May
05

The Farm by Charles C. Anderson

By arcook Posted in 4 Stars, Action, CLEAN, Fiction, Military-Navy, STAR rating, Thriller, Wash Rating | No Comments »

A primer on emergency medicine

 

TITLE:  The Farm
AUTHOR:  Charles C. Anderson
PUBLISHER:  Outskirts Press
PAGES:  336
ISBN:  978-1432790936
STARS:  4
WASH:  clean

Andy Carlson is not just another emergency room doctor, he is also a former SEAL with plenty of stories that he could never tell. He also has some secrets from his past that could and do cause him some grief in his current “quiet life”.

The Farm by Charles C. Anderson is all about the past that catches up to Dr. Andy Carlson.

The majority of the story takes place on a plantation that had been in the Carlson family for hundreds of years. Andy has discovered a plot by the CIA (and maybe others) to make another country look like they have launched a terrorists attack on the United States. There are those that don’t want the details of this plot made public and are willing to kill Andy to keep him quiet.

The Farm is filled with action, suspense, and very colorful characters. The plantation and surrounding areas are vividly described.

While the characters themselves were believable, some of the things they did and people they “controlled” seemed rather unrealistic.

Though I did enjoy the book, I feel it suffered from too many details. I found the history of the plantation and role of it during the Civil War descriptions to be a little on the boring side. The section felt more like a lecture than a real part of the story. I also found the descriptions of various medical procedures to be a little too detailed. I don’t think the type of suture or clamp used is really necessary for my enjoyment of the story. These details actually seemed to slow down or interrupt the pacing of the novel.

 

What other bloggers have said about The Farm by Charles C. Anderson:

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Apr
29

The Cloning by Wisner Washam

By arcook Posted in 5 stars, Action, Fiction, LITTLE DIRT, STAR rating, Thriller, Wash Rating | No Comments »

How Much Trouble Can One Baby Be?

TITLE:  The Cloning
AUTHOR:  Wisner Washam
PUBLISHER:  CreateSpace
PAGES:  338
ISBN:  978-1466244269
STARS:  5
WASH:  little dirt

What does an American scientist with no religious beliefs, the pope, the spoiled daughter of a small country’s king, a Ferrari, and the shroud of Turin have in common? The answer would be The Cloning by Wisner Washam. The Cloning is a fast-paced, suspenseful book about the cloning of a hair found on the shroud of Turin – essentially creating an exact duplicate of the Christ that was born over 2000 years ago.

The stage for the story is set in the first chapter as a new, more progressive pope takes office and a Harvard science professor, Marc, wins the national science award. An old friend of Marc is in a strategic place in the Catholic Church and is able to convince the pope to let Marc study and authenticate the shroud of Turin.

Marc’s irreverent attitude toward the church and a hint of potential conflicts to come becomes apparent as Marc enters Cardinal Dugan’s office and shakes his hand instead of the customary kiss on the ring. Other conflicts come up as the time to do the cloning approaches. There is much discussion as to who the mother that carries the clone should be and what nation she should come from. Once settled, there is more discussion about whether the cloned child should be male or female. Obviously, there are those who do not think the cloning should even be allowed.

As the book progressed, I found it more difficult to put down. I was quite tempted about half way through the book to look at the last page to see how it ended.

This is not a “Christian fiction” book, but it does have some spiritual themes that run discreetly through it. There is some foul language and a few “semi-tasteful” bedroom scenes.

Overall, an excellent book with a well thought-out plot that has some interesting twists.

 

What other bloggers have said about The Cloning by Wisner Washam:

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Apr
21

Redemption Day by Steve O’Brien

By arcook Posted in 5 stars, Action, Fiction, LITTLE DIRT, STAR rating, Thriller, Wash Rating | 1 Comment »

 When nationality profiling does NOT work …

TITLE:  Redemption Day
AUTHOR:  Steve O’Brien
PUBLISHER: A & N Publishing
PAGES:  313
ISBN:  978-0982073520
STARS:  5
WASH:  little dirt

 

Redemption Day by Steve O’Brien is all about terrorism from a group that wants to teach the government a lesson. The difference this time is that the terrorists were not from a foreign country – they were homegrown. Since they looked and talked like everybody else, it was almost impossible to identify all their members.

