Need You Now by James Grippando

A readable but uninspired thriller

Published in 2012 by Harper.

Did you ever read a book that was more interesting for the places that the characters went than it was for the characters themselves? Well, this book is one of those.

Not that this is a bad book - it starts with an interesting underlying plot involving a Bernie Madoff type of ponzi scheme and a hint that the government had worked to keep the scheme going long after it should have been discovered. Bring in contract killers, terrorist connections, a dying former mobster in the witness protection program, cell phones infected with GPS tracking viruses, a love story gone bad (but maybe on the rebound?), secret identities, a mathematical genius and a cub scout leader and you would think that you would have the makings of a fine thriller.

Instead, the book just cruises on autopilot. The characters feel a bit shallow. The story bounds from one twist and turn to another but they just felt a bit forced.

Once again, not a bad book - just not a great one.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

Note: I received a preview copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Need You Now.

Reviewed on December 17, 2011.

Redwall (Redwall #1) by Brian Jacques

The first of a prolific series

Originally published in 1986.

Listed as on Time Magazine's list of 100 greatest fantasy novels.

My 11 year old daughter picked up Redwall at a local bookstore and loved it so I decided to give it a try, figuring that it must be pretty solid considering that there are more than 2 dozen books in the series, including prequels and other side stories.

But, I was not captivated by the story. I did not dislike it, but the grown up in me had some questions that pestered me throughout. The storyline is fairly simple - the peaceful community of animals that lives in and around the Abbey of Redwall is under attack by an army led by an evil one-eyed rat named Cluny the Scourge. The scholars of the Abbey believe that the sword of their ancient hero, Martin the Warrior, will help in the defense and dispatch an initiate into their order (Matthias) to find that sword. The plot follows the progress of he siege and Matthias' search.

I was bothered by many things in this book that caused me to enjoy it less than my non-critical daughter.

1) Why do the creatures of the Abbey look to young Matthais to be the leader of their defense of the Abbey? Vague reasons are offered but they make no sense;

2) Scale. Badgers fight alongside mice. The badger in the book is larger than the mice, but not to the scale it would be in the real world. The scale with almost every animal is off;

3) Why are some buildings mice-sized and some buildings are seemingly built by humans? Where are those humans?

The plot itself is fairly basic and predictable - rookie hero goes off to find the secret weapon and be the hero, the plucky good guys hold off the evil enemies.Unlikely alliances offer greater strength.

My daughter may try to read the rest of the series but I will not.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Redwall by Brian Jacques.

Reviewed on December 10, 2011.

Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, The Bill of Rights, and the Election That Saved a Nation by Chris DeRose

A refreshing perspective on the Founding Fathers

Published 2011 by Regnery History

I am an avid reader of American history and one of my favorite areas to study is the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers. There is no shortage of books about the build up to the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and Washington, Jefferson and Adams (as of late) but there is a real scarcity of books about the difficulties experienced by the Articles of Confederation government and the debates that led to the creation of the Constitution. Of course, there are the famed Federalist Papers and the lesser-known Anti-Federalist Papers but not much written as a study.

James Madison (1751-1836)

In Founding Rivals, DeRose tells the story as a parallel biography of Madison and Monroe - two Founding Fathers, two future presidents, both close friends of Thomas Jefferson. This is more than a bare bones biography but there were times that I found myself wanting more such as when DeRose discusses Monroe's trips to the frontier. I would have been interested in hearing more about how that influenced his decisions later on in life. For Madison, mentions in one brief sentence that he wrote or co-wrote 29 of the Federalist Papers as part of the debate in New York about the ratification of the Constitution. I would have thought that his essays would have been explored a bit since they do show insight into his political philosophy but there is only the one sentence.

But, the book is not meant to be a complete dual biography, it is the story of one election to Congress and how that election impacted America. That part of the story actually occurs relatively late in the book. Once DeRose has finished demonstrating the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why Madison (known as the primary author of the Constitution) wanted to scrap it (no one had more experience with the deficiencies of the Articles of Confederation than Madison) we are easily two-thirds into the book. Frankly, I was starting to wonder when the "Rivals" part was going to kick in. In a way, it really does not. Madison and Monroe were friends. They respected one another's experiences and opinions and their rivalry seems to have been a gracious one. Interestingly, they did not seem to harbor any ill feelings towards one another during and after the election.

James Monroe (1758-1831)

They strongly disagreed on the new government created by the Constitution. Anti-Federalist Monroe wanted to go to Congress to limit the ability of the Congress to directly tax the people and create a Bill of Rights. Madison wanted to be able to directly tax the people and was one of the few Federalists that also wanted a Bill of Rights. Madison was bothered by states (like his native Virginia) that had an official religion and taxed its residents to pay for that religion and he had a long record of opposing those sorts of laws.

Madison wins the election and is one of the leaders of the movement to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. DeRose persuasively maintains that if Madison had not won the election, there would not have been enough support from Federalists to pass the first 10 amendments to the Constitution and that is how this election "saved a nation." It's a strong argument and the book presents an interesting look at the Founding Fathers and the arguments and friendships that created America.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe.

Reviewed on December 7, 2011.

City of Dreams: A Novel (!Hero Series #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead and Ross Lawhead

An interesting "What if...?" take on the story of Jesus.

Published in 2003 by Navpress

This may be the most pointless review I have ever written. There is something sad about a stillborn trilogy. In this case, only the first book was published, although co-author Ross Lawhead claimed the 2nd and 3rd books are written in his blog. So, this reminds of an unfinished building - lots of big plans but someone pulled the plug before it was completed.

Nonetheless, here is the review:

The premise is simple. What if Jesus did not come into the world about 2,000 years ago, but instead was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the here and now. As a history teacher I very much enjoyed reading the alternate history aspect of this book - how would the world be different if Christianity did not eclipse the old religions of Europe? Would the worship of Jupiter, Thor and Diana have continued? Would Europe have developed the same sort of political structures? These topics are hinted at but are not really the main focus of the book.

The book features Special Agent Alex Hunter, an investigator for ICON (International Confederation of Nations), a one world government organization that has been experiencing difficulty with religious groups who want to break free from ICON's iron grip. Hunter is a tarnished agent, having mishandled a standoff with a religious splinter group in the recent past. The standoff went bad and a bloodbath ensued. He has been brought to New York City to investigate a Zionist splinter group (turns out that Judaism survives in this alternate, but still experiences plenty of difficulties).

Intrigue, plots and plots within plots are discovered and Agent Hunter is not sure who to trust - ICON, the local government or perhaps even the group he has infiltrated. Along the way, he meets Washer John, the character that corresponds to John the Baptist and his cousin Joshua, the character that corresponds to Jesus (Jesus is the Greek-ification of Yeshua or Joshua, if you are wondering about the name change).

The first book ends with Agent Hunter making a major decision about who he can trust in a cliffhanger situation designed to make the reader look for the second book. Unfortunately...there is no second book. Too bad, it would have been an interesting read.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com: City of Dreams: A Novel.

Reviewed on December 6, 2011

No Time for Goodbye: A Thriller by Linwood Barclay

Delivers what it promises - tension, thrills and escapism

Published 2007 by Bantam

Linwood Barclay has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His books often feature a happy family in which some event intrudes into their lives and turns everything upside down, very much like the classic black and white noire movies where the regular guy gets pulled into a seedy underworld that he had no idea even existed.  Note, these books are not deep, they are not fine literature in any sense. But, they drag you in and make you read right through to the end and the story is well worth the price of the book.

No Time for Goodbye is no different. The story is about Cynthia and Terry Archer. They have one daughter. He's a high school teacher. She works in a women's clothing store. They are a happy couple except for one dark moment twenty-five years before when Cynthia was 14 years old. One day she woke up and her entire family was gone - her mom, her dad and her brother. No note. No luggage gone. No one packed anything. They were just gone.

