Ricky Pine's Blog, page 121
July 15, 2016
Review: The Games
The Games by James PattersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Four years ago, Patterson put out a Private novel centered around the London Olympics. Now I'm thinking Private Games was the first in a pattern, and that there will be more Olympic-themed Private books every four years.
Based on the example of Private Games and this book with the oddly similar title (I'm a little mystified as to why they changed it from Private Rio), Patterson's right on point with the timely Olympic-themed terrorist-thri...
July 13, 2016
Red Rain: Goodbye Dani, Hello Gideon
When I wrote the first draft of Red Rain, I ended it by committing a pretty serious writing foul - I gave in to my fans and their shippers' demands. At the time, the most popular ship among my Wattpad and Goodreads fanbase (this was back when I put my stories on GR as well, although I've long since taken those atrocious early drafts down) was Danex - that is, Dani Cabrera and Alex Snow. So I gave the fans what they wanted by pairing these young angels together...at first. After writing a...
July 11, 2016
Review: The Emperor's Revenge
The Emperor's Revenge by Clive CusslerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The best Oregon Files novel since Plague Ship, The Emperor's Revenge is a long, complex, action-packed ride. The beginning, in which we see the stuff of conspiracy theories - did Napoleon really die in exile, or did someone stage it that way? - is classic Cussler, but then we get a veritable metric ton of insanely fast-paced action dotting the Mediterranean and the former Soviