U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport is back in Masked Prey, a new crime thriller in the popular series by author John Sandford.
A sinister website appears on the internet. Created by an unknown party, the site shows photos of children of prominent political leaders in various normal daily scenes. Posted along with the photos are an array of extremist articles advocating violent political opposition to the U.S. government. A threat to take some kind of action against the kids in the photos is clearly implied.
The website looks dangerous. Concerned senators bring in Lucas Davenport to investigate who is behind the site. Lucas has personal experience with website programming. Working with the FBI, he begins by looking into already established militant political groups. He runs into some angry, surly misfits, but nobody who seems to fit the suspect he's looking for.
Lucas worries he's after the hardest prey to catch --- a ruthless, lone wolf type with no ties to any militant group. Then the worst happens. A kid gets shot and killed by a hidden sniper. Lucas and his team get a lead and race onto the trail of the shooter.
Masked Prey opens slowly, with much material on the threat of dangerous internet websites. It takes a while for the plot to get moving, but the action soon speeds up to finish in the trademark breakneck style of author John Sanford.
Showing posts with label thriller novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller novels. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Monday, April 20, 2020
Thriller Novel Classics - The Essential Reading List
Coronavirus Reprint - This list was previously published by this Blog. If you can get your hands on any of these classic titles, they make for great reading during the current virus shutdown.
Here's a list of classic novels that are essential reads in the Suspense Thriller genre. The list is generally chronological beginning with the modern day thriller advent in the 1960s. The Thriller genre is here defined as page-turner novels with strong action and suspense plot elements.
Here's a list of classic novels that are essential reads in the Suspense Thriller genre. The list is generally chronological beginning with the modern day thriller advent in the 1960s. The Thriller genre is here defined as page-turner novels with strong action and suspense plot elements.
Fail Safe by Eugene Burdick - Nuclear War thriller envisioned, as a technical system failure brings the US and USSR to the brink of catastrophe.
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel - Political crisis thriller as the Joint Chiefs plot a coup to take over the American government.
Goldfinger by Ian Fleming - Best of the James Bond spy thriller series.
Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean
Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth - Assassination thriller plot played out against an international canvas.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton - Biological contamination crisis at a secret Nevada desert scientific facility.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey - the Big Heist thriller set beneath the streets of New York City.
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris - Terrorist plot to hijack a blimp and pilot it into Super Bowl stadium crowd.
Marathon Man by William Goldman - Best ever interrogation scene shudderingly enacted in a dentist's chair.
The Boys From Brazil by Ira Levin - Nazi Conspiracy thriller with a new, chilling science fiction angle.
Jaws by Peter Benchley - Natural Environment thriller at a seacoast resort town menaced by a Great White shark.
The Towering Inferno by Richard Martin Stern - Disaster thriller scenario as an unstoppable fire rages inside a giant skyscraper.
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - Military thriller plays out as a Soviet nuclear sub crew attempts to defect to U.S.
Firefox by Craig Thomas - Techno/Military mission as a U.S. agent tries to steal a high tech Soviet fighter plane and fly it out of Russia.
The Firm by John Grisham - Legal thriller sees a young lawyer join a law firm with secret organized crime connections.
True Crime by Andrew Klavan - Race against time thriller as a reporter tries to halt a wrongful execution.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Follows chain of historical puzzle clues to revelation of a sensational religious secret.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Swedish government conspiracy thriller with a hacker/punk female lead character.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
NEON PREY an Epic Fugitive Chase Thriller
U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport is back in Neon Prey, a new crime thriller in the popular series by author John Sandford.
The novel opens in Louisiana, where violent felon Clayton Deese has jumped bail and gone on the run. Lucas and his Marshal team of Bob and Rae track Deese to a remote swamp cabin. Deese is long gone, but they find a patch of victim graves near the cabin. Deese is now a wanted serial killer.
Lucas and his team track Deese to Los Angeles, where he has joined up with his brother in a gang that stages brutal home invasion robberies in high end homes. When the Marshals and LAPD close in on the gang house, a violent shootout ensues, and Lucas himself is seriously wounded. But once again, Clayton Deese escapes capture.
Deese runs next to Las Vegas, where he plans to resume more home invasions. The Marshal team follows him there, as the epic fugitive chase leaves behind a trail of dead bodies. But the ruthless Deese has still more tricks up his sleeve.
Neon Prey is a high speed read that fans of the Lucas Davenport series will devour. Once again, author John Sandford does not disappoint.
The novel opens in Louisiana, where violent felon Clayton Deese has jumped bail and gone on the run. Lucas and his Marshal team of Bob and Rae track Deese to a remote swamp cabin. Deese is long gone, but they find a patch of victim graves near the cabin. Deese is now a wanted serial killer.
Lucas and his team track Deese to Los Angeles, where he has joined up with his brother in a gang that stages brutal home invasion robberies in high end homes. When the Marshals and LAPD close in on the gang house, a violent shootout ensues, and Lucas himself is seriously wounded. But once again, Clayton Deese escapes capture.
Deese runs next to Las Vegas, where he plans to resume more home invasions. The Marshal team follows him there, as the epic fugitive chase leaves behind a trail of dead bodies. But the ruthless Deese has still more tricks up his sleeve.
Neon Prey is a high speed read that fans of the Lucas Davenport series will devour. Once again, author John Sandford does not disappoint.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
WOLFPACK a New Wyoming Crime Thriller
Wyoming state game warden Joe Pickett returns in Wolfpack, a new crime thriller from C.J. Box. The popular series is set against a rugged Western landscape as Joe Pickett finds himself involved in often dangerous criminal situations.
New trouble for Joe starts when he investigates the illegal use of a drone to chase elk and antelope herds, leading to panic and deaths among the animals. But when Joe tries to track down the drone owner, he runs up against a stone wall. The drone user is a mystery man protected by Federal authorities for classified reasons.
But Joe Pickett isn't the only one after this mystery man. A vicious gang of drug cartel killers, called the Wolfpack, is also looking for the same man. When this pack arrives in the small town of Saddle String, they move to ruthlessly take out anyone in their way, including Joe Pickett and anyone he is working with.
Wolfpack is a taut thriller that builds at high speed toward a violent showdown in the Wyoming mountain country. C.J. Box has created a riveting series with the Joe Pickett novels and this latest entry is one of his best. An absolutely great read.
New trouble for Joe starts when he investigates the illegal use of a drone to chase elk and antelope herds, leading to panic and deaths among the animals. But when Joe tries to track down the drone owner, he runs up against a stone wall. The drone user is a mystery man protected by Federal authorities for classified reasons.
But Joe Pickett isn't the only one after this mystery man. A vicious gang of drug cartel killers, called the Wolfpack, is also looking for the same man. When this pack arrives in the small town of Saddle String, they move to ruthlessly take out anyone in their way, including Joe Pickett and anyone he is working with.
Wolfpack is a taut thriller that builds at high speed toward a violent showdown in the Wyoming mountain country. C.J. Box has created a riveting series with the Joe Pickett novels and this latest entry is one of his best. An absolutely great read.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
TWISTED PREY a Bullet-Paced Crime Thriller
U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport returns to face a diabolical enemy in Twisted Prey, a new crime thriller from author John Sandford. An assassination attempt is made on a U.S. Senator on a lonely forest road, and the Senator's companion is killed. When Lucas is asked to investigate, he finds that a ruthless enemy he has faced once before may be involved.
Two years earlier, Lucas came up against Taryn Grant, a cold blooded sociopath with political ambitions, who appeared to mastermind several murders in order to further her Senate campaign. Lucas was never able to get enough evidence to charge Grant for the crimes. Now an elected Senator in Washington D.C., Grant is out to remove a fellow Senate rival in her plan to get to the White House. She has links to a shadowy firm of ex-military mercenaries who will do her dirty work for her and leave no fingerprints behind.
When Lucas Davenport gets in Taryn Grant's way again, she is enraged. First, a violent attack is made against a member of Davenport's family. Then Lucas himself becomes the target of a murder hit from a tenacious adversary who won't be stopped.
