Book Review: Eve and Adam (2012). Michael Grand and Katherine Applegate

Eve and Adam (2012)  Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

I am not really sure why I read this book as it is not usually my taste.  There was some interesting biotech -  Rapid healing and a rapid DNA synthesis system.  Neither one was really developed very well and did not make sense but they were interesting ideas.   The plot itself was pretty cliché.  Daughter blaming tyrannical mother who turns out to be OK.  Girl turns down the perfect boy of her dreams for the not so perfect (but still pretty cute) boy who kisses well. The villain is “Tattoo Tommy – if that gives you an idea about this book. 

Apparently there is a sequel.  Think I will pass.  In fact maybe I will try a little nonfiction as a palette cleanser  - so to speak.

Book Review: Columbus Day: Expeditionary Force, Book 1 (2016) Craig Alanson

Columbus Day:  Expeditionary Force, Book 1  (2016) Craig Alanson 

This book is a guilty pleasure. Joe Bishop is our hero.   He is in main on leave from the Army when first Hamster-like aliens named Ruhar come to Earth and start lighting-up all of the power plants.   Joe captures one using an illegal ice cream truck decorated with Barney (the dinosaur).  Then the lizard-like, Kristang, come to “save” the humans from the Ruhar.   Big surprise!  Turns out that the cute Ruhar are actually the good guys and the blood-thirsty Kristang have become our slave masters.   We have no matching technology of our own and we can eat Ruhar or Kristang food so how do we survive?  Enter alien artificial intelligence invented by the ancients.  Joe gives it the cute nick name of “Skippy”.  Together with Skippy, Joe escapes and rescues Earth.   Obviously, the start of a series.

I like the first person narration of Joe.  The details are believable (except Skippy which makes no sense except as a plot contrivance).  Will I read book two?  Yes – but I will feel a little guilty.     

Book Review: The Perfect Mile (2004). Neal Bascomb. - Bannister, Lady, and Santee and the 4 minute mile

The Perfect Mile (2004) Neal Bascomb

With the passing of the great Sir Roger Bannister I highly recommend this terrific book about the great completion that occurred at that time between Englishman Bannister, Australian John Landy, and American Wes Santee.  They were all amazing, breaking the 4 minute mile on cinder tracks with lousy shoes and antiquated training methods.  Anyone who gripes that they can’t do something because they don’t have a nice enough _______ (fill in the blank) should read this book!   I wonder what these guys would have run with 2018 shoes, tracks, and training. 

Roger Bannister gave up competitive running to had a long esteemed career as a physician.   What an example of a fine human being.

Book Review: Exodus (2017) Alex Lamb

Exodus (2017)  Alex Lamb 

Will Kono-Monet  versus Superior Nada (Sounds like a nightmare Catholic Nun).  Or is it Mark Ruiz and Ann Ludec versus the Photurians (The Borg).   Wait maybe all of the above versus the Transcended.  Be prepared for all of the above.  At the end of Nemesis Will becomes a captive of Snake Pit by the Transcended.   In Exodus it turns out Snake Pit has become “Will World”  with many variants of Will and a meta expression named “Balance” that polices the rest.  Meanwhile, Mark, Ann, and Ira set off with a few expendables to reach Snake Pit and Will through the back door and at the same time lead the Photorian Fleet into dead space.  Oh and they just happen to “find” Rachel cryo-preserved after 40 years.  They did not count on Superior Nada -  a semi-independent Phot who eventually blends the Photorian psyche with that of Will World to form her own collective of Nada clones. 

What kind of deal can Will and / or Mark work out with the Transcended to stop Nada from taking over everyone?   Spoiler Alert -  How can all of the main characters survive in this incredibly hostile galaxy?  Maybe you like fairytale endings but come on…

A nice wrap-up of a very good Sci Fi trilogy.  Alex Lamb does a great job of bringing the characters to life while describing the battle scenes and the virtual worlds with vivid detail.  I’ll take another please.