Quick Book Reviews Blog

Our memories are something that we take for granted; they are always going to be there, more or less, and they are always going to be accurate to a certain extent. But what if one day you discover that your most important memory is nothing but a fabrication to the whole world around you? How could you trust anything out of your own mind afterward? Such is the situation Joe Stanton finds himself in, in the book Exodus 2022 by Kenneth G. Bennett.

Coming from the world of cinema and fast-paced thrillers, it shouldn't come as a surprise that with his debut novel, I Am Pilgrim , Terry Hayes brings to us an intricate, action-oriented plot (there is certainly more to the novel though, and more on that below) that moves along at a breakneck speed. In it, we are basically treated to a confrontation between a government agent code-named Pilgrim, and a deadly mastermind of a terrorist genius only ever known as Saracen.

Ever since we were old enough to realize the sky existed, humanity has always had an urge to take to it, to experience unparalleled freedom. For decades, centuries, and even thousands of years we have tried to imitate the flight of birds, albeit with very limited success. However, things took a drastically different turn when the industrial revolution came about. In the very early days of the 20th century, fueled by then-unimaginable technological advancements, a large number of people became friends, enemies, accomplices and rivals in their glorious conquest of the skies.

One would seldom think of anthropology as being the career where passionate love triangles would arise; they generally concentrate on their studies in seclusion. However, in Euphoria by Lily King, an anthropological study becomes the catalyst which sets off a series of events, plunging three young anthropologists in their thirties into a deep and passionate love triangle which begins to threaten not only their careers, but also their personal well-being.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the horror genre is the fact that so many different approaches to it can be taken, ranging from convoluted and ridiculous to simple and realistic ones; there will never be a shortage of things to fear in this world. It goes without saying that Stephen King is deservedly one of the best-known horror writers out there, and with Mr. Mercedes he seeks to impregnate his audience with fear stemming from incomprehensible madness.

Not long ago the movie Drive (2011) made a tremendous splash in the moviemaking industry, and personally I will admit to it being one of my favorite movies. Perhaps somewhat predictably, the success of the movie led many people to become curious as to what inspired it, and it didn’t take much time for James Sallis’ Drive to skyrocket into fame.

As we grow older we tend to build our own worlds; they are composed of our interests, hobbies, career, memories, experiences, friends, family members, love interests, and so on and so forth. One of the greatest fears we all share is to lose it all at once, to be left with absolutely nothing, perhaps even less than square one. In The Walk by Richard Paul Evans we encounter such a man: Alan Christoffersen, an advertisement executive from Seattle. In the blink of an eye, he loses the love of his life, his job, and his home. Long story short, the only things he has left are his essentials, and himself.

History is a rather curious thing, in the sense that we accept the fact that much of it is shaped by the desires and interests of those who record it. In other words, the history we are being taught and accept is not a completely accurate reflection of the objective reality which transpired; rather, it is distorted and modified by countless factors from faulty memory to the need to advance an agenda.

With The Son Jo Nesbo delivers an entirely new standalone novel, though in some ways, it does run in the same vein as the Harry Hole novels. In The Son , our protagonist is Sonny Lofthus, a young man who spent the last twelve years of his life in prison, serving time for the crimes of others and being supplied with unlimited heroin.

With his first novel in over five years, Greg Iles goes back to his favourite place of all, the town he himself was raised in, Natchez, Mississippi. This fresh outing, titled Natchez Burning , is the first part of an entirely new trilogy, and it is centered on two characters: Tom and Penn Cage, with the former being the latter’s father.

Amongst many things Jim Harrison is known for his magnificent and captivating novellas, particularly the ones revolving around a reckless Indian from Michigan who has never had a lot of luck, Brown Dog . Choosing to reunite all of the novellas in a single book, Harrison put together Brown Dog, a compilation of all the titular character’s stories until today, as well as an entirely new one.

The Edward Snowden affair which has erupted recently is certainly a huge wake-up call to the entire world, showing that our surveillance methods are rapidly approaching Orwellian standards. Unfortunately, it is obvious that the entirety of what Snowden had to reveal still didn’t make its way into the open, and the full consequences of his actions still unknown.

Field of Prey by John Sandford is yet another addition to the Lucas Davenport detective series, this time following the investigator on a rather unsettling affair. In the town of Red Wing, Minnesota, a cop ends up discovering a body stuffed down the cistern of an abandoned farm. Upon closer investigation, it is discovered that there are corpses to be pulled out, and by the time Davenport makes his way there, the count is up to fifteen.