First of all I want to the Publisher and Net Galley for making a review copy of this book available to me at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Mortal threat is an entertaining novel that delves into today's world and the crisis that we face with Ebola, HIV and ISIS. It also shows the problem that can occur when an elected official (in this case the President of the United States) starts to think to highly of himself and takes on the belief that he is the "savior" of the world. But it's not just the U.S. President it is also two men who head up two of the largest Media Outlets in the World. When men start to play God bad things happen.
The gist of the story is that the CIA is funding research to find the cure for Ebola and HIV. What really happens is that the cure is found but that is tied back to the "Tree of Life" from the Garden of Eden and the power of God to bring aboutu healing.
So the book is going to have strong religious overtones. It will take you through a guided course of discovering where the Garden of Eden truly was and whether it still exists today and whether the "Tree of Life" is still there and functioning.
I enjoyed the book very much, so why only three stars? Well I thought the writer needs to develop his writing skill a bit more. For me there were several streams of plot that are never truly resolved in the book. Yes, you can leave a cliff hanger, which is great, but there still needs to be some resolution to certain parts of the story.
Because these internal plots aren't resolved you are left feeling that you didn't get the full story.
Will there be a sequel, I certainly hope so, if for no other reason than to answer the multitude of questions that I have.
BUT, this is an exciting read.
Enjoy!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Full Tilt, by Rick Mofina
A journalist is on a personal crusade to find her long lost sister. Authorities tell her that her sister died in a cold river but Kate knows in her heart that she is still alive. Then her sisters necklace that is the twin to hers is found in a barn where a fire took two lives and leaves a grizzly trail of other bodies. A serial killer is on the loose and has Kate's sister been one of his early victims or is she still alive after 15 years of being missing?'
Themes that are addressed in the book are grieving, loyalty, hope, fear and crippling doubt that sometimes weaves itself into the issues. Each theme is subtlety woven through the story in the lives of many of the characters. A further theme is the mindset and background of a serial killer, how he becomes one, what drives him, etc.
The final theme is that a journalist is as good as any detective or FBI agent when they are driven by a story and truly want to get to the truth that underlies everything. Kate does her work well and eventually the FBI, the police, and State Troopers come to understand how good she is at fact checking a story and uncovering the truth.
Kate's work will help lead them to the killer. It will help her find out the truth about her sisters disappearance. It will also make her a target of the killer as he is driven to make mistakes and wants Kate to pay for that.
The story is well conceived, it is well written and it will match up with any other mystery, police thriller, journalist thriller that you have ever read.
Enjoy!
The final theme is that a journalist is as good as any detective or FBI agent when they are driven by a story and truly want to get to the truth that underlies everything. Kate does her work well and eventually the FBI, the police, and State Troopers come to understand how good she is at fact checking a story and uncovering the truth.
Kate's work will help lead them to the killer. It will help her find out the truth about her sisters disappearance. It will also make her a target of the killer as he is driven to make mistakes and wants Kate to pay for that.
The story is well conceived, it is well written and it will match up with any other mystery, police thriller, journalist thriller that you have ever read.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
The Last Sicarius, by Van R. Mayhall, Jr.
In this second novel regarding the Apostle Judas, Van Mayhall has extended his thriller to push the reader to the edge of their seat and beyond. In the first book, Judas the Apostle, we found Dr. Cloe Lejeune, an ancient languages professor, drawn into a mystery surrounding an ancient jar her father had found in WWII when he fell into a cave. This ancient jar became a sought after item when it was revealed that it could contain The Judas Gospel, supposedly written by Judas about his three years with Christ.
The last novel ended in the death of the Kolecktor who was the evil person pursuing Cloe and her friends and the Judas Jar. But with him dead it seems that all is well. That is until the Vatican comes back to Dr. Lejeune and informs her that they want to find the cave and the other jars. Then it turns out that the Kolecktor's servant and estranged son have taken over the search or the jars. They are trying to put an end to the Sicarius who are the ancient group of Jews who are protecting the jars.
This novel draws on history and draws also on the institute of the Vatican to bring about a well documented work that is so close to actual truth that it provides the reader with a work that they will be drawn into and won't be able to put down.
Will Dr. Cloe Lejeune, her son and the Catholic Priests be able to thwart the new Karik and his thugs while protecting the Last Sicarius and the Ancient Jars containing many of the works of the early church fathers?
