Independent reviews of your favourite books & role play games
Good Guys & Bad Guys
A Thousand Suns by Alex Scarrow
The discovery of a wrecked wartime B17 off the New England coast seems like a good photo opportunity for freelance photographer Chris Roland. How did the wreck come to be there and why are there no records of it? Chris soon realises that he has stumbled upon a mystery stretching back to the final dark days of the Second World War.Could the Nazis have discovered a weapon so terrible that the very existence of the human race was threatened? Was Hitler prepared to gamble all on a last desperate throw of the dice? The story moves between the present day and the final days of Nazi Germany as Hitler’s scientists finish assembling a terrible weapon of awesome destruction and a crew of airman train to fly a plane that shouldn’t exist. As Chris digs further for the truth, he discovers that some will kill to stop it ever being revealed.
A great tale that switches the action from the present day to Hitler’s Bunker in Berlin. Boris
Temple By Matthew Reilly
Professor William Race’s quiet life in academia changes forever when he is asked to help the US Military in finding a lost Incan idol carved out of a strange alien stone which could be used as a weapon of mass destruction. The only clues to the idols whereabouts is a 400 year old manuscript written by a young Franciscan missionary sent to convert the Incas. Race soon finds himself in the midst of a terrifying adventure and facing both animal and human foes and having to take life threatening decisions that no-one should ever be called upon to make. A roller coaster of adventure from page 1 to 763, this is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted, cat lovers also beware. For everyone else, read and enjoy.
Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Australian Jack West Jr. and his team of international nine men & women drawn from the small nations are the heroes & heroines of Matthew Reilly’s latest thriller. The world faces cataclysm in ten years time when the arrival of the Tartarus, a rare solar event is due to take place. Throughout history every 4,000 to 4,500 years the Tartarus has brought disaster on a worldwide scale causing the biblical great Flood and other catastrophes. The last time the Tartarus appeared however, the Egyptians averted disaster by use of the Golden Capstone on the Great Pyramid. After the event the seven pieces of the Capstone were hidden in Wonders throughout the Ancient World. Jack and his team must find the pieces to avert the catastrophe, but an European consortium and the Americans are also racing to find them for they know that ownership of the Capstone and performance of an ancient ritual at the time of the Tartarus brings unimaginable power to the nation holding it. As usual Matthew Reilly has written a fast paced, exciting thriller and Jack West is a worthy successor to those who have gone before.
Last Light by Alex Scarrow
When Sunni holy mosques in Mecca and Medina are bombed and then oil refineries in Venezuela are targeted, oil production stops in these major suppliers and the scenario that engineer Andy Sutherland predicted in a report many years ago, unfolds before his eyes. Andy is out in Iraq and is worried about his family back in England. Wife Jenny is in Manchester, daughter Leona is away at University and son Jake is at boarding school. Andy knows that the family must group together for safety, as the norms of society break down in the ensuing chaos. Not able to contact his wife, Andy manages to phone Leona and tells her to fetch Jake from school and go with him to friends of theirs in London. Setting out on their separate nightmarish journeys, Andy & Jenny are both beset by dangers along the way. Meanwhile, unbeknown to them, a killer is stalking Leona and she is in deadly danger for something she saw as a child, the day her father handed over his report.
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
An amazing discovery has been made at a remote US ice station in Antarctica. Buried deep below the surface inside 400 million years old ice is what appears to be an alien spacecraft. Lieutenant Shane Schofield & his crack team of US Marines are sent to secure the bizarre discovery for their own nation. Arriving at the ice station, Shane & co find some French scientists apparently assisting the Americans, but all is not as it seems and very soon Shane & his team are fighting for their lives against French commandos. Shane & co prevail, but then face a new threat from the British SAS and even from dark forces within the US Military. Not only that, but even nature seems to have turned against them and they have to contend with Killer Whales and mutant Elephant Seals. A fast moving and exciting novel, but not for the faint hearted, or those of a nervous disposition. Boris couldn’t look at a fish finger for weeks!
Warning - Not recommended for Seal or Whale lovers. You’ll never look at them in the same way ever again. Boris.
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
The Dark River follows on from ‘The Traveller’ which Boris thought was one of the best books that he had read last year. Gabriel Corrigan the Traveller , protected by his Harlequin bodyguard, Maya, continue their age long battle against the Brethren, known to their enemies as the Tabula. Michael, Gabriel’s brother has gone over to the Tabula and is actively helping them. Set back by the destruction of their quantum computer, the Tabula are working on a computer programme called ‘Shadow’, which they are testing out in Berlin. When news comes that the brother’s father Matthew Corrigan may still be alive, both Gabriel and Michael set out to find him and Gabriel sets out on a journey from which he may never return. Boris can’t wait for the final book in the trilogy!
