Joe Ledger Lives! Predator One by Jonathan Maberry

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Okay. Listen up. Jonathon Maberry is one of our ten best thriller writers writing today period. He is also an awesome guy who deserves all the success that comes his way. Saying that. If you have not read a book in the Joe Ledger series, you are missing out on one of the great series out there.
I already knew that Maberry was a master of horror with his Pine Deep trilogy, but then a friend introduced me to Joe Ledger #1 "Patient Zero" Which has one of the greatest openings I've read in the last 20 years. I was hooked. I try to get the new Ledger and save it for when I really need a good book, it never happens. It is always devoured quickly leaving me hungry for more.
In this the 7th outing for Ledger, Echo Team, Ghost, Junie, Church and others, there are no holds barred and everyone is fair game including a wonderful fight scene with Aunt Sallie (I wish there was more detail, but my imagination is pretty good). Maberry has some of the evilest villians in the game and "Predator One" is no exception. One we have met before who is just bugnuts crazy.
The only thing keeping you and me and my little dog safe is Joe Ledger.
Just trust me. Pick up Patient Zero and start today. You will be glad that there are 6 more in the series to keep you going.


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By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber (Safehold #2) Awesome!!!

By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the Safehold series was as good and in many ways better than Off Armageddon Reef, book 1 in the series. I am so glad that I stumbled into this series. It is hard to find a great epic set in a world you can get lost in with the detail that Weber has instilled in this book and series. It has everything you could hope for. Put this into your "To Be Read" list. You will not be sorry.
The detail and thought that went into this concept is astounding. There are many surprises in book #2, but, you will have to see for yourself. On to book #3!!

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Light of the World by James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux #20)

Light of the World by James Lee Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What can you say that hasn't been said about James Lee Burke. He is truly one of the great crime fiction writers of his generation. His writing is descriptive, introspective and just plain beautiful. In this #20!! book of the Dave Robicheaux series, he may have created his biggest work yet with one of the most evil villians you would never want to encounter. Burke's genius lies in his ability to write about the human condition in a way that makes you ponder anew what it means to go through this life.
An example:
" At a certain age, you realize the greatest loss you can experience is a theft you perpetrate on yourself- the waste of days given us. Is there any more piercing remorse than the realization that a person has thrown away the potential that resides in everty sunrise?"

A whole book could be written of Burke's quotes in his various series. They are that brilliant and deep.

I know that may seem grandiose, but read Burke and you will understand.

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The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a very compulsive read. It has great characters, twists and turns ands you are never really sure that people are who they really are until the end. Very well done. If you long for the days of Rear Window and other Hitchcock clasics, this is as close to them as I have been in years. Just don't plan on starting the book and reading a chapter here or there. You will have a hard time not wanting to contiue reading. Which honestly is what all authors strive for.
Highly recommended.

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Ironhorse by Robert Knott, continuing Robert B Parker's Cole and Hitch series.

Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse by Robert Knott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every once in a while I just have to read a book about this country and the way it was. No cars, just horses. The law and those who break it and characters that are larger than life. This is exactly what you get with the Virgil Cole and Ecverett Hitch series by Robert B Parker. This 5th entry into the series is written by Robert Knott who is a worthy successor to Parker. It is written in Parker's style but you can still tell the difference. That is not to say that it's bad. Nobody wrote with the ease of Parker.
A majority of the story takes place onboard a train and the circumsatances that occur during a train robbery, or is it that simple. Throw in the the problematic issuer thar the Governor of Texas is onboard with his family, some shifty characters from Cole's past and writing that is atmospheric and conveys the time and scenery of east Texas and the Arkansas border and it makes for a great story.

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The Great China Zoo by Mattew Reilly

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Matthew Reilly is an author that writes "cool thrillers". They are pure fun and highly cinematic and they have some pretty spectacular scenes that require super human luck, strength or skill, but that just makes it more fun. If I had a criticism it would be that he uses language that he really doesn't need to. He is a better writer than that and the books would still be just as good.
In The Great Zoo of China, Reilly explores a really big story. China wants to be known, special like the US. They realize that in order to be looked at differently they must have a tourist destination, a la Disneyland. Hence, The Great Zoo of China. But this is no ordinary zoo. It is big and populated by big creatures thought to be myths. Dragons! In typical Reilly fashion, man is fiddling with things better left alone and in doing so opens a Pandora's Box of terror. These dragons are lean, mean and highly intelligent. A tour group of VIP's getting a first look at the zoo before it opens, gets far more than it bargained for and the cliffhangers and narrow escapes abound.
If you like fast paced thrillers with the "cool" factor.. Read Reilly and just go with it, yes, there are a lot of impossible escapes and scenes but it is fiction. Have fun with it.

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David Weber's Safehold Series. #1 Off Armegeddon Reef

Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have looked at this book so many times in stores and in libraries. Picked it up and read a little and let it fall by the wayside. This time I picked it up and read and couldn't put it down. This is very well done. Combine the epic history spanning world building of Asimov's Foundation and add Patrick O'Brien to the mix and you have the beginning of the Safehold series. I am so excited that I have more story to read.
The story is epic and human and all things that make for great adventures in reading.
I cannot recommend this highly enough. Well Done Mr. Weber!

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