The book is amazing. I will state that there are some things that happen in the book that I found sad, because you come to appreciate the different characters so well. But that just helps to make the story very realistic.
Again, this is a classic case of Good verses Evil and the question of who will win?
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Judas the Apostle, by Van Mayhall, Jr.
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.
I wasn't sure what I would think when I agreed to read this novel and provide a review. As a very conservative evangelical who believes the Bible is the Word of God and continued without errors in the original text I was suspect of a novel that was going to declare the existence of another "Gospel" text written by Judas, the apostle that betrayed Christ.
I know this is just a novel but I get nervous about novels that declare something that may be totally against the Truth of God's Word. The term Gospel means, "Good News." That good news is the story of the life of Jesus Christ, God's only Son, who came, walked this earth and gave His life as a ransom for mankind so that we could have a restored relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Judas Gospel is a purported gospel text written by the apostle Judas, who betrayed Christ on the night of his arrest. The question of the novel is whether or not there really is a Gospel written by Judas and whether he would validate the other four Gospels and the life of Christ.
Dr. Coltile Lejeunne is an ancient languages professor. Her father found a Clay Jar during WWII that was part of a larger cache of jars in a cave. He has never opened it and doesn't intend to.
But someone wants the jar and someone is like happy when he will not sell the jar. So, the buyer sends an assassin to kill the old man and obtain the jar. But before that can happen he turns the jar over to the local Catholic Priest for safekeeping.
The story will involve the jar finally being opened by Dr. Lejeunne under the helpful eye of the Catholic Church (A Monsignor from the Vatican). What will they discover? Will it validate the life, teaching and miracles of Christ? Or will it put a new twist on history and invalidate Christianity. Before they can know the truth of that debate they are brought under constant attack by the minions of the Kolecktor who wants to obtain the jar in his quest to bring down the Catholic Church.
The writing is OK, but not exceptional. The story is intriguing. The history is OK, as far as it goes, but it does take some big liberties with truth to ask other questions. I don't mind the questions as long as truth comes to light.
The story will have an interesting twist and ending. Readers will be intrigued. But please not that there is a second book by Mayhall that you will need to read to find the total answer to the questions raised in the novel.
I wasn't sure what I would think when I agreed to read this novel and provide a review. As a very conservative evangelical who believes the Bible is the Word of God and continued without errors in the original text I was suspect of a novel that was going to declare the existence of another "Gospel" text written by Judas, the apostle that betrayed Christ.
I know this is just a novel but I get nervous about novels that declare something that may be totally against the Truth of God's Word. The term Gospel means, "Good News." That good news is the story of the life of Jesus Christ, God's only Son, who came, walked this earth and gave His life as a ransom for mankind so that we could have a restored relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Judas Gospel is a purported gospel text written by the apostle Judas, who betrayed Christ on the night of his arrest. The question of the novel is whether or not there really is a Gospel written by Judas and whether he would validate the other four Gospels and the life of Christ.
Dr. Coltile Lejeunne is an ancient languages professor. Her father found a Clay Jar during WWII that was part of a larger cache of jars in a cave. He has never opened it and doesn't intend to.
But someone wants the jar and someone is like happy when he will not sell the jar. So, the buyer sends an assassin to kill the old man and obtain the jar. But before that can happen he turns the jar over to the local Catholic Priest for safekeeping.
The story will involve the jar finally being opened by Dr. Lejeunne under the helpful eye of the Catholic Church (A Monsignor from the Vatican). What will they discover? Will it validate the life, teaching and miracles of Christ? Or will it put a new twist on history and invalidate Christianity. Before they can know the truth of that debate they are brought under constant attack by the minions of the Kolecktor who wants to obtain the jar in his quest to bring down the Catholic Church.
The writing is OK, but not exceptional. The story is intriguing. The history is OK, as far as it goes, but it does take some big liberties with truth to ask other questions. I don't mind the questions as long as truth comes to light.
The story will have an interesting twist and ending. Readers will be intrigued. But please not that there is a second book by Mayhall that you will need to read to find the total answer to the questions raised in the novel.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
For Love or Liberty, by Jennifer Hudson Taylor
Grieving the loss of her twin sister and the loss of her only true love Charlotte must choose the path her life will take. She determines to honor her final promise to her twin sister Emma to watch over Emma's two children as well as support her husband David. That means that Charlotte must also put up with David's brother Conrad who broke her heart six years earlier when he choose a life in the Navy instead of marrying her.