A ‘1984’ for the 2000s and let’s face it folks it’s happening now. Go into any town or city and count the CCTV cameras, you’ll be surprised . Boris
The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks
Set towards the end of this decade this is the first book in a planned series which tell of a world which has become a cyber 1984 where technology monitors every human beings actions from day rise to nightfall, from cradle to grave. It tells of a world where some people considered dangerous rebels live ‘off the grid’. Some called Travellers offer hope for the future, but ‘The Vast Machine’ which controls humans lives can tolerate no deviation from what it perceives as the norm and Travellers are hunted down and killed. Harlequins, fierce fighters are sworn to protect Travellers and this is the tale of one called Maya, a tough young woman who takes on the task of protecting Gabriel and Michael, one or both of whom could be Travellers themselves. Boris really enjoyed this book which was refreshingly different and can’t wait for the next one in the series.
Resurrection Day by Brendan DuBois
Having grown up in the 50’s & 60’s Boris is only well aware of how close we came to a nuclear war during that time and especially during the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’. This book first published in 1999 visualises a world ten years on from the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’, a world where the USA & USSR went to war and nuclear bombs fell on their major cities. Russia is decimated, California virtually destroyed and Washington D.C. Lies beneath a vast crater lake. President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson and their families have disappeared and the USA a second-rate power under martial law is dependent upon the British for aid. Carl Landry a young Boston newspaper reporter arrives at the scene of the murder of a veteran of the ‘62 war’. Landry begins to doubt that the man was the victim of a burglary gone wrong and suspects that this man who was in the White House War Room in 1962 may have taken secrets with him to the grave. When Landry then becomes involved with a reporter from the London ‘Times’ he becomes involved in a web of conspiracy and deception that make him question who really did push the button that started the war.
This chilling, but thought proving book made Boris think if this is what would have happened if the Soviets hadn’t backed down. Would Great Britain have escaped the holocaust as depicted in the book? Or would it too have been a radioactive wasteland. Too horrifying to contemplate! Boris
Lucifer by Michael Cordy
Michael Cordy has been described by some critics as the British answer to Michael Crichton. Boris hadn’t read any of Michael Cordy’s books before, but if this is typical of his novels then they could well be right. ‘Lucifer’ is set in the near future when the Roman Catholic Church has seen many of its members leave to join the newly established ‘Church of the Soul Truth’. Xavier Accosta, the ‘Red Pope’ and its leader needs the help of science to prove once and for all that there is life after death and who better to prove this premise than the brilliant Dr Miles Fleming, brilliant young neuroscientist and confirmed atheist. Fleming’s search for the truth however soon places him in deadly danger as he uncovers a terrifying plot and finds himself starting to believe that there is a Heaven and a Hell!
The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury
Boris read Raymond Khoury’s ‘The Last Templar’ last year, as did Mrs B and both of us thought it an excellent read. This too is another well written thriller this time on the theme of the search for the secret of eternal life, with two stories running in parallel, one in the 18th century, the other in the modern day. In Portugal in 1705, Sebastian a young man in the service of the Inquisition is bequeathed an ancient half-burnt book which sets him on an incredible, perilous journey to complete the quest he’s been asked to fulfil. In South Lebanon in 2006, Evelyn Bishop, an American Professor of Archaeology is approached by an old associate who has a book he is desperate to sell her, a book with a strange symbol tooled into its cover, the circular motif of a snake feeding on its own tail. Evelyn recognizes the symbol, but has no idea of the dangers which now lay before her, for others want the book and will kill to obtain it. The fast paced story moves between the present and the past to a nail-biting conclusion.
Another cracking thriller from Raymond Khoury. Boris
The Gilded Seal by James Twining
James Twining’s third novel about former art thief Tom Kirk, now an investigator into art thefts ( poacher turned gamekeeper) is as fast paced and well plotted as his first two( The Double Eagle & The Black Sun) which Boris has previously reviewed. Whilst investigating the theft of a priceless Da Vinci, Kirk hears of the torturous death by crucifixion of an old friend and thinking that he may be next on the killers list decides to look into the murder. Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic, Special Agent Jennifer Brown is investigating an arts forgery case which could bring the reputations of two global art auction businesses into serious disrepute. Following a lead to Paris, Jennifer meets up with Tom. Very soon they realise that both of their cases are connected and discover a conspiracy dating back to the Emperor Napoleon which involves a priceless treasure of the Palais du Louvre.
The Double Eagle by James Twining
Tom Kirk is a brilliant young art thief who undertakes what he hopes will be his final job before getting out of the game. Only problem is that he didn’t realise the job he’d undertaken was on behalf of Cassius a sinister criminal mastermind. In Paris a priest has been murdered and his autopsy reveals that just before death he’d swallowed a coin that shouldn’t exist, one of the fabled US Double Eagles. A young, ambitious FBI agent, Jennifer Browne is assigned to the case and given a chance to resurrect her stalled career. Her investigation soon reveals a daring robbery from Fort Knox and Tom Kirk becomes her prime suspect. Tom soon finds himself on the run in a race against time to clear his name. Moving swiftly from London to Paris, Amsterdam to Instanbul Tom searches for the real thieves and the legendary coin.
I really enjoyed reading this brilliant debut novel from an author who shows great promise.
