good parts, but it also has its really boring parts. The actual plot was quite well done and was gripping; however there was a lot of interesting historical facts/conjecture that slowed down the book quite a bit. This worked to give background information, giving the book a well-rounded feeling, but I did feel it was slightly overdone. The characters were very deep and I was surprised at how good they were. Overall though I thought that this book was just average as it did not really grab me.

For more of my book reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Iris Johansen- And Then You Die

Iris Johansen- And Then You Die (Bantam Books 1998) 3.25 Stars

Stumbling upon a massacre by a general who is testing a virus that he intends to release in the U.S., Bess Grady is now running for her life. He has tested it on the town of Tenajo and no one has survived except a little girl, whom Bess intends to fight to keep alive. Now the general is hunting her down and wants her dead. She must not be allowed to spoil the general’s plan.

I was kind of up and down about this one. It was very well-written, just a little more girly then I would have liked. I do think that my wife would enjoy this book though. The characters were very well done and had some depth. The plot was well-done, but was a little overdone; however it was a different take on it then what I am used to seeing. I found myself tiring of the book by the end, but the final chapters were great. I loved the final twist that was thrown in. I would recommend this book to women who like thrillers.

For more of my reviews check out my website http://www.tonypeters.webs.com/

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Hal G. Evarts- Renegade of Rainbow Basin

Hal G. Evarts- Renegade of Rainbow Basin (Pocket Books 1977) 3.5 Stars

The ranchers of Rainbow Basin are all set for a range war and seem unwilling to negotiate. Now Jim Bristow has returned and he seems to be trapped right in the middle. Trying to get both sides to see that they are being manipulated could be harder than it seems, but it could also get him killed as a murderer is on the loose who will stop at nothing to get his way.

The introduction to Renegade of Rainbow Basin was different from most westerns and it managed to grab my attention. This western was action-packed, but the author did not sacrifice plot for the sake of action. The action was expertly woven into the storyline. The plot was not overly deep, but was interesting enough to keep me reading. I have always wondered why western writers feel the need to make it so that there is a touch of romance in the book, romantic tension, and in this case it was two women wanting the same man. The setting was well painted by the author. I enjoyed how easy it was to picture in my mind what was happening because the author was able to depict it so well. I do wish that westerns were not so short however as everything always seems kind of rushed.

I recommend Renegade of Rainbow Basin to western readers.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- William W. Johnstone- Six Ways from Sunday

William W. Johnstone with J.A. Johnstone- Six Ways from Sunday (Pinnacle 2009) 2.75 Stars

Cotton Pickens hates his name, but he hates to see injustice even more. He has ridden into a mining camp that is slowly being taken over by Carter Scruples, a man with a ruthless sense of business tactics. Cotton must try to defend the miners before Scruples takes over all of Swamp Creek. He is up against superior numbers, but that won’t sway him form his sense of duty.

Normally I love this author, but in this case I really did not enjoy this book. It had an interesting introduction, not gripping, just interesting. I did not really like the characters in this novel. The author was trying to make Cotton seems stupid, and he succeeded; he succeeded a little too well, annoyingly so. The plot was alright, but lacked real depth. The writing style used in this novel was not to my liking either, as it was just plain crude and unnecessarily gross. I did not really understand why the situation was not resolved easily through the miners ganging up on Scruples and his men, rather than trying to fight him off one at a time and losing. It was more of a frustrating read and I do not recommend this book.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Tietze's Syndrome

So three years ago I had a heart procedure done and afterwards I discovered that I also had a syndrome called Tietze's Syndrome, which mimicks heart attacks, this meant that I likely had it before but it was covered up by the heart condition (yes I know I am young for a heart condition, two procedures later and it is gone). The Tietze's Syndrome is an inflammation of the cartlidge around the chest cavity, and causes inflammation of your whole rib cage, causing extreme pain. This pain can last from hours to abot 12 weeks. It is so severe at times you can't even move, and it can make it difficult to breathe both from the pain and the swelling puttig pressure on the lungs. So the doctor at the time put me on strong pain killers and anti-inflammatories, did it help? No! He also told me to try an ice pack, did that work either? NO! When first discovered it lasteda few months. Since then I have only gotten short bouts of it. Well now it has been two weeks and it is hanging around for the long haul, extremely bad today, and guess who must work today?
It is agrravated from psychological stress, exertion of chest muscles, laughter, sneezing, coughing, and many other things like that (and guess who has to blow his nose from allergies?). There are many other causes, so pretty much the message is don't live and you will be free form pain! I am also busy working on house renos as we have a lot to do before we move in in one week. I have also been picking up extra shifts at work as I am guaranteed only 29 hours a week, now I have been getting enough hours for full time. I have a lot of things going on in my life right now that can cause this to flare up, and have no way to stop it. I also will not be able to slow down for at least a week yet, unless I want to have no place to live for a few weeks, what does this equal up to, a life of hell for maybe weeks on end...

Sorry I needed to vent and what better way to vent then air it for the world to hear! Everyone, I Tony Peters hate Tietze's Syndrome and refuse to stop living because of it!

Without Time

I know I have not been posting as many reviews this month and I feel that I must apologize. The reason for this is the fact that my wife and I bought an older house, resulting the need for a lot of reonvations, which has left me with time for little else. It will be a long process, but we have already made great headway. A couple more weeks of us working on it and then we must await the kitchen installation, kitchen plumbing, kitchen electrical, as well as our flooring. Should hopefully be finished by the end of November. Inside the house this year, outside next year. Thank you for your patinece during this time.

