Entries Tagged 'Book Review' ↓

Odd Thomas is the main character in a series of books by Dean Koontz. He’s young, he’s a fry cook, and he’s got powers.

Odd is a young man that’s been gifted with prophetic dreams, the ability to see ghosts, and the heart of a paladin. This fourth book sees him taking real ownership of what his actions mean. He ponders if he’s crossing a line as he steps into situations of violence and death.

In this latest book in the series, Odd Hours, we find Odd in a small sea side town, playing cook and attendant to Hutch, an aging actor. Odd has come to the town because of a vivid dream of catastrophe. Unfortunately he’s gotten no clues so far in his month long stay save one, the mysterious girl on the boardwalk.

The book moves a bit slow at first but quickly becomes a page turner. Honestly I finished this is one afternoon. Pacing is good considering the story takes place over basically two days. It helps that there are chases, gunfights, and plenty of unique characters for us to enjoy.

An interesting aspect of this book is the unusual people Odd encounters. The woman with the twinge, the young pregnant lady with the zen type conversations, and the Happy Monster. I read into this story that being such a potential catastrophe that a convergence happened of others with gifts and insights.

Odd Hours is the best of he sequels to date. Action, mystery, wisdom, gun play, sadness, and sainthood, this book has it all.

Bonus in this book, and really in the series, is a lack of swearing, death isn’t overly gory, and people worry about doing the right thing.

Anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

(oh yeah, Mystery Train)

** spoiler alert **

Seize the Night is the sequel to Fear Nothing. The characters you loved from the first one are here but in even more detail and narrative. And that’s a problem.

The story in this book takes place over an even shorter span than the first one. in this follow up it’s months later and things are still strange in Christopher Snow’s little sea-side town. People are still becoming. Intelligent and malevolent monkeys roam the town at night, and to make it worse, even hordes of birds are killing themselves.

What’s happening in this story is two-fold. Firstly the inevitable dark downside of the retrovirus. The gift of intelligence is a curse more than a blessing for most of the animals affected by the experiments at Wyvern. Chris runs across swarming birds, packs of wolves, and more marching to their doom. Not being chased by cursed by spiraling depression.

The other plot is the kidnapping of children. Of course the police aren’t going to do much, and honestly, Chris doesn’t even wait to see if they will. He immediately suspects it’s related to the base in some way. So off into the night he goes, glock and flashlight and faithful dog.

Koontz gives us rich detail, a fantastic first person viewpoint, and lovable characters. The only problem is that he compresses a week worth of story into basically two evenings. Amazing amounts of dialogue, internal monologue and animal communication takes place during that time. This is my biggest complaint. The book seems to take forever to get through those couple of days.

On another note, this becoming issue really could have been left out of this entirely. There is a whole other mystery going on here worthy of a book all by its self. Another strike against a book that still has some really enjoyable writing in it.

All in all, it’s not a bad read if you’re a Koontz addict and enjoyed the Chris Snow character. Sadly it left me wanting a follow up book with this rather interesting family of characters. Apparently Koontz didn’t enjoy these folks enough to follow up. Likely due to lackluster response to this long winded second in the series.

This will appeal to those that like a bit of psychology mixed with their sci-fi.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read more of my reviews on Amazon.

Chris Snow may have a genetic disorder and a deadly one at that, but nothing keeps him from being the master of Moonlight Bay at night. Fear Nothing is the story of Chris Snow, his dog, Orson, and their friends as two dramatic days pass in Moonlight Bay.

The story begins with the death of Chris’s father at the local hospital. Chris soon discovers bodies going unexpected places ad well as an unexpected extra body. Of course he takes off on adventure into the night to uncover this mystery.

In spite of being a story that takes place over two days, it doesn’t move very fast. Oh, there is action, including chases, gun fights, and a few deaths, there is a much more in the way of inner conversation. The narrative takes place mainly inside Chris’s head. We see all other characters’ actions through his eyes.

