So I’ve been meaning to post the books I’ve read lately but haven’t gotten around to it. So here they finally are in honor of the new year, the books that I have read and what I thought about them.
Riptide
Riptide was my first book of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s and I really liked it, enough to make me want to read more from the authors (as you will see later). It is a story of a doctor that with a traumatic childhood, where he grew up off the cost of Maine. He has inherited an island that is said to be the source of a $2 billion dollar pirate fortune. He allows a multi-million dollar treasure hunting team to set off into the island to find the treasure. It is a great story of greed, trust, and adventure. Although many of the characters are a bit fantastic and unbelievable (sexy French archeologists…hehe), the authors still emotionally tie you to the right characters. It’s a fun book, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in these adventure style novels.
Relic
My wife put me on to Preston-Child and I have to say I have been very impressed. The story takes place in the New York Museum of Natural History and involves a monster…if that’s not enough to make you want to read… The pace of this book is excellent and fast. The book will grab you from the beginning and not let you go. One of the best parts of this book is the setting. The NY Museum of Natural History, with the rooms full of ancient artifacts and a tunnel system that no one knows how vast it truly is makes for a spectacular character in and of itself. I have recommended this suspense thriller to many people, and would recommend it you.
Reliquary
Preston and Child pick up where they left off in Relic and again succeed in keeping the tension heavy with new beasts, mole-men, and Agent Pendergast. Compared to Relic, this book suffered a bit. Yet still is an decent read. The book is gripping from cover to cover, amazingly interesting when speaking about the Mole people societies, and serves up a sparkling twist. As said, it does have some problems though. The main characters in Reliquary are still very interesting and well developed although I did not care for the direction Bill Smithback took, it seemed unnatural for someone that went through what he did in Relic to then do the things he did Reliquary. And Pamela Wisher, the annoying and ignorant aristocrat, was a very loathsome character. She was portrayed as an intelligent, charismatic character, but the decision of her’s to try to stop violence the way she tries is very ignorant and felt out of character. Also giving the mole-people’s odd use of language (Scriblerian? please.) became annoying and felt out of place. Over looking the character flaws, Reliquary was still a good read. Any fan of Preston-Child, or any thriller fan should definitely give this book a shot.
Legends
After reading The Company, I had to pick up another Littell book. I got Legends and wasn’t at all disappointed. I liked it nearly as much as I like The Company. The book follows one former CIA agent, who has surrounded himself by so many different facades (his “Legends”) in his work for the CIA, he’s caught somewhere in between his lives as he tries to track down a man to solve a divorce. When in his search for someone else he may find himself. Legends was fun, a bit confusing, but then all tied together. Littell brought so many different pieces to this book that there is always something fascinating going on. Another great.
The Sisters
I have become a big fan of Robert Littell’s writings, but this book was disappointing. It was a decent read, but the book had a few things that seem unique with this book that bothered me. The story was great, I was a spectacular use of historical fiction that brings a new look at an event that everyone will remember. It kept a decent pace that did not allow me to loose interest much, and when it did it wasn’t very often. The characters are good, but a few were a bit to fantastic for this type of book. This took away from the feeling of reality that is important for historical fiction books still feel like the event actually happened. Also, the sexual segments the book took began to be laborious and towards the end made me fill like Littell was just looking for filler. All in all it was a decent book, if you like Robert Littell, historical fiction, or espionage books this should be a nice read for you.
Anansi Boys
This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and while I didn’t find it spectacular, it does make me want to pick up another book of his. A story about sons of a modern day god, one trying to be as human as possible and another a little power hungry, is a neat premise. I enjoyed the book and the situations up until Charlie entered a completely different realm. It just didn’t fit to me. Anansi Boys just takes a really strange turn that didn’t set right with me. But I enjoyed Gaiman’s writing style, his humor was amusing, and his imagination amazing. It does make me want to pick up some more of his books.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I’m not going to review the Harry Potter books, as there are too many out there. I’ll just say that they were great breaks between heavier books. The simple reading was welcome at times when I just want to read something that sparks my imagination.
