Review: Night Broken

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Werewolves, vampires, fire gods and coyotes abound in this Syfy novel set in Kennewick, Washington. When the alpha werewolves ex-wife calls begging to be hidden from some fire god stalker what can he say? I was lost several times in this book that had some real potential but lagged in so many ways. It just seemed to skip over some scene's while others were very well done.

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Review: The Last Chicago Boss: My Life with the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club

The Last Chicago Boss: My Life with the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club by Kerrie Droban
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first chapter opens with one of my own favorite quotes from Nelson Mandela,

"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw."

This book digs deep into a motorcycle club that was started in 1935 around the Chicago area of the United States. At the moment this club has expanded to well over 1,700 members in the US and other countries. But what is this organization really about? From the pages of the book, I ascertained that while some might think they are just out riding and having fun at parties. But this is not the case in all situations. There are criminal elements, especially when individuals fight over territory using violent means to control illegal money making businesses so these individuals can live their own dream of rebellion against conforming to the norms of everyday living. In the dictionary, an outlaw is described as a habitual or notorious criminal. Club members used intimidation and violence against those around them.





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Review: The Kraken Project

The Kraken Project by Douglas Preston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Artificial Intelligence On Steroids

My reading habits include having a pen, paper, and dictionary handy so I can take notes on what I am reading to increase my knowledge on subjects I find important or intriguing. We all have different thoughts about why or what we choose to read. While some books give us pleasure, others have relevant information that expands our minds to changing technologies in the world today. This book peaked my interest into the expanding realm of artificial Intelligence and the consequences we might face if movies like the Terminator with drones gone wild become a reality. Other movies that came to mind while reading this novel were Short Circuit with Johnny 5 and I Robot in which the robots develop a soul of sorts. While we can scoff at the implications that our world could not succumb to such devastation by machines, then they have never seen Star Trek or watched over the last 100 years how the science fiction of yesterday is now the reality of today. I thoroughly found this book both entertaining plus eye opening to the realities that face our world today on a global scale.

My notes on "The Kraken Project" by Douglas Preston are:
1. Artificial Intelligence or AI, read more about this subject.
2. Weaponizing our world with drones. Is this good, bad or just plain ugly?
3. Smart weapons are an oxymoron in a world that promotes Peace/Love/Religious values above all else.
4. The dark net, swindling wall street hackers/murder. How has the computer harmed the stock market against the average investor?
5. Dorothy and her dog/explorer. We all just want somewhere to feel safe and loved.
6. NASA deep space missions. Our governments screw ups while spending trillions of dollars.
7. Human nature / the meaning of humanity / what is the meaning of life.

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Review: The Last Templar

The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The enigma of religious truths. The who said what when and where that have shaped our world so that nations wage war upon each other to further their greed and domination in the world. There was some profound thought that went into the development of this book.

The mystery of the crusading Templars who were whipped out by Pope Clement V and King Philip IV for power and money. Sound familiar? It should; money is the root of the most heinous of crimes against humanity to date. Parts of the book are based on scientific fact, while others are just wild speculation on a history without a solid foundation on which to stand. Can faith be explained away by mere scientific fact? I think not, faith is intangible but has a proven track record that it does or can heal. Mind over matter. In this book, the author used two main chapters to explain through a scientific professors mind why the people of the earth should be enlightened to the facts surrounding Jesus, the man. He uses references to the discovery of what is known today as the "Nag Hammadi Library" found in Egypt in 1945 that have caused some to question individual teaching in the New Testament that was written 40 years after the death of Christ.

While author Raymond Khoury takes us on an action-packed ride from NYC to the Mediterranean seas in search of a secret that could destroy the Catholic Church or in the very least shake the faith of billions of believers in Jesus Christ to its very foundations. Is the church still sanctioning murder as a means to an end? Will the Catholic FBI agent and the headstrong, beautiful anthropologist solve the mystery? This was a great read that has me asking many more questions about my faith in myself and mankind.

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Review: Isle of Destiny

Isle of Destiny by Kenneth C. Flint
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful adventure into the land of Irelands High King Conaire Mor. Can peace become a reality in a country of warriors? I mostly enjoyed the underlying theme of peace and love with a smattering of magic intertwined through out the book.

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Review: Crazed

Crazed by Jacob Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Serial killers galore abound in this private investigator Morris Brick thrilling novel by Jacob Stone which is a pseudo name for author Dan Zeltserman. You can find out more about this author on his web page https://www.davezeltserman.com/. Lately, I have wondered why I find a serial killer, thriller and horror books or movies so interesting. Could it be that I have a latent monster inside me? Nah, I think it is that I am the opposite, in fact, too much of a humanist.

Could the reason I find them so entertaining be because I cannot fathom how anyone except someone who is so truly evil could commit such atrocities to another living being? But what is evil? Is it caused by the Devil, a brain imbalance, or has society created people who are so evil that they think of other humans as prey? How can we protect ourselves from those who think about only inflicting pain on others in a tortuous manner? While this book does not have these answers it did have some insights into what a serial killer thinks when the beast within them rises to their demented minds. If you like a tale that makes you quiver with revulsion about what horrors another human being is capable upon another that this book is for you.


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The Savior's Game (Daniel Byrne #3) by Sean Chercover

What a wonderful adventure into the field of reality, dreams & metaphysics. From beginning to end I thought the story was well thought out. Daniel is a cross between Jason Bourne plus Dirk Pitt. I look forward to reading the first two books in this trilogy. Purely enjoyed Chercovers way of writing, there was no lag time for me, even when Daniel jumped from the Source back to Earth. Plus it brought up some deep thinking about what is true reality. 

Author Sean Chercover's Webpage