The actions taken by Chris in this story are definitely unbelievable. He may have a genetic issue, but he’s managed to become a successful author, an accomplished surfer, and find a hot lady for a girlfriend. We find he also has an affinity for animals. All of those take him from one act in this novel to the next with him surviving relatively unscathed.

It turns out Chris is not just a bystander either. He’s central in several ways to the plot of the story, not just as the random guy caught up, though until later in the book he doesn’t get that. It seems his friends don’t get it either until the end.

In my opinion, not one of Dean Koontz’s best novels, but still not a bad read. The narrative is slow, and some of the characterization, though wordy, is shallow. The characters leave possibilities open but the way the book ends you’d think things wouldn’t end up well for Chris or his friends.

If you’re a die hard Koontz fan, pick this up. If not, skip this one.

One reviewer is right, this is a single idea book. It fleshes out the idea of what sways our decisions, specifically how we are swayed to make irrational decisions.

The authors define irrational as being out of line with well reasoned and logical choices. These are those cases where the pilot takes off without clearance, the woman is tempted to go around a car stopped at a light into oncoming traffic and more.

Explored are a handful of factors that do the swaying. The book doesn’t just list them though, nor are they even in bullet points of any sort. It’s a rather meandering course as we are taken from example to example and back again. It’s as if the authors felt the need to weave a tapestry of thoughts and experiences, perhaps to make the text more fluid. I found it distracting.

In spite of enjoying the book overall, and honestly, having my eyes opened, this could have been a shorter work The references could have been more on point. The sections in each chapter should have been more clearly defined.

If you enjoyed Blink, and books like it, then you’ll enjoy this as well. I recommend the paperback.
It’s also generally an easy read; you won’t need a dictionary to get through this.

Buy Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior.

Hugh writes without apology. He’s telling you how to keep that creative spark alive.

His 39 tips (really 40) are all about defending your creative spirit and your right to have it. The tips are typically short, numbering no more than a few paragraphs each. A handful are longer where he relates personal experiences.

The book isn’t meant to tell you think right and you’ll win. It doesn’t tell you the world will line up to help you succeed. This is not a law of attraction book. This book makes you feel like having a creative spark puts you in an eternal war. Beyond that, he tells you everyone has this spark, and most of the world is out to crush it.

Sounds a bit depressing but quite the contrary, it’s uplifting and funny. It challenges you a bit though, and Hugh isn’t afraid to use a rough word here are there to make his point.

Best takeaways? Keep your day job and apply force and focus to your creative endeavors.

I’m reminded by reading this book how few people challenge themselves in the creative area, but settle to just be another bystander in life.

Cheers Hugh. A fan.

PS. I’m giving away a copy the last week in June.

This was my first Brent Weeks novel. I’m not sure it was the best introduction to his work. It was a decent plot overall, with plenty of twists and turns. But before I go into more detail, the book was too slow.

Brent Weeks takes us to a place where life is dark, dreary, and deadly. Our main character begins his life on the streets, and the book constantly revisits them. Death abounds even upon children, innocents, royalty and the homeless. This world is one where everyone you befriend is a liability, every love a potential loss.

The darkness is not just around the characters but in them as well. Our protagonist has to make tough choices and does. Though at what cost? Can a young boy, even a tough one, take the leap from struggling in poverty to a powerful assassin and not lose part of his soul?

One thing I loved included the action scenes. The detail and flow of these was quite entertaining and drew me in fully. Sheer variety in weapons, attacks, and how each character approached the fights was worth the price of admission. Eric Lustbader eat your heart out. True ninja style stuff here.

Another strong point to this book is the depth of characterization. Weeks spared no amount of words making sure we understood each character, not just as their job or profession, but who they are inside and how they came to be there. He lets us peer into the mind of a prostitute turned leader, and a man who sold his soul for immortality.

