Hot "Fever Dream" Followed by "Cold Vengeance" Review/Preview from @mrneil98

Through nine previous novels Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have enrapt readers with the exploits of FBI Special Agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast. The cases are always bizarre, with inklings of the supernatural, and Pendergast’s modus operandi  is quite unorthodox. Although the majority of the novels are set in New York, Pendergast is from an old New Orleans family with a sordid history. Tall, lean with white/blonde hair and even whiter skin, Pendergast is always dressed in black woolen suits and is often mistaken for an undertaker. During each novel, more of Pendergast's past has been slowly revealed, especially in the trilogy of books dealing with his brother Diogenes. The readers knew Pendergast was married and his wife, Helen, has been killed by a lion on safari twelve years ago.

The prologue of Fever Dream recounts the events leading up to Helen’s demise. Back in present day New Orleans, Pendergast visits his homestead and discovers Helen’s gun had been loaded with blanks. Someone, for some reason, had set Helen up! It was murder. The quest for Helen’s killer(s) is made more difficult since a dozen years have passed and so have many of the potential witnesses. The journey takes Pendergast and his adopted partner Lt. D’Agosta from Africa, to Georgia, to Maine but mostly around Louisiana.

I attended a Fever Dream release book signing and Preston and Child spoke and answered questions. They referred to the book as the first of the Helen Trilogy. There are several deviations from past novels, the main ones are the setting (not in NY) and the lack of the mystical elements. It is still fascinating and I am amazed how the authors continue to tie seemingly random elements together in a believable coherent story. In this case, we have a murder in Africa, John James Audubon and his mysterious lost painting “The Black Frame”, stolen Carolina parakeets and a family of four that met a horrible end.

By the end, Pendergast has solved the case... almost. There is still at least one person at large and many unanswered questions concerning Helen. Which is good, because on August 2 Pendergast #11, Cold Vengeance, is being released. This one begins in Scotland with a bang. I read the first chapter which was released as a teaser in the paperback release of Gideon’s Sword. Even I was surprised by the suddenness of what occurred. The publisher promises this journey will lead Pendergast from Scotland to New York and back to the bayou of Louisiana. I, for one, cannot wait.

Should you read Fever Dream if you haven’t read the other Pendergast novels? Of course! You will want to go back and read them afterward but you be able to understand the nuances of the relationships without the previous books. You should read it before Cold Vengeance. If you are looking for other books after the eleven in this series, Preston/Child have several non-Pendergast books written collaboratively and individually. After the temperature hit 104 on Friday, I am ready to replace a Fever with something Cold.

"Fallen" by Karin Slaughter

At a time when many of my favorite authors seem to be floundering, experimenting and just generally under-delivering, it's nice to have Karin Slaughter.  After ten wonderful novels, I find it incredibly gratifying to say that her eleventh does nothing but improve on an already incredible world.  For those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, you may remember that I reviewed Broken a while back.  It was my pleasure to return to her intricate, damaged and beautiful characters.

For you thriller readers out there, this entire series should be required reading.  If you're not reading Karin Slaughter right now, I have one word for you:  Repent!  Pick up one right now.  It doesn't really matter which.  They're all superlative.  Starting at the beginning with Blindsighted, you'll want to finish them out.  Starting with Fallen, you'll be sure to backtrack.  So take your pick; just don't blame me when you're hooked.

Now, for you I-could-take-thrillers-or-leave-'em types out there, give this one a chance.  Slaughter lives up to her name, sure, but she does it with class and flair.  I said it with Broken and I'll say it again here.  These are thrillers that manage to live up to the adrenaline-packed excitement expected by the genre, while still reading like literature.  You're really getting the best of both worlds with this author, and I only expect it to continue.  You can get Fallen here.