Twisted Prey is a compelling Crime/Political thriller with a plot that moves at bullet speed. It's another great read from John Sandford that should end up on many beach blankets this summer.
Two years earlier, Lucas came up against Taryn Grant, a cold blooded sociopath with political ambitions, who appeared to mastermind several murders in order to further her Senate campaign. Lucas was never able to get enough evidence to charge Grant for the crimes. Now an elected Senator in Washington D.C., Grant is out to remove a fellow Senate rival in her plan to get to the White House. She has links to a shadowy firm of ex-military mercenaries who will do her dirty work for her and leave no fingerprints behind.
When Lucas Davenport gets in Taryn Grant's way again, she is enraged. First, a violent attack is made against a member of Davenport's family. Then Lucas himself becomes the target of a murder hit from a tenacious adversary who won't be stopped.
Twisted Prey is a compelling Crime/Political thriller with a plot that moves at bullet speed. It's another great read from John Sandford that should end up on many beach blankets this summer.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
GOLDEN PREY a Violent Crime Spree Chase Across the South
Golden Prey by John Sandford is the latest title in the crime thriller series that features main character Lucas Davenport. Lucas has been a long time Minnesota state police investigator. But he's got a new job now: as a U.S. Marshal on the hunt for wanted federal fugitives.
A new case takes Lucas south to Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. A pair of redneck robbers stole millions from a drug cartel house, killing five people in the process. The cartel wants its money back and the rednecks dead. They send a ruthless hit man and a vicious torture queen to get the job done, leaving a bloody trail in their wake.
Lucas Davenport gets caught in the middle of it all, working to hunt down the redneck robbers, aided by a mismatched pair of Marshals named Bob and Rae, while trying to protect new victims from the cartel killers' torture/murder spree.
Golden Prey is a gripping read, racing across a rural Southern landscape through a chain of violent action scenes toward an epic showdown gun battle near the Texas/Mexico border. Once again, John Sandford shows why he belongs at the top of the crime thriller genre.
A new case takes Lucas south to Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. A pair of redneck robbers stole millions from a drug cartel house, killing five people in the process. The cartel wants its money back and the rednecks dead. They send a ruthless hit man and a vicious torture queen to get the job done, leaving a bloody trail in their wake.
Lucas Davenport gets caught in the middle of it all, working to hunt down the redneck robbers, aided by a mismatched pair of Marshals named Bob and Rae, while trying to protect new victims from the cartel killers' torture/murder spree.
Golden Prey is a gripping read, racing across a rural Southern landscape through a chain of violent action scenes toward an epic showdown gun battle near the Texas/Mexico border. Once again, John Sandford shows why he belongs at the top of the crime thriller genre.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Thriller Novel Classics - The Essential Reading List
Here's a list of classic novels that are essential reads in the Suspense Thriller genre. The list is generally chronological beginning with the modern day thriller advent in the 1960s. The Thriller genre is here defined as page-turner novels with strong action and suspense plot elements.
Fail Safe by Eugene Burdick - Nuclear War thriller envisioned, as a technical system failure brings the US and USSR to the brink of catastrophe.
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel - Political crisis thriller as the Joint Chiefs plot a coup to take over the American government.
Goldfinger by Ian Fleming - Best of the James Bond spy thriller series.
Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean
Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth - Assassination thriller plot played out against an international canvas.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton - Biological contamination crisis at a secret Nevada desert scientific facility.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey - the Big Heist thriller set beneath the streets of New York City.
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris - Terrorist plot to hijack a blimp and pilot it into Super Bowl stadium crowd.
Marathon Man by William Goldman - Best ever interrogation scene shudderingly enacted in a dentist's chair.
The Boys From Brazil by Ira Levin - Nazi Conspiracy thriller with a new, chilling science fiction angle.
Jaws by Peter Benchley - Natural Environment thriller at a seacoast resort town menaced by a Great White shark.