The Black Sun by James Twining
Former art thief Tom Kirk and his former fix/fence Archie are now going straight and are investigating art robberies on behalf of clients. In London an Auschwitz survivor is murdered and his left arm severed and taken. In the NSA museum in the USA, a security guard is brutally murdered and an Enigma machine stolen. A robbery from a Synagogue in Prague of a seemingly worthless painting doesn’t seem out of the ordinary to Tom until the stolen painting turns up alongside the severed arm. Then Tom is approached by an agent of the British Intelligence Services and asked to help investigate these crimes. Old adversary Cassius soon appears on the scene and an elaborate trail of clues leads from Idaho to St Petersburg and a secret order of SS Knights and the closing days of World War II. Soon Tom , Archie and Tom’s young assistant Dominique find themselves in terrible danger as they race Cassius for a deadly prize that has lay buried for 60 years.
An excellent sequel to ‘The Double Eagle’ which concludes the unfinished business with Cassius. Or does it? Boris
The Deceived by Brett Battles
Jonathan Quinn was introduced to readers in ‘The Cleaner’ and has a very interesting job. He disposes of dead bodies. When Quinn is asked to dispose of a body found in a shipping container he finds it is the body of one of his best friends and the man who once saved his life, ex-CIA Steven Markoff. Quinn feels he has an obligation to find out who killed Markoff and why, but more pressingly he must let Markoff’s girlfriend Jenny Fuentes, aide to up and coming, potential Presidential candidate, Congressman James Guerrero. Quinn immediately hits a problem, Jenny has disappeared and appears to be being hunted by some very bad men. Tasha Douglas, supposedly a friend of Jenny’s is also looking for her and when Jenny’s home in Houston and apartment in Washington are destroyed , Quinn finds he has to take Tasha under his wing. Aided by his apprentice Nate & fellow cleaner and friend Orlando, Quinn finds he has a very tangled web of intrigue to unravel if he is to find out the truth behind Markoff’s death.
The Cleaner by Brett Battles
Jonathan Quinn is a professional ‘cleaner’, but he won’t come and clean your house for you. No, Jonathan is a cleaner of another variety, nothing too violent, just disposing of bodies and erasing evidence that might embarrass ‘the Office’ the shadowy organisation that he works for on a freelance basis. When Jonathan is asked to investigate a suspicious case of arson in which an unnamed man had died, a job which appears routine enough, he sets off for Colorado and a small town called Allyson. When a dead body turns up where it doesn’t belong and Quinn’s handlers fall strangely quiet, Jonathan knows it’s time to watch his back. When an attempt is then made to kill him, Jonathan & his ‘apprentice’ Nate head fast for cover and try to work out why someone wants them dead and if it’s linked to a larger attempt to wipe out the ‘Office’. An exciting tale with the action ranging from Colorado, via Vietnam to Berlin.
The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne
When rookie New York Times reporter Will Monroe’s beautiful wife Beth is kidnapped, Will fears for her life as it appears her kidnappers are men who will kill without any hesitation. Deciding that he is the only one who can save her, Will sets out on the kidnappers trail that eventually leads him to a mysterious cult who follow on e of the world’s oldest religions. Good people are dying all over the world and Will thinks the deaths and his wife’s kidnapping are linked and that the answer to what is going on lie in ancient prophecies and riddles buried deep in the Bible. With the clock ticking, Will knows he must act fast if he is to save Beth and possibly all humanity. If you like the novels of Dan Brown, Raymond Khoury and John Case you’ll probably like this.
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Scoundrel by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell is best known for his ‘Sharpe’ series set in the Napoleonic Wars, but this story written just after the first Gulf war shows what a talented writer he is. Paul Shanahan, the hero, or anti-hero according to one’s viewpoint is a Boat Surveyor who is approached by Safiq a shady go-between for IL Hayaween, a Palestinian terrorist. Shanahan, a former arms dealer with links to the IRA is asked to take $5000000 worth of gold concealed in the hull of a yacht over the Atlantic to the USA. The gold to pay for Stinger Missiles the IRA are buying there. Shanahan is not entirely trusted by his former comrades who four years earlier suspected him of being an agent of the CIA. Shanahan has designs on the gold for himself and a lively tale ensues as he tries to outwit his IRA ‘minders’ , IL Hayaween and British Intelligence. An excellent tale and a reminder of the times when a lot of support for the IRA came from North America.
The Heretic’s Treasure by Scott Mariani
Ex-SAS operative Ben Hope has settled down and is using his skills to run a special training school in rural France. When his ex-Commanding officer, Colonel Harry Paxton, the man who once saved Ben’s life, calls on him to find his son’s killer, Ben is unable to refuse. When Ben is asked to kill Harry’s son Morgan’s killer he is torn and to complicate things further, Ben finds himself attracted to Harry’s trophy wife Zara. More is at stake though and the path to Morgan’s killer leads Ben on the trail of a fabulous treasure once owned by the Pharoah Aktenaten. Others are also searching for the treasure and will kill to get their hands on it. All the ingredients for an excellent thriller and Scott Mariani doesn’t disappoint.
If you like fast paced action thrillers and searches for lost treasures then this is one for you. Boris