Oh, and for those purebred bibliophiles out there (or anyone that's just looking for a smoking deal on books by up-and-coming authors), you MUST check out the Indie Book Collective's Menage a Blog.  It starts Monday, July 18th and goes through the 25th, with three different titles every day.  Awesomeness overload.  #dontsayIdidntwarnyou

Keep your Rock stars, I’ll take Write stars, Post from Thrillerfest Crasher @mrneil98

As a much younger man, I would loiter outside Shea hours before a game hoping to catch a glimpse of  Daryl Strawberry or Doc Gooden. While working in Manhattan in the mid-eighties, I ogled Penny Marshall directing Tom Hanks in Big, I gaped at Meatloaf walking with his wife and daughter outside FAO Schwartz, I got autographs from Whoopi Goldberg, Dom Deluise, Alice Cooper and many more while they exited The Howard Stern Show, broadcasting next door to my workplace on Madison Avenue. The same mixture of excitement and nerves was equaled, and perhaps surpassed, as my daughter Chelsea and I neared Thrillerfest on Saturday afternoon. We were not attendees - we were crashing the book signing event that follows the afternoon workshops. Chelsea and I are still debating which of us is Owen Wilson and which is Vince Vaughn.

This subterfuge was necessitated by the previous day’s wedding of my older daughter. There was a Thrillerfest related book event at Mysterious Bookstore in lower Manhattan on Friday evening while our wedding party was circling the Statue of Liberty on a tour boat. I was psyched to learn Rollins was signing at the Thrillerfest bookstore Saturday. Chelsea, a new Rollins convert, agreed to accompany me on the 90-minute trek from the Jersey Shore to The Grand Hyatt in NYC with the added support of her friend Becky.

Not knowing what to expect, we arrived early and cased the joint. The hotel is truly grand but we walked through like we knew where we were going (we didn’t). We followed signs to the Convention Level and found the makeshift bookstore. Outside was a cafeteria-style table with name cards that read like a who’s who of bestselling authors. As yet, the seats behind the names were empty. We perused the bookstore buying a few books from authors in attendance. I had donated most of my Preston/Child books to my school library and my David Morrells to my town library, so I was holding Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and The Shimmer by David Morrell. A man squeezed by, bumping lightly into Becky and I glanced briefly at him then down at the book I was holding for confirmation. That was David Morrell! I elbowed my daughter pointing at the book then the man and she nodded. I was now officially a star struck 52 year old; the emotions were the same as my younger days, but the objects of devotion had changed.

As the authors trickled in I found Boyd Morrison (The Ark, The Vault) and got his autograph while talking about zombie marches and engineering. We then moved to the VIP table which now had faces that matched the names. Each author was more accommodating than the next. David Morrell signed his book and my nook while we talked about Asbury Park, the locale of his thriller Creepers. Doug Preston signed book and nook then asked for a demonstration of the nook. He was delighted to see Cold Vengeance, the new Prendergast book, out 8/2, on preorder.

The next two authors were the goal of my undertaking. James Rollins immediately pointed out my “Spread the Word” t-shirt to Steve Berry. The two were obviously friends having toured together, signing books and visiting troops in Iraq with Operation Thriller, and have developed a playful, jesting banter. At one point Rollins wanted his publicist to take a picture of him and me and Steve Berry lifted a copy of his book into the center of the frame. Steve Berry couldn’t help crowing to James Rollins that The Balkan Escape, his e-short story was my first nook purchase. After the autographs and handshakes, Chelsea, Becky and I left in a whirlwind daze, the whole experience lasting less than an hour.

The last two days have been amazing in very different and rewarding ways. You can have your rock stars and sports stars. When I want to feel like a giddy tween, I’ll attend a book signing by my favorite authors.

"The Vault" by Boyd Morrison, Post from @mrneil98

Talk about your 4^th of July fireworks, Boyd Morrison’s The Vault is a non-stop action/thriller that blends technology, science, history and ancient puzzles with a race to head off impending disaster. Tyler Locke, our heroic ex-military engineer from Morrison’s debut The Ark, is back with his friend and partner, former professional wrestler turned Army Ranger turned engineer, Grant Westfield. Joining Locke and Grant is Stacy Benedict, the host of a television program on Ancient Mysteries and an expert in classic languages.

Locke’s father and Stacy’s sister have been kidnapped, forcing them to work together to solve a series of puzzles designed by Archimedes that lead to King Midas’ tomb and the true source of the legend. This trail takes them from Seattle to Italy, Germany and Greece and finally back to the US for nail-biting denouement. At first I was reticent about the introduction of Stacy as Dilara, the female protagonist of The Ark, was my favorite character. Stacy proved herself to be strong, independent and very capable in the face of the many challenges. Once again Morrison shows his ability to create powerful female characters that retain a balance of emotions and vulnerability.