The war is raging between the Colonies and England. Conrad and David have been transferred from the Atlantic Fleet to the Great Lakes Fleet. Thus they need to move the family. This means that Charlotte, the two brothers and the children, Davie and Ashlynn must travel by boat and then overland to the Great Lakes where Conrad will take his new ship as Captain.
Since Emma died in childbirth they also have hired a wet nurse, Mildred, who is a widow and has just lost her baby boy. She will travel with the group.
The main gist of the story is the overwhelming grief that both David and Charlotte feel over the loss of Emma. This grief is consuming and is in danger of causing them to neglect their duties of raising up Davie and Ashlynn. Conrad seems to be the only member of their traveling party who is not grieving, but that is not completely true as he realizes now that he gave up something special six years before when he walked away from a relationship with Charlotte.
The story will delve into the issues of grief, of love lost, of loyalty and duty as well as integrity. Those issues are portrayed well through the character development of Jennifer Taylor. Also at the end of the book you will find a "Group Discussion Guide" that will be a good tool if you read this as part of a book club.
Enjoy!
The war is raging between the Colonies and England. Conrad and David have been transferred from the Atlantic Fleet to the Great Lakes Fleet. Thus they need to move the family. This means that Charlotte, the two brothers and the children, Davie and Ashlynn must travel by boat and then overland to the Great Lakes where Conrad will take his new ship as Captain.
Since Emma died in childbirth they also have hired a wet nurse, Mildred, who is a widow and has just lost her baby boy. She will travel with the group.
The main gist of the story is the overwhelming grief that both David and Charlotte feel over the loss of Emma. This grief is consuming and is in danger of causing them to neglect their duties of raising up Davie and Ashlynn. Conrad seems to be the only member of their traveling party who is not grieving, but that is not completely true as he realizes now that he gave up something special six years before when he walked away from a relationship with Charlotte.
The story will delve into the issues of grief, of love lost, of loyalty and duty as well as integrity. Those issues are portrayed well through the character development of Jennifer Taylor. Also at the end of the book you will find a "Group Discussion Guide" that will be a good tool if you read this as part of a book club.
Enjoy!
Monday, January 19, 2015
Dubiosity, by Christy Barritt
A wonderful Christian Novel that actually has a story line that is top notch mystery. I have to say that Christy Barritt seems to understand how to build suspense, how to build mystery, how to weave a story so that you think you have it figured out only to discover that you don't. She has several potential protagonist who could be the killer, but truly you won't know which one is truly the killer until the end of the book.
We have to people, Savannah and Clive, who have had tragedy in their lives. They have both lost their spouses to violence. For Savannah she also lost her young child. Savannah is an investigative reporter who went a bit to far and it cost her family their lives. She has moved to Cape Thomas to escape from her past and the pain of the death of her husband and child. She is just laying low and not wanting any relationships, most of all she doesn't want anything more to do with God.
Clive on the other hand has just gotten out of jail (convicted of murder) on a technicality. He has come to Cape Thomas to try and find the true murderer and get justice. He will rent a small cottage on Savannah's property and that is when they both start to feel an attraction to each other.
But there is mystery in Cape Thomas. People are dying. People are disappearing. The local police don't appear to have much concern about solving the issues.
Savannah and Clive will each work at solving their own mysteries only to discover that they are folded in on each other.
Will they solve the mystery before one or both of them are murdered?
It's a great story and one I am sure you will enjoy reading.
We have to people, Savannah and Clive, who have had tragedy in their lives. They have both lost their spouses to violence. For Savannah she also lost her young child. Savannah is an investigative reporter who went a bit to far and it cost her family their lives. She has moved to Cape Thomas to escape from her past and the pain of the death of her husband and child. She is just laying low and not wanting any relationships, most of all she doesn't want anything more to do with God.
Clive on the other hand has just gotten out of jail (convicted of murder) on a technicality. He has come to Cape Thomas to try and find the true murderer and get justice. He will rent a small cottage on Savannah's property and that is when they both start to feel an attraction to each other.
But there is mystery in Cape Thomas. People are dying. People are disappearing. The local police don't appear to have much concern about solving the issues.
Savannah and Clive will each work at solving their own mysteries only to discover that they are folded in on each other.
