Showing posts with label cunning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cunning. Show all posts

Monday, July 4, 2016

The Kill Switch

The Kill Switch is a well written novel as are all of James Rollins works. Tucker, the man hired to spirit one of two scientists out of Russia, is a tough, kick a _ _ , no nonsense man full of  amazing resources. Kane, his faithful four-legged partner, is an outstanding character all by himself. The enemy seems to anticipate each move Tucker and his group make as they move toward the border.  There is a leak of information somewhere, and it is a direct threat to his mission as well as his life. He is understandably suspicious of everyone he comes in contact with but has to trust someone. The cost in life as well as money is high if he makes the wrong choice.

WARNING: The prologue is gruesome, and I was sorely tempted to skip most if not all of it. No matter how stomach turning, however, it is crucial to understanding the end of the novel. This novel is not for the faint of heart but a page turner for those who enjoy detailed blood and guts adventure.

Note: I was interested to learn in the author's notes at the end of the story that Kane is modeled after real war dogs, especially one named Chaser, "a border collie who understood over a thousand words including grammatical structure."


Friday, March 4, 2011

UGLIES and PRETTIES by Westerfeld

A young teenage friend recommended the following two books as excellent reads. Both are by Scott Westerfeld.


UGLIES

The first, Uglies, starts off slow, but the plot thickens, drawing the reader into a complicated social situation. Somehow, the earth's population has been convinced that all of societies problems are a result of people's desire to be beautiful. At age of sixteen, everyone automatically undergoes an operation that converts their natural shaped face and body into a prescribed "beautiful" image. Unbeknownst to the patient, the operation also changes their brain and way of thinking.

What happens if someone does not want the operation? Who controls all these bubbly, beautiful people? Can Tally escape the "Specials", those beautiful but cold hearted enforcers who control the artificial world in which both the Uglies and Pretties live? You must read UGLIES to find out.

PRETTIES

After reading UGLIES, I rushed to the library for a copy of PRETTIES. I had to find out if Tally could break the hold the "Specials" had on everybody. I was not disappointed in Westerfeld's masterful discription of a small but determined group of individuals bucking the system. But the cost of being different is high. It takes courage, cunning, and a strong will to survive in this world where beauty is the main goal of all but a few individual thinkers.

UGLIES
Teen to adult interests
ISBN-13:978-0-689-86538-1

PRETTIES
Teen to adult interests
ISBN-13:978-0-689-86539-8


Both books can be purhasd at your favorite book store or from Amazon.