The Vault is a perfect summer escape novel, filled with action and suspense but with enough history, science and technology to keep your mind sharp;  Locke, Grant and Stacy not only racing to solve the mystery of The Midas Touch to free their kidnapped loved ones but also heading off a possible terrorist attack. Morrison has proven The Ark to be just the first leg of what I hope is a long journey and The Vault is an excellent follow-up.

Unfortunately you’ll have to wait a day or so to join the fun since The Vault is being released Tuesday July 5th. I was thrilled (literally) to receive an advance copy for my review; my very first guest post was a review of the The Ark. 

Morrison is an inspiration for indie writers everywhere.  Although an Industrial Engineering Ph. D. who had worked for NASA, Microsoft Xbox and RCA, he had aspirations of writing.  Morrison submitted his three manuscripts to every publisher in New York and was rejected by all. In 2009, when Amazon began allowing authors to put their unpublished works on the Kindle store, Morrison took that avenue. Within months, The Ark was a leading seller and caught the attention of a publisher. He was given a multi-book deal. In addition to The Ark and The Vault, his early novel Rogue Wave was released in paperback (and e-book) and another early novel The Adamas Blueprint will be released later this year as The Catalyst.

Happy 4^th of July week! I suggest cooling off by spending some time in The Vault.

"Devil Colony" by @JamesRollins. Reviewed by @mrneil98

The wait is over but was it worth waiting an extra year? Heck Yes!! I will try to review the book without giving away too much but first some background. I discovered James Rollins and the Sigma Force series at a library book sale in 2005 where I purchased Sandstorm, mostly due to the cool holographic cover. After reading it I was hooked; with ball lightning, killer scientists and hidden cities under the desert, how could I not be. As a reader of all seven novels, I think of the characters as family, the most thrilling family evah! We have shared loss of friends and body parts, struggles with family and relationships and become cognizant of the latest developments in science and technology usually mixed with historical fiction.

This is exactly what The Devil Colony offers. There are two missions that keep overlapping. In the first Painter Crowe, Kowalski and the geologist Chin are investigating the aftermath of a mysterious explosion in Utah. The fireworks were outside an ancient Native American cave containing mummified bodies and artifacts and the perpetrator may have been a young Native American activist Kai who is also Painter’s niece. The other story line has Gray, Seichan and Monk investigating the true story of the Guild. (Sorry Rachel fans but this is Seichan’s book.) At the end of the e-short story The Skeleton Key, Seichan receives papers embossed with The Great Seal of the United States containing clues to the Guild. She delivers them to Gray and their search is on!

In true Rollins fashion, The Devil Colony is filled with historical and religious information concerning Native American, Mormons, Israelites and our Founding Fathers. Several times I paused to “wiki” some of the topics like the Caucasoid mummy remains or Chief Canasatego, as well as nano-bots and neutrinos. I love when my novels peak my curiosity and my adrenalin, and Rollins consistently delivers. There are many locales visited by the two groups but this time the majority of the action takes place in the United States. Painter’s group journeys up and down the Rockies while Gray’s stays east of the Mississippi (Iceland is east).

While the action is fast and furious, what distinguishes Rollins from many others in this genre, is the balance of duty to country (or world) and duty to family. Gray’s struggles with his father’s Alzheimer’s seem to weigh on him more than being caught in a volcanic eruption. Painter must decide how to deal with his niece Kai while heading off impending disaster. Kat, eight months pregnant, is left in charge of Sigma and must send her husband out on a life threatening mission.  Then there is the mutual attraction of Seichan and Gray. Her transformation over the last several novels from cold assassin to team member and even confidante has been subtle.  Will they or won’t they? Of that, my lips are sealed.

After reading The Devil Colony this, I listened to Map of Bones audio book while doing yard work and I am amazed by the way Rollins has intricately incorporated recurring themes through all of his novels almost as though he had all seven mapped out. The m-state white gold from Map of Bones is eerily similar to substances in The Devil Colony. There is also a reference by Raul of the Dragon Court to secret societies during the founding of the United States. Each time I revisit one of the earlier books I pick up more of the threads that have been so deftly woven  into The Devil Colony.