Will they solve the mystery before one or both of them are murdered?
It's a great story and one I am sure you will enjoy reading.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Not a Book, but Hidden Video Recording Sunglasses
http://www.amazon.com/IBSOUND-Hidden-Video-Recorder-Sunglasses/dp/B00MH8FN3W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421421689&sr=8-1&keywords=IBSound+Hidden+Video
Wonderful little gadget and the price won't break your bank account. The only thing that I would recommend is that you purchase a Micro SD card to put into the glasses for a better storage device and retrieval system, at least it was for me.
The glasses come with a hard case to store them in, which is nice. There is also a USB cable included for you to charge the unit. There is a good little instruction manual that is surprisingly nice since the product was made in China and sometimes their instruction manuals can be burdensome.
What comes in the box?
1. The glasses
2. A USB cable for charging the unit
3. A soft cloth for cleaning the glasses
4. The instruction manual
5. A hard shell case for storing the glasses
What to do first?
1. Plug the device into a power source (i.e. your computer or a power station) using the USB cable so that you can fully charge the device. They needs to be done before you try to connect it to your computer.
2. Read the instructions completely
3. Plug in a Micro SD card (not sold with the glasses)
4. Wait for the glasses to charge completely. I left them charging overnight and that worked well, although in checking on them I believe that they fully charged in about three hours.
Now for the fun!
1. Turn the unit on and start recording
2. I took them for a spin when I went out to feed the Shetland Pony. They worked great.
a. They recorded my entire chore of about 30 minutes
b. They recorded what I looked at, OK, so I have to learn how to use the glasses
1) Often I was too close to my subject and the glasses only got the fur
2) Sometimes I looked at just the ground and so that is what was in the video
c. Don't forget that it is recording sound as well as video, some any stupid comment you make is recorded
3. Move the camera to just picture mode
a. use the on/off button to snap a picture
b. the camera does a good job of being in focus no matter what you do
c. the pictures come out very clear and detailed, I was surprised by their quality
After your recording session:
1. I went back inside and removed the Micro SD card fro the glasses
2. I plugged the card into my MacBook Pro and it recognized the card immediately
3. I had four file folders showing
a. Photos
b. Videos
c. Recordings (although I am not sure what this one was)
d. a text file with info on the Micro SD card
4. I pulled up the jpeg photos and was surprised at how clear they were and the detail in them, it was great.
5. I opened one of the video files, it went through a "conversion" mode and then the video opened.
a. I went to full screen mode
b. The picture had the usual start/pause and volume buttons
c. There was a date and time stamp on the video
I did not try to edit the video yet, but it did open in my video editing program, so that won't be a problem.
Things I learned:
1. The glasses record exactly what you look at, so you will have to learn how to make these work well for the video you want to shoot. Keep in mind that the closer you get to an object the more it takes up the screen of the video and you loose some clarity of the subject.
2. Keeping the unit fully charged is in your best interest, that way it doesn't die during a video you care about. So, when not in use, charge it up.
3. It takes time to get use to the flashing lights and to understand fully what they mean
4. It is easier to use a Micro SD card than the internal storage (at least for me, I am 61 years old so I learn slowly :)
5. The USB cable that comes with it is a bit different than other charging cables, the end that goes into the glasses is a bit larger than many other charging devices, such as my Kindle charging device.
6. The camera does not have a zoom in or zoom out function, so your zooming in is determined by how close you get to the object you are recording.
PROS:
1. Price
2. Ease of use
3. Quality of pictures
4. Length of video recording
CONS:
1. Your learning curve to get your subjects framed well in the picture using the glasses
2. The Micro SD card does snap in place and you use your finger to eject it by pushing in and letting it pop out, but it is not as solid in action as other devices I have, I am wondering if it will eventually not work well, but so far so good.
3. The frames are a plastic design, they should last well, but maybe making the glasses in a higher dollar cost with a more flexible frame system (such as Oakley's) would be to the advantage of IBSound as well as giving the consumer a choice of glasses quality.
Overall, I love this little gadget. It took me a while to get it all figured out and working mainly because I waited to buy the Micro SD card. But getting the card at the same time you buy the product will be good.
I used a MacBook Pro computer for viewing the product and had no problems. I know that some reviewers using a Window's based system had some trouble, I didn't find any of their problems in using it with my Mac.
Enjoy!
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