Author Tony Peters

Book Review- James Patterson- I, Alex Cross

James Patterson- I, Alex Cross (Little, Brown and Company 2009) 3 Stars

Alex Cross is a year older and is celebrating his birthday with his family when he is given devastating news. One of his family members has been killed and she is not the only one who has been murdered by Zeus, the rich, sexual predator. Now he must hunt down this psychopath trusting only his friends as no one else seems to be on the level. Money is power and that is something this killer does not lack. Everyone can be bought if you throw enough money their way; this is something Alex Cross is finding out the hard way.

Good prologue, I enjoyed how it gets the readers attention and makes them want to read more; this is something Patterson is very skilled at. He is also skilled at creating characters. He gives them depth and a level of believability that few authors are able to achieve. That being said this book can be described in one word for me. Disappointment. I was hoping that this book would help me get back into Patterson’s work as I had heard so many good things about this book. However this, sadly, was not the case. I found that once again his focus fell too much on Alex’s personal family drama and not enough on the reason why I read thrillers, the mystery and intensity. I found myself questioning why he was even allowed to be on the case, considering it is a member of his family, and I did not think that detectives could investigate something that close to the heart as their personal feelings cloud their judgement, as we saw in this novel. I also found that it was predictable and not all that believable. The ending once again leaves the reader knowing that another book is on the way with Kyle Craig as the villain. Patterson a word of advice; follow through with your threat you gave in your video for this book, KILL ALEX CROSS! Enough is enough, have a dramatic ending where Kyle Craig and Alex Cross kill each other; that I would read. I’m afraid that I cannot in good conscience recommend reading this book.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Steven James- The Knight

Steven James- The Knight (Revell Books 2009) 3.5 Stars

Patrick Bowers uses geographical profiling to hunt down the country’s most ruthless murderers, but this time he may have taken on more than he can handle. This killer is hunting him and ultimately leading him to what is supposed to be his death scene, the final segment in an ancient story of death and agony. People will keep dying until the story is complete and Bowers dies in the final act. Can Bowers solve the mystery and catch the killer before becoming a part just another victim to the story?

I was up and down about this one right from the second chapter. I enjoyed the introduction and loved how smart and capable the killer was. I also enjoyed how fast-paced and intense the plot was, but sadly that was hidden amongst family/personal scenes that slowed things down and distracted the reader from the case-at-hand. I do enjoy a little bit of personal, as it does give your character depth, but at what point has the reader had enough? An author must find the balance between too much personal and not enough personal, and Steven James seems to throw in on the too much side, which made it rather hard to stay enthused about the book. I did enjoy the villain in this one though as he was the kind of guy that you love to hate. I also thought it was good how not everything turns out quite the way Bowers would like it to. Most cases are 100% solved in books and everything turns out just great, I enjoyed how things turned out, but only to a certain point, I can’t really say more without giving out details, and I refuse to be a spoil-sport.

I recommend this to anyone who loves a lot of personal parts to thrillers.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Lee Child- Persuader

Lee Child- Persuader (Dell Publishing 2004) 4.25 Stars

Reacher finds himself in danger again. This time he has his own personal reasons for getting involved, things that need finishing from his past. Working with a DEA team he is going undercover against a deadly group of ex-army thugs. The drug dealers are the problem of the DEA; Reacher wants their boss, the man calling all the shots. Its revenge he has in mind and nothing will stop him, he is the Persuader.

What an intro! Persuader starts off with a bang! Pop! Pow! Child brings the reader right into the action and grabs their attention immediately. He then backpedals to show you how they came to be where they are at, and explains just what is going on. I enjoyed the fact that he could back pedal without losing my interest. This novel also has a bunch of small flashbacks explaining Reacher drive for what he is doing in this novel. Normally I hate flashbacks, but this was done in such a way that I actually did not mind it. I did enjoy finding out a little more about Reacher’s past and just what his job entailed when he was an MP. This novel was fast-paced and never really let you stop biting your nails. The reader does find out about half-way through just what happened in the past to drive Reacher to be so vengeful, which is sooner than Child actually tells you, but it does not take away from the novel. I also knew how the book would end by the half-way point, but again it did not detract from the book, in fact it just made me more curious to see how it would all come together to get to that point. I would recommend Persuader or any other book by Lee Child to anyone looking for an intense ride, or a good thriller.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Michael Connelly- Trunk Music

Michael Connelly- Trunk Music (St. Martin’s Press 1998) 4.25 Stars

Detective Bosch has been on an involuntary stress leave and when the body of a cheap movie producer is found dead inside the trunk of his car, it looks like a mob hit, but Bosch does not want to give up his first case in a long time. Money is usually a great motivator and it appears to be the same with this case. When the money takes Bosch to Vegas he discovers that the man was dealing was some dealing with some unsavoury people, and in following the case Bosch must deal with them as well. The big boys don’t play fair and he must show them how real player plays, but he soon realizes that an old flame is somehow involved and Eleanor Wish might be into more than she can handle.

I enjoy how Connelly gets the reader involved in the crime immediately, drawing your attention early on. This makes it easier to get into the book. Then because of Bosch’s hard-case attitude he usually brushes someone the wrong way, ensuring that you are going to see fireworks. Bosch is a character with many sides and we see those sides in this book. I wish I had not read later books as I know exactly how things turn out for him with his associates/flames. It was an interesting plot that this one followed and I am always amused by Bosch’s tough-guy act and how he deals with those who cross him. One thing I did not like was how I knew who the guilty parties were early on, although it took a while to find out that I was correct in my guess. I did still like seeing how it all played out Bosch’s mind turned to eventually figure out what I had guessed.

I do recommend Trunk Music and the Bosch series to anyone who loves a good thriller/mystery.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html