Do you need to read the previous books to enjoy The Devil Colony? No, but it will enhance your understanding and satisfaction. Just a note to the author, since when do books end with bombshells? Please don’t make us wait too long before the next Sigma adventure.  You can purchase Devil Colony here.

A Non-review of Rollins' "Devil Colony"

Okay, so I tried.

I tried to do something else this week.  I don't have a review of Devil Colony, because it hasn't come out yet (unless you're reading this after the 21st).  As of it's posting, there's still 2 days left until THE DAY.

So, rather than review another novel that is great, but not Rollins (sorry, other novel, I do love you, but...), I decided to just talk about how excited I am that Devil Colony is finally coming out.  And in case you missed the implication--I AM REALLY EXCITED THAT DEVIL COLONY IS FINALLY COMING OUT!

I read (and reviewed) The Skeleton Key.  I devoured the excerpt from Devil Colony that was included in the $.99 price tag.  I loved them both.  But at the end of the day, all they did was make things worse.  I have been on figurative pins and needles since then.

And so, by all rights I should be talking about some other novel here.  Instead, I'm raving about how awesome the excerpt was and how excited I am to read this stinkin' novel.

If there's any frustration on your side that I've done so, I apologize profusely.  But, since it's my blog, while I will beg your forgiveness, I'm gonna go ahead and wax poetic about Rollins some more.

If you're a Rollins fan already, you've probably already pre-ordered the book.  But on the off-chance that you're not, I really recommend that you do so, NOW.  Seriously.  Just the excerpt was enough to keep me up at night in anticipation.

So do yourself a favor and go get it here!

And, unless I miss my guess, I'm pretty sure that @mrneil98 will be reviewing Devil Colony for real next week.  If not, you know that I absolutely will in the week after that.

Happy reading!

"The Jefferson Key" by Steve Berry, reviewed by @mrneil98

Arrrrrr mateys. Hoist the sails and batten down the hatches, we’re settin’ sail. No need to check the URL. I promise that this isn’t a review of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. This is ThrillersRock and this week I am reviewing The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry. This pirate infused novel is well worth the price of admission unlike a certain movie. For those of you unfamiliar with Steve Berry, he is the best selling author of ten books, seven involving the adventures of Cotton Malone, a retired government agent from the Magellan-Billet who now operates an antique bookstore in Copenhagen. Of course retirement is never really what you expect.

In The Jefferson Key, Malone is mysteriously summoned by his former boss, Stephanie Nelle, to a hotel room for a meeting only to find a remote controlled automatic weapon aimed at the President’s caravan on the street below. And that’s just page 1. The plot involves present day descendants of pirates, who are continuing their family business (with some minor updates). These privateers were given a Letter of Marque by the Founding Fathers for their assistance in the Revolutionary War until Andrew Jackson tried to stop them and hid some important information. Malone and companion Cassiopeia Vitt must solve the puzzle and uncover the truth in order to save his former boss from the pirates.

For this novel, Steve Berry has kept the action in the United States (and Canada). This allows for a fascinating exploration into pirates and their utilization in the first 100+ years of America’s history. Berry is a master at weaving historical information into his storyline without losing momentum or becoming didactic. He takes great detail in describing many locations from the Jefferson Hotel to Monticello as well as the Jefferson code and cipher wheel.

I have read all ten of Berry’s books (the Cotton Malone series in order) and this one makes the top three. The element I most enjoyed from The Jefferson Key was the introduction of Jonathan Wyatt, a colleague of Malone who botched an assignment and was ousted from the force. He has vowed vengeance on Cotton and is not only a formidable opponent but also an interesting character. For those who want an introduction to Jonathan Wyatt, Berry released an e-book short story The Devil’s Gold as a precursor to Jefferson Key (and it’s only $.99), similar to his friend James Rollins’ The Skeleton Key (see last week’s post).

What is a summer without pirates? Is there any better reading material for bringing to the beach? As a “Malone Clone“, I strongly recommend The Jefferson Key and I would gladly walk the plank for a preview of the next installment Cotton Malone series.