The book opens with Nick and several others being fired from their jobs. This is followed closely by a Supreme Court judge being kidnapped and his protection detail killed. After a series of unfortunate incidents, Nick finds himself wanted by the police for murder.  From this point on, the book flashes quickly between the people that are holding Justice Caprelli hostage and Nick trying to clear his name while evading the police.

The action is fast paced with some very colorful characters. Unfortunately, some of these colorful characters also have very off-color vocabularies.

The story is very believable and easy to get involved in. There are times in the book where it is difficult to tell who the real bad guys are.

An excellent book that I found difficult to put down.

I look forward to reading other works by this author.

 

What other bloggers have said about Redemption Day by Steve O’Brien:

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Apr
16

BrainRush II: The Enemy of My Enemy by Richard Bard

By arcook Posted in 5 stars, Action, Fiction, LITTLE DIRT, STAR rating, Thriller, Wash Rating | 1 Comment »

Common enemies make enemies friends.

TITLE:  BrainRush II – The Enemy of My Enemy
AUTHOR:  Richard Bard
PUBLISHER:  CreateSpace
PAGES:  332
ISBN:  978-1468006001
STARS:  5
WASH:  little dirt

 

Jake Bronson is back in “Brainrush II – The Enemy of My Enemy”.  Not only is Jake back, but some of his old friends and enemies are back as well. Just as in the first book of the series “Brainrush”, the action starts on page one. Within the first few paragraphs, we find Jake in the cockpit of his plane with a guy intent on killing him in the back seat. Not only does the “old friend” of Jake’s want to kill him, he also wants to kill some of Jake’s friends.  — All this on the first 3-4 pages!

The action doesn’t stop as Jake and his friends discover a terrorist plot that only they will be able to stop. The story takes Jake’s group south of the border (illegally of course) and has some of his other friends stealing some very high priced stuff.

Even though this is part two of the series, there is no need to read part one first. The reader will probably want to read part one after finishing “Brainrush II – The Enemy of My Enemy”. 

Richard Bard continues to show his skill as a writer in this action thriller and nail-biter that I highly recommend. The action scenes are vivid and put you in the middle of the action.

- Did I mention the drug runners, government conspiracies and cover-ups? …Those are there too!

My question – will there be a BrainRush III?

 

 

 

What other bloggers have said about Brainrush II by Richard Bard:

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

 

Mar
23

Echo’s Revenge – The Ultimate Game by Sean Austin

By arcook Posted in 5 stars, Action, CLEAN, Fiction, STAR rating, Wash Rating, Young Adult | No Comments »

A video game gone wrong…

TITLE:  Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game
AUTHOR:  Sean Austin
PUBLISHER:  AAA Reality Games
PAGES:  283
ISBN:  978-09837264
STARS:  5
WASH:  CLEAN

Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game by Sean Austin is the story of a video game gone wrong. Brothers Reggie and Jeremy are serious gamers. Their game of choice is ECHO’s revenge – a first person shooter game that is played together with other players over the internet. In the world of ECHO gamers, Reggie is one of the best.

Reggie is invited to visit the game developers headquarters. After being told by his step-father that he could not go, Reggie decides to sneak out of the house and attend the meeting anyway. On his return that evening, some family problems develop that prompt Reggie and his brother to run away from home to their father’s house.

Shortly after running away from home, the brothers find out that several of their “gaming friends” are disappearing. Things begin to happen that cause them to wonder if the game has turned into reality.

Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game is an extremely well written and exciting book about the world of video games and gamers. The book is aimed at the young adult (YA) crowd and as such is very family friendly – no bad language or adult situations. Even though it is a YA book, I believe some older readers would also enjoy it.

A great book that is fun to read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given an advance readers copy of this book by the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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