The Deep Zone by James M. Tabor

   


The Deep Zone

I just finished this wonderful first thriller by the non fiction author of Blind Descent, James Tabor. This guy is the real deal. I really liked his characters and pacing. I don't know why but I am very partial to thrillers and fiction that take place deep underground. The standard for this type of book is The Descent by Jeff Long. Extremely scary and interesting to boot.
But, The Deep Zone is a very worthy read. In a nutshell:

 Unjustly fired from a clandestine government laboratory, microbiologist Hallie Leland swore she would never look back. But she can’t ignore an urgent summons from the White House to reenter the realm of cutting-edge science and dangerous secrets.
 
“Potentially the worst threat since Pearl Harbor” is how the president describes a mysterious epidemic killing American soldiers  in Afghanistan—and now poised for outbreak in the States and beyond. Millions will die unless Hallie and a hastily mobilized team can recover the ultrarare organism needed to create a new antibiotic. The good news is that Hallie knows more about the organism than anyone else on the planet. The bad news is that it can be found only at the bottom of Earth’s deepest cave.

Hallie’s team is capable—especially the mysterious Wil Bowman, who knows as much about high-tech weaponry as he does about microbiology—but the challenge appears insurmountable. Before even reaching the supercave, they must traverse a forbidding Mexican jungle populated by warring cartels, Federales, and murderous locals. Only then can they confront the cave’s flooded tunnels, lakes of acid, bottomless chasms, and mind-warping blackness. But the deadliest enemies are hiding in plain sight: a powerful traitor high in the Washington ranks and a cunning assassin deep underground, determined to turn Hallie’s mission into a journey of no return. 

The idea of being miles undergound is just plain spooky and the landscape that Hallie and her team have to travel is brutal. When reading this it is easy to start feeling claustrophobic. Traversing one of the largest and deepest caves in the world is no picnic especially when you consider it is all done by headlamps. Just the thought of running out of batteries makes you squirm.

This is a very quick read and if I remember correctly there are no "F" bombs at all in the book. Just serious suspense and some really bad guys that you want to see come to justice. Overall, a very fun book.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage (Passage Trilogy Series #1)




Okay, sorry for the delay, but I will try to get more on here than I have been. This is my first "adult" book that I have posted. Meaning that the themes are for a mature reader. There are things that are not appropriate for those under 18. But, these are only a handful. The book isn't loaded with sex and language
.
That being said, I first heard about this book when it was released in June of 2010. It had widespread awesomely great reviews with Stephen King, (whom I don't always agree with) calling it one of the 10 best books of the year. Here is a sampling:

Men's Journal

Addictive, terrifying, and deeply satisfying. Not only is this one of the year's best thrillers; it's one of the best of the past decade - maybe one of the best ever.

Time

A literary richness that rivals Stephen King's The Stand.

Which points to my next remark. I think that "The Stand" by King is one of the best books ever written. It is huge, sprawling and terrifying in all the best ways. And so is The Passage.

Here is the gist of it..

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.” 

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

You literally cannot put this book down. Cronin is a real writer and his talents are on full display. When you are reading this book, you have to stop and look outside just to see if there are people still walking around and life is normal. It is that good. So, if you are looking for a great summer read, that will make you think about quite a few things and you want to be ready for the sequel in the fall. Do yourself a favor and put down the trash that is 50 Shades of Gray and read some real writing with real storytelling. Great book!