Justin Diehl

Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks (Goodreads Author)

read in October, 2012

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World War Z – Where were you during the war with Zack?
We tend to look back on historical events as single points, solitary entities amidst an endless sea of others. The assassination of Kennedy, where were you? The Twin towers, where were you? The Is...more World War Z – Where were you during the war with Zack?
We tend to look back on historical events as single points, solitary entities amidst an endless sea of others. The assassination of Kennedy, where were you? The Twin towers, where were you? The Israeli voluntary quarantine, where we you? These are not hermits in history though. Dominoes fell in cascading events leading up to the big splashes that we memorize where we are, what we’re doing, and how out lives have changed. In World War Z, Max Brooks has managed to capture that feeling. We dance through the events leading up to the horrors of the zombie uprising and the lives that were lost and the ones who lived through it. From early musing in China to spy networks through the old cold war nation states, so many people have stories to tell. In the end, one by one, their puzzle pieces fit together and we learn more of the truth of what was, and how much worse it could have been. Wherever you were during the crisis that almost made Homo sapiens another extinct breed on the evolutionary scale, you’ll find something touching in this documentary book.
World War Z is a wonderful Imagined documentary of the aftermath of a decade long war waged against the undead. Set during the second quarter of the 21st century, the novel takes the form of the aftermath of a UN probe into the events that lead to the outbreak, the actions of people responsible and impacted by the events of the world government, and the changed world after the end of the war and how people are cooping. Max Brooks writes himself into the novel as a researcher analyst gathering the information for the report and eventually succeeding in presenting a very emotional and heart filled report. From the first outbreak and the doctor who witnessed patient zero, a soldier on the front lines, the former VP of the United States, and activists throughout the world.
One of the strongest parts of the story is that it isn’t US centric. While the US has the largest percentage of voices, people throughout the world have their voices heard through the report. Cuba, China, Europe, south Asia islands, Canada, and other nations throughout the world share a piece of their presence in the war. Max takes care at looking at the effects the war has on the economies and futures of various nation states and how they not only coop with the outbreak but how their culture and outlook are infected by the spread fleeing masses of humanity. The plague years bring more than just the undead in terms of changes.
I would recommend World War Z to fans of zombie mythos who want to see a story outside of the typical last man standing stories many other zombie themed novels present. Max’s work creates a realistic view on an impossible situation. The reactions of countries and cultures as the events shift back and forth leave the planet convulsing in death throes. While the very existence of the book provides the answer on if humanity survived, reading the path the people of the world take in order to make it through at all costs will leave you amazed with awe and disgust. This book works great with both text and audio editions.(less)

Justin Diehl is currently reading

Catch-22
by Joseph Heller

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Justin Diehl is now a fan of Goodreads Author Philippa Ballantine and Goodreads Author Scott Sigler

Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars

The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #2)
by Philippa Ballantine (Goodreads Author)

read in September, 2012

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With more and more unsolved cases coming in involved the friends and colleagues of the Ministry’s new assistant archivist, Agent Books and Braun return in The Janus Affair, the sophomore novel in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. Victoria...more With more and more unsolved cases coming in involved the friends and colleagues of the Ministry’s new assistant archivist, Agent Books and Braun return in The Janus Affair, the sophomore novel in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. Victoria London is brought to life in the latest installment of Tee Morris’s and Philippa (Pip) Ballantine’s The Avengers meets Steampunk series. Romance, violence, impossible tech and tons of espionage make the novel a wonderful follow up to the opening installment, Phoenix Rising.
Tee and Pip know how to start a story right by bringing in action and mystery. Twisting against the rescue of Phoenix, Janus starts us off with a bizarre kidnapping and a dangerous unknown technology in the very face of our agents. When a reunion between Eliza’s old friends, mentor, and a former love from New Zealand brings up old memories, it also brings the ghosts of past unsolved cases screaming from the archives. It’s not long before the Eliza and Wellington are knee deep and sinking into another case bringing revealing returning rivals, new villains, and deeper cracks into the meta-plot.
Through the novel the growth in the relationship between our protagonists is reflected in the growth these characters experience in themselves. Not just our heroes’ experience growth as the lives of other agents change and close allies risk social status and their lives through the events of Janus. By the time the conclusion hits a perfect mark, you’re left with a bigger and bigger picture of the world at large of the Ministry and its twisting world.
One of the refreshing items about the new novel involves my original review of Phoenix Rising. Both novels contain a number of interludes dealing with the larger meta-plot of the series. In Phoenix, I found these heavily distracting and dangling that it impacted my view of the novel at large in a negative way. In The Janus Affair, Tee and Pip manage to perfectly weave these into the current plot while maintaining the strength of the meta-plot secreted away from the protagonist. These not only made me eager to finish up this story, but hunger for more clues of the plot in oncoming books.
I recommend this to fans of Steampunk and spy dramas who like a little tongue in cheek humor mixed with high flying action. The series is fun and the new installment continues this thread. While being a sophomore book a series, The Janus Affair is a strong enough story that new readers can dive into the series from here although that would mean missing the fantastic original story and Eliza and Wellington’s introductions. The story in Janus ties up a number of loose ends and provides enough hooks for the upcoming third book in hopefully the first trilogy set in the universe of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.(less)

Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Blackbirds (Miriam Black, #1)
by Chuck Wendig (Goodreads Author)

read in June, 2012

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Blackbirds – Sometimes Knowledge Is Power, a lot of times it just leaves you helpless to your fate.
Little stories, that’s what we are all really. Little stories set in a very big world with very big things going on beyond our reach. We each play a mi...more Blackbirds – Sometimes Knowledge Is Power, a lot of times it just leaves you helpless to your fate.
Little stories, that’s what we are all really. Little stories set in a very big world with very big things going on beyond our reach. We each play a minor role in the lives of so many people and act as background pieces to the bulk of humanity. Despite this we all have our story. Our birth, our life, and inevitably our death; We don’t know how it will be for most of the people out there, but in the back our heads we know everyone we know someday will die. We don’t get to know the truth of those moments, only that someone has passed. We hear about the heart attacks, the strokes, the cancers, the car accidents, the murders, and the suicides. But we don’t get to really know, at least not beyond our own personal crash landing. Miriam does. She’s like a voyeur into those intimate moments when the mortal coil unwinds and whatever happens next leaves our bodies as little more than bags of decaying meat. Magic, psychic, something else, we don’t get to know through our first introduction to the spiral of Miriam’s life, but hints are there between the pages and the words of a shade in Miriam’s ear.
Blackbirds takes us into a part of Miriam’s life where she’s in a cycle of using, abusing, and taking pieces of the prizes left behind by the dead. Things twist for her when a stalker wants to take advantage of her powers and another man wants to help save her, or at least save himself through her. The events that follow trace lines of fate, control, and bloody murder across the eastern coast. Things don’t play out exactly as expected but the ending comes to a violent, brutal, and satisfying ‘happy’ ending.
For me, the take away from Blackbirds is understanding overt and subtle events and wielding them properly. Chuck Wendig does a great job with this especially handling Miriam’s gift/curse and the events of the some crime organization Miriam’s stalker manages to piss off. Miriam’s power can be potentially distracting is over used, but it’s laced through the story at the right times, places, and events to slide things along without drowning the story. Enough hints of the supernatural are given that we can see the truth of the world out there is turned sideways from what we believe. Flipping this to the actions of Harriet and Frankie, we see just how to wield overt events like a club and drag us deeper into the story. Harriet defines being a catalyst for change, and while the actions of Miriam and Ashley are shifts here and there, Harriet is always bringing her partner and herself back and forth in a wave of violence and death.
I would recommend Blackbirds to people who like a little crime fiction mixed with those who like a little urban fantasy. Blackbirds never gets all magical with spells flying, demons hunting people down, or vampire and werewolves having blood duels and make out sessions. Instead it laces its supernatural into an already brutal world, and exploits both sides of the coin to a profitable end. The main character can be frustrating but she makes reasonable choices for herself and comes across as an intelligent and strong figure. Supporting characters are believable people, with their own wants and wishes extended out beyond that of Miriam, and it doesn’t feel like we’re just being dragged around in a world built just for her. This story is the first Chuck Wendig piece I’ve read and it has made me a fan already. I’m looking forward to the upcoming sequel Mockingbird later this year.(less)

Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Nocturnal
by Scott Sigler (Goodreads Author)

read in May, 2012

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Horror is a genre I love but don’t often take a stroll in. A few horror podcasts here, an occasional audio book, but rarely do I pick up a novel or short story. There’s one dark force that can draw me in every time his presence goes out in a new beac...more Horror is a genre I love but don’t often take a stroll in. A few horror podcasts here, an occasional audio book, but rarely do I pick up a novel or short story. There’s one dark force that can draw me in every time his presence goes out in a new beacon of darkness and terror, and that’s Scott Sigler. His ability to bring a certain slant of hard sci-fi into the modern world creates a dread terror for the events, places, and creatures that lurk in those pages. His latest official release, Nocturnal, is no exception to this rule.
Bryan Clauser is our point man in the still bloody face mask Nocturnal wears of a buddy cop story. His nightmare journey over the pages that follow peel back this façade and make us yearn for more of the positive outlook of his partner Pookie Chang. Brutal murders, strange occult symbols, terrible nightmares, and a conspiracy that stretches through the decades from the bowels under the city up to the mayor’s office lace this book with more excitement at each cut. The cop drama mask fades rips away and horror, monster hunting, and revelations of power and ancestry leaves us with a cold pit in our stomach. The ending leaves us with a sense of things to come and this chapter in the Nocturnal universe comes to a satisfying conclusion while leaving you wanting for another hit.
The book keeps one foot near science and social possible and isn’t afraid to take things to certain extremes. There are a number of bizarre examples of biology, yet things aren’t taken too far that they would stretch into disbelief. The monsters are terrifying, but they aren’t impossible killing machines. They kill for a reason, have a good motivation for what they do (regardless of how misguided), and have more emotions than rage, hate, and murderous intent. By the time you get to the climax, you can believe the culture of the creatures and can see their world is more complex than the butchered bodies they leave behind. How our protagonists and antagonists fit into the culture and history of the conspiracy fits snuggly and awkwardly comfortable.
Regardless of setting or plot characters are king, and Nocturnal provides ample people for us to fall in love with and hate. Bryan “The Terminator” Clauser is an emotional wall at times, a brutal killer at other points, and starts off seemed like a two dimensional wall until you crack the surface. Once his emotional walls are torn down brick by brick he reveals just how strong and deep his emotions go, without forgetting that he is still The Terminator. He doesn’t flip flop to a completely different beings even though his barriers are exposed. Partner Pookie and ex-girlfriend Robin serve as great supporting characters, with complex personalities and wants. Their lives, while related to Bryan, don’t completely orbit just him. The world doesn’t stop at the behest of the protagonist and I love it. The same can be said for one of our antagonist, Rex. He starts off as a weak and abused loner. The sudden gift of incredible power and authority twists him along a logical path he’s always had inside. He just needed the right path to walk down.
Nocturnal has quickly shot up to my favorite published Sigler book so far. I’ve loved his other works but the dark urban sci-fi of the book becomes mixed with the creepy culture of the children make me want so much more from this setting. There are still things left unanswered from the book, and a large number of deaths to avenge by the time the dust settles. There’s also a back story to the beasts, who has fought them, and what role certain people played in the conspiracy to deal with.
I recommend the book to anyone wanting the fun of a good horror/adventuresque combo breaker. The characters are great and the science isn’t heavy handed and comes off with a taste of possible realism. The mystery itself is revealed rather quickly but you’re left satisfied as the plot deals with the revelations. The final scenes are just as Scott indicates in his interviews of the book: a very Hollywood action packed spectacle of fire, explosions, gunfire, monsters, and questions of who will and will not die. It’s worth the great story to get to that point, and you’ll keep your eyes peeled to the page for the back quarter of the book, resistant to talk to family and friends, work, or another else that could risk diminishing the value of finishing this book.(less)

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Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (Goodreads Author) read in October, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
World War Z – Where were you during the war with Zack? We tend to look back on historical events as single points, solitary entities amidst an endless sea of others. The assassination of Kennedy, where were you? The Twin towers, where were you? The Is...more
Oct 04, 2012 08:47pm · see review
Justin Diehl is currently reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 04, 2012 02:52pm
Justin Diehl is now a fan of Goodreads Author Philippa Ballantine and Goodreads Author Scott Sigler
Sep 27, 2012 04:00pm · see all of Justin's favorite authors
Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #2) by Philippa Ballantine (Goodreads Author) read in September, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
With more and more unsolved cases coming in involved the friends and colleagues of the Ministry’s new assistant archivist, Agent Books and Braun return in The Janus Affair, the sophomore novel in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. Victoria...more
Sep 27, 2012 04:00pm · see review
Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars Blackbirds (Miriam Black, #1) by Chuck Wendig (Goodreads Author) read in June, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Blackbirds – Sometimes Knowledge Is Power, a lot of times it just leaves you helpless to your fate. Little stories, that’s what we are all really. Little stories set in a very big world with very big things going on beyond our reach. We each play a mi...more
Jun 18, 2012 05:08pm · see review
Justin Diehl rated a book 5 of 5 stars Nocturnal by Scott Sigler (Goodreads Author) read in May, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Horror is a genre I love but don’t often take a stroll in. A few horror podcasts here, an occasional audio book, but rarely do I pick up a novel or short story. There’s one dark force that can draw me in every time his presence goes out in a new beac...more
May 31, 2012 07:54pm · see review
Justin Diehl is now following Scott Sigler and Philippa
May 31, 2012 07:53pm
Justin Diehl voted on a poll For people who own both a iPad and another ereader (Kindle/Nook/Kobo/Sony/etc), which do you prefer reading on? He voted for: eReader (Kindle/Nook/Kobo/Sony/etc)
May 26, 2012 06:05am · like · take the poll

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