So, on the 25th anniversary of their disappearance, Cynthia decides to work with a reality television show and have them tell her story in the hope that someone will remember something and give her a clue as to what happened.

Soon enough, things start to happen, but not what they had hoped for. Someone breaks into their house. A strange car starts to follow Cynthia and then things really start to spin out of control.

Great thriller. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: No Time for Goodbye.

Reviewed on December 5, 2011.

Pershing: Commander of the Great War by John Perry

An interesting, well-written biography

Published: 2011 by Thomas Nelson

I've read several of the biographies in Thomas Nelson's "The Generals" series and found Pershing: Commander of the Great War to be the best of the bunch so far. The book is well-written, flows nicely and really gives the reader a feel for the bristly personality of "Black Jack" Pershing.

Perry introduces us to Pershing, a man who wanted to be a teacher, maybe a lawyer,  but accepted an appointment to West Point because he could not afford to pay for school himself. Pershing was not particularly interesting in being a soldier, but found that the lifestyle suited him. Pershing's early service in Cuba during the Spanish-American War taught him plenty of lessons about the need for proper supply lines that he took with when he commanded the American army in Europe in World War I.

World War I General 
John J. "Black Jack" Pershing

Pershing also served as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War, the Philippines and, of course, was in charge of the expedition that fruitlessly chased Pancho Villa in Mexico. For his time, Pershing was surprisingly open to different cultures, which probably explains his willingness to lead all black units in the segregated army (and is the source of his nickname "Black Jack"). But, he is most famous for commanding the American forces in World War I. Perry covers all of these events well and keeps it interesting. Perry is especially good at discussing Pershing's personal life and the tragic fire that took most of his family.

 I received this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, in an exchange for an honest review.

I rate this biography 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Pershing: Commander of the Great War.

Reviewed on December 4, 2011.

Heat Rises (Nikki Heat #3) (audiobook) by Richard Castle

Surprised and impressed!

Performed by Johnny Heller
Duration: 11 hours, 15 minutes
Published 2011 by Hyperion Audio

Unabridged.

I freely admit that when I got this audiobook I was not expecting much. The premise behind the whole series is an inside joke to begin with since this is supposed to be the books written by an author in the fictional television series Castle. So, I am reading about a fictional character in the books of a fictional author based upon the life of another fictional character in a TV show. It pretty much hurts my brain to think about it - like an Escher painting gone bad.

So, I got the audiobook of Heat Rises and figured that, if nothing else, this could be good for a laugh. My original instincts were reinforced when I noted that the main character is named Nikki Heat (like a character in a bad 80's Stallone movie or something) and, of course, she is physically stunning as well as being the best detective in her squad.

But, as I listened I warmed to the characters. The case was interesting, the characters all have distinct and interesting personalities and the book knows how to be both funny and dramatic. This book pulled me in and had me looking forward to the chance to get in the car and listen to it as I made my daily commute. I expected little and got an interesting, action-packed case with plenty of drama and humor.

In Heat Rises New York City detective Nikki Heat is assigned to the case of a local parish priest who is found dead in the torture room of a local bondage club. As the case progresses, her mentor and boss, Captain Montrose intervenes in ways that cause Heat to doubt his intentions. Add in a local group with ties to a Latin American terror group, a CIA-affiliated contractor with a history of human rights abuses and multiple attempts on Heat's life and you have the recipe for a successful bit of escapist fun.

Actor Nathan Fillion as fictional 
author Richard Castle

This book is truly performed by Johnny Heller who makes all of the characters seem unique by creating a diverse amount of accents and voices for dozens of characters, including changing his pitch and pacing. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and his work on this audiobook stands out.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Heat Rises by Richard Castle.

Reviewed on December 3, 2011.

FTC Full Disclosure - this work was sent to me by the publisher so that I could review it. The review, however, is my honest opinion and was not influenced by being sent a free copy.