The Towering Inferno by Richard Martin Stern - Disaster thriller scenario as an unstoppable fire rages inside a giant skyscraper.
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - Military thriller plays out as a Soviet nuclear sub crew attempts to defect to U.S.
Firefox by Craig Thomas - Techno/Military mission as a U.S. agent tries to steal a high tech Soviet fighter plane and fly it out of Russia.
The Firm by John Grisham - Legal thriller sees a young lawyer join a law firm with secret organized crime connections.
True Crime by Andrew Klavan - Race against time thriller as a reporter tries to halt a wrongful execution.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Follows chain of historical puzzle clues to revelation of a sensational religious secret.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Swedish government conspiracy thriller with a hacker/punk female lead character.
Fail Safe by Eugene Burdick - Nuclear War thriller envisioned, as a technical system failure brings the US and USSR to the brink of catastrophe.
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel - Political crisis thriller as the Joint Chiefs plot a coup to take over the American government.
Goldfinger by Ian Fleming - Best of the James Bond spy thriller series.
Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean
Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth - Assassination thriller plot played out against an international canvas.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton - Biological contamination crisis at a secret Nevada desert scientific facility.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey - the Big Heist thriller set beneath the streets of New York City.
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris - Terrorist plot to hijack a blimp and pilot it into Super Bowl stadium crowd.
Marathon Man by William Goldman - Best ever interrogation scene shudderingly enacted in a dentist's chair.
The Boys From Brazil by Ira Levin - Nazi Conspiracy thriller with a new, chilling science fiction angle.
Jaws by Peter Benchley - Natural Environment thriller at a seacoast resort town menaced by a Great White shark.
The Towering Inferno by Richard Martin Stern - Disaster thriller scenario as an unstoppable fire rages inside a giant skyscraper.
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - Military thriller plays out as a Soviet nuclear sub crew attempts to defect to U.S.
Firefox by Craig Thomas - Techno/Military mission as a U.S. agent tries to steal a high tech Soviet fighter plane and fly it out of Russia.
The Firm by John Grisham - Legal thriller sees a young lawyer join a law firm with secret organized crime connections.
True Crime by Andrew Klavan - Race against time thriller as a reporter tries to halt a wrongful execution.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Follows chain of historical puzzle clues to revelation of a sensational religious secret.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Swedish government conspiracy thriller with a hacker/punk female lead character.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Stephen King Completes Suspense Trilogy with END OF WATCH
End of Watch by Stephen King is a follow-up to his prior related suspense novels, Mr. Mercedes and Finders, Keepers. Continuing characters in all three novels are retired police detective Bill Hodges, his mentally fragile assistant Holly Gibney, and sociopathic mass murderer Brady Hartsfield.
Hartsfield is now a vegetative coma patient after suffering a brain trauma injury when Hodges and Holly stopped his mass casualty bombing attempt. But Brady's mind has been secretly recovering, and in the process, has developed paranormal mental powers. He uses those powers to incite an epidemic of suicides, aided by a hypnotic game player tablet called a Zappit.
As the sudden suicide deaths mount, Bill Hodges uncovers Hartsfield's monstrous plot. Hodges and Holly race against time to shut down the malevolent Zappits before the suicide infection can spread even further.
End of Watch contains some familiar King themes: paranormal mental powers, sinister technological devices, and a team of friends coming together to fight an evil threat. The novel is notable for the characters of Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney, two of the most admirable people Stephen King has created.
The novel is overlong by at least fifty pages, as King's renown "Big Mac and Fries" style tends to overwrite too often. The author is actually at his best in shorter, tighter works such as The Night Flyer and The Mist.
That said, End of Watch is a colorful, fast-reading work that long time King fans should find satisfying.
Hartsfield is now a vegetative coma patient after suffering a brain trauma injury when Hodges and Holly stopped his mass casualty bombing attempt. But Brady's mind has been secretly recovering, and in the process, has developed paranormal mental powers. He uses those powers to incite an epidemic of suicides, aided by a hypnotic game player tablet called a Zappit.
As the sudden suicide deaths mount, Bill Hodges uncovers Hartsfield's monstrous plot. Hodges and Holly race against time to shut down the malevolent Zappits before the suicide infection can spread even further.
End of Watch contains some familiar King themes: paranormal mental powers, sinister technological devices, and a team of friends coming together to fight an evil threat. The novel is notable for the characters of Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney, two of the most admirable people Stephen King has created.
The novel is overlong by at least fifty pages, as King's renown "Big Mac and Fries" style tends to overwrite too often. The author is actually at his best in shorter, tighter works such as The Night Flyer and The Mist.
That said, End of Watch is a colorful, fast-reading work that long time King fans should find satisfying.
Monday, May 2, 2016
EXTREME PREY a New Crime Thriller by John Sandford
Extreme Prey by John Sandford is the newest entry in the crime thriller series that features Minnesota State Police investigator Lucas Davenport.
The Iowa Presidential campaign trail is the background for the novel. A threat has been made against a candidate. Lucas is on indefinite leave from police work, but he agrees to look into the threat as a free lance consultant.
What Lucas finds increasingly worries him. Evidence develops that indicates the threat is not only real, but clearly dangerous. But the threat comes from an unlikely source: a bitter and resentful farm family following near-psychotic political motives. The race to stop an assassination plan crisscrosses the rustic Iowa landscape, hurtling toward a tense, explosive finish.
Extreme Prey has a crackerjack plot and is written in such a smooth, fast paced style that the novel practically reads itself. Once again, John Sandford shows why he is one of the best crime thriller authors working today.
An outstanding read. Highly recommended.
The Iowa Presidential campaign trail is the background for the novel. A threat has been made against a candidate. Lucas is on indefinite leave from police work, but he agrees to look into the threat as a free lance consultant.
What Lucas finds increasingly worries him. Evidence develops that indicates the threat is not only real, but clearly dangerous. But the threat comes from an unlikely source: a bitter and resentful farm family following near-psychotic political motives. The race to stop an assassination plan crisscrosses the rustic Iowa landscape, hurtling toward a tense, explosive finish.
Extreme Prey has a crackerjack plot and is written in such a smooth, fast paced style that the novel practically reads itself. Once again, John Sandford shows why he is one of the best crime thriller authors working today.
An outstanding read. Highly recommended.
Monday, June 1, 2015
GATHERING PREY - New Crime Thriller by John Sandford
Gathering Prey by John Sandford is the latest in the popular crime novel series that features Minnesota State Police investigator Lucas Davenport.
What begins with a young panhandler drifter going missing leads Davenport into a multiple murder case that just keeps spreading in scope.
Lucas gets on the trail of a roving, rag-tag crew of disciples led by a sociopathic, self-styled guru named Pilate. The disciples travel the country in a road convoy, luring and killing random victims to suit their whims.
As Davenport closes in along with a posse of local police officers, the hunt turns into a multi-state chase that leads up to a wild gun battle in a one-horse town in the backwoods of the Michigan Upper Peninsula.
The novel moves like a bullet train through the twists of the chase and the running shoot-out with the fleeing, ruthless disciples. John Sandford continues to produce inventive new plots built around the long running main character of Lucas Davenport. Gathering Prey is an outstanding read that further confirms Sandford's place in the top rank of crime thriller authors.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
What begins with a young panhandler drifter going missing leads Davenport into a multiple murder case that just keeps spreading in scope.
Lucas gets on the trail of a roving, rag-tag crew of disciples led by a sociopathic, self-styled guru named Pilate. The disciples travel the country in a road convoy, luring and killing random victims to suit their whims.
As Davenport closes in along with a posse of local police officers, the hunt turns into a multi-state chase that leads up to a wild gun battle in a one-horse town in the backwoods of the Michigan Upper Peninsula.
The novel moves like a bullet train through the twists of the chase and the running shoot-out with the fleeing, ruthless disciples. John Sandford continues to produce inventive new plots built around the long running main character of Lucas Davenport. Gathering Prey is an outstanding read that further confirms Sandford's place in the top rank of crime thriller authors.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Friday, January 9, 2015
THE BIG FINISH by James W. Hall an Environmental Crime Thriller
The Big Finish by James W. Hall is a gripping crime thriller in its own right. But the novel is also a graphic depiction of the damage done to the natural environment and to human health by reckless industrial waste pollution.
The novel is part of the continuing series to feature main character, Thorn, a rugged outdoorsman loner who often finds himself entangled in dangerous situations. The setting for this novel is rural North Carolina. Thorn's son is missing there after joining some militant environmental activists who are battling a large hog livestock farm operation. The hogs are being maltreated in truly horrendous conditions and the waste byproducts are poisoning the local land, river, and populace. The farm owners are a brutal lot who stage a fatal armed attack to stop the activist group.
Thorn leaves his native Florida and heads north to find out what happened to his son. In the process, he comes into violent conflict with some coldly vicious enemies.
The Big Finish was written to be the finale to the Thorn novel series. The Thorn books have always been outstanding for their descriptive depiction of the natural ecology of Florida, where Thorn lives. Thorn's deep disgust at the way the state's lands and habitats are being lost to relentless development is an ongoing theme in the novel series.
The Big Finish is a great read as a Crime thriller and as a sometimes stomach-turning picture of how livestock industry pollution can damage a local community and its residents.
The novel is part of the continuing series to feature main character, Thorn, a rugged outdoorsman loner who often finds himself entangled in dangerous situations. The setting for this novel is rural North Carolina. Thorn's son is missing there after joining some militant environmental activists who are battling a large hog livestock farm operation. The hogs are being maltreated in truly horrendous conditions and the waste byproducts are poisoning the local land, river, and populace. The farm owners are a brutal lot who stage a fatal armed attack to stop the activist group.
Thorn leaves his native Florida and heads north to find out what happened to his son. In the process, he comes into violent conflict with some coldly vicious enemies.
The Big Finish was written to be the finale to the Thorn novel series. The Thorn books have always been outstanding for their descriptive depiction of the natural ecology of Florida, where Thorn lives. Thorn's deep disgust at the way the state's lands and habitats are being lost to relentless development is an ongoing theme in the novel series.
The Big Finish is a great read as a Crime thriller and as a sometimes stomach-turning picture of how livestock industry pollution can damage a local community and its residents.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
DEADLINE by John Sandford a Backwoods Crime Thriller
Deadline by John Sandford is a new crime thriller set in the rural, wooded country of southeast Minnesota. The novel is the latest in the series to feature Virgil Flowers, a state police investigator.
In the small town of Trippton, a local reporter uncovers a hidden embezzlement scheme that is stealing huge funds from the schools budget. The entire school board is in on the criminal scheme. To stop the reporter from exposing them, the board members take a secret vote to have him murdered. The vote is unanimous.
That's the chilling set-up for the novel. Virgil Flowers is in the same local area to investigate a dog stealing ring that's taking valuable hunting dogs from their owners. When the reporter's body is found shot in the back, Flowers takes on that case as well. He soon finds himself the target of a cold blooded conspiracy by treacherous country folks who aren't going to be stopped.
Deadline is an entertaining crime read filled with startling plot twists and colorful characters and dialogue. John Sandford continues to be one of the best crime fiction writers working today.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm trees
In the small town of Trippton, a local reporter uncovers a hidden embezzlement scheme that is stealing huge funds from the schools budget. The entire school board is in on the criminal scheme. To stop the reporter from exposing them, the board members take a secret vote to have him murdered. The vote is unanimous.
That's the chilling set-up for the novel. Virgil Flowers is in the same local area to investigate a dog stealing ring that's taking valuable hunting dogs from their owners. When the reporter's body is found shot in the back, Flowers takes on that case as well. He soon finds himself the target of a cold blooded conspiracy by treacherous country folks who aren't going to be stopped.
Deadline is an entertaining crime read filled with startling plot twists and colorful characters and dialogue. John Sandford continues to be one of the best crime fiction writers working today.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm trees
Saturday, March 24, 2012
New Thriller THE FEAR INDEX a Timely Warning
The new Robert Harris thriller The Fear Index is a timely warning about what can happen in nervous world financial markets when a hyper-powerful computer trading program gets too smart and decides to go rogue.
Dr. Alex Hoffman, a mathematics genius, creates the VIXAL algorithm to execute large scale, instantaneous financial trades for a hedge fund. But when VIXAL begins to operate autonomously outside of human controls, the result is potential market chaos.
At the same time, Hoffman himself comes under attack in a series of anonymous actions that threaten to destroy his entire life.
This stylish, literate thriller is a cautionary warning about the potential for a sudden financial market collapse and the threat of unchecked artificial intelligence advances. What happens when the technology outgrows its human creators?
For those new to British writer Robert Harris, his previous work includes the chilling political suspense novel that was the basis for the film "The Ghostwriter." He is also the author of the excellent suspense novels "Enigma," "Fatherland," and "Archangel."
BEACH RATING: 3 and 1/2 Palm Trees
Dr. Alex Hoffman, a mathematics genius, creates the VIXAL algorithm to execute large scale, instantaneous financial trades for a hedge fund. But when VIXAL begins to operate autonomously outside of human controls, the result is potential market chaos.
At the same time, Hoffman himself comes under attack in a series of anonymous actions that threaten to destroy his entire life.
This stylish, literate thriller is a cautionary warning about the potential for a sudden financial market collapse and the threat of unchecked artificial intelligence advances. What happens when the technology outgrows its human creators?
For those new to British writer Robert Harris, his previous work includes the chilling political suspense novel that was the basis for the film "The Ghostwriter." He is also the author of the excellent suspense novels "Enigma," "Fatherland," and "Archangel."
BEACH RATING: 3 and 1/2 Palm Trees
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Stephen King Battles Time in 11/22/63
Stephen King's new novel 11/22/63 isn't a horror novel, but there's still a monster in it.
The monster is past history and the past doesn't want to be changed. The past is capable of many vicious tricks to keep anyone from ever altering it.
The book's main character, Jake Epping, tries to do just that when he uses a freak time portal anomaly to go back into the past to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But the huge, implacable machine that is Time itself repeatedly throws up roadblocks to stop Jake. The constant fatalistic theme of the story is that Time is a relentless and often cruel thing that humans have futile power to affect.
Although it's not a horror novel, the usual eerie King touches are still there. A clown-faced killer in the town of Derry, Maine that echoes King's earlier novel It. A sinister two-tone Plymouth Fury in Dallas that recalls the malevolent auto in Christine. Then there's something that guards the time portal that's called the Yellow Card Man.
11/22/63 is an enormous, disturbing novel that deals with the unpredictable and dangerous consequences of trying to alter history. Each small change in the past can have unforeseen results in the future. We've all had the desire to be able to go back and change something in the past that we wish had never happened.
Just don't ever try to go back to do it. Because the past will get you for it.
BEACH RATING : 4 Palm Trees
The monster is past history and the past doesn't want to be changed. The past is capable of many vicious tricks to keep anyone from ever altering it.
The book's main character, Jake Epping, tries to do just that when he uses a freak time portal anomaly to go back into the past to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But the huge, implacable machine that is Time itself repeatedly throws up roadblocks to stop Jake. The constant fatalistic theme of the story is that Time is a relentless and often cruel thing that humans have futile power to affect.
Although it's not a horror novel, the usual eerie King touches are still there. A clown-faced killer in the town of Derry, Maine that echoes King's earlier novel It. A sinister two-tone Plymouth Fury in Dallas that recalls the malevolent auto in Christine. Then there's something that guards the time portal that's called the Yellow Card Man.
11/22/63 is an enormous, disturbing novel that deals with the unpredictable and dangerous consequences of trying to alter history. Each small change in the past can have unforeseen results in the future. We've all had the desire to be able to go back and change something in the past that we wish had never happened.
Just don't ever try to go back to do it. Because the past will get you for it.
BEACH RATING : 4 Palm Trees
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