Lastly a compliment to the author for making no one black and white. Not even characters as simple as some of the guards were entirely simple.

Though the book was long in the tooth at points, if you love tails of assassins, ninjas and the like, then this is a good read. Young adult is almost an unfair category for this as it will more likely appeal to a slightly older reader.

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• The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (nethspace.blogspot.com)

Seth says in The Dip that what he’s sharing isn’t anything but the simple and obvious truth. There’s no pretense to a miracle answer, insider secrets, or get success tips. Seth just tells us how come it matters when you are in the dip and when to know you’re not.

Lots of reviewers are critical of this book for the very reason that it’s simple and general in nature. I believe some of them are missing the point.

It’s not about hard work paying off. it’s about giving up bad tactics, bad strategies and bad beliefs. Quitting them in essence. Giving up the things that don’t work and won’t work for you. Give up old and ingrained habits. Give up being part of 25 hobbies or scattering yourself over dozens of attempts at things.

For me this book really describes the last year of my life at work. I’ve been in the dip again and didn’t even realize it had a name. For me it was about not just putting in my time, which is never that simple to get ahead, but deciding to ‘lean into the dip’. While others were choosing to resign themselves to misery and drudgery, I chose to do some of my best work ever as a programmer and analyst. Now while others have come through, still miserable and nothing changed for them, I’m taking over planning their work and managing contractors. Oh well for them.

I’m endorsing this book because I’ve lived it several times in my life already. It’s really simple. Like Yodda, ‘do or do not’. Buy The Dip.

Sookie Stackhouse, in Dead Until Dark, is not your typical protagonist. She’s a telepathic waitress. Nope, no gun toting [...] kicking vampire slayer here. Not only that, but she’s destined for more and rougher vampire encounters than any waitress deserves to have.

Into a quiet town with no paranormal goings on moves a public vampire. Shortly after that the murders start piling up. Obviously the locals figure the vampire at first, but soon another suspect becomes likely. Sookie is not only caught up with these two but between them as well. It doesn’t get easier for her either as the book progresses.

From unlikely heroine to confidant and brash goes this young lady is transformed. Transformed by her experiences and by a little…oh that would be telling. Let’s just say that folks begin to notice and that just adds to the confusion.

This book is not aimed at the preteens, and probably not the younger teens either. Though it’s a softer read than other vampire novels, there is murder, bloodshed, rough sex and death a plenty in this book. Surprisingly though very little language.

A fun read and not your typical vampire story, Dead Until Dark will be one vampire story that lets you laugh.

I’ll tell you right up front that Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us is a book you’ll dismiss or embrace. I’m fairly certain there is no middle ground here. What it comes down to is your willingness to believe you can lead and your acceptance that most folks are sheepwalking.

Seth takes us through a perspective on what constitutes a leader and what leaders do. He explains from his point of view why companies large and small and the individuals within fight to maintain the status quo. But more than that, there are hit home examples of where this leads. You’re recognize these. They might even be companies you know.

Where this hits home for most folks though will be those of you in big industry and being cube warriors. You’ll see yourself and others and your boss describe here. It’s at that point you’re likely to get a bit angry. You may even discard the book because it will be a conviction. Are you sheepwalking or can you break free and lead?

But is there a big secret to be found in these pages? Perhaps not for some. It’s real secret will be in how it causes you to reflect if you’re ready to take charge of a tribe, join one, or continue to wait in fear.

Note, if you’ve not enjoyed other Seth Godin books, this won’t be for you either. If you enjoy his straight forward talk, then Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us is a must read.

Chris Brogan reviews Six Pixels of Separation, a new book by Mitch Joel. Chris is admittedly biased and yet the review is compelling enough for me to give it a quick look.

The best clue for me I’ll enjoy it is Chris referring to it as actionable. You can read a chunk and do something with it.

Chris is someone in my circle of trust. Please enjoy the video and visit his blog, ChrisBrogan.com.

You can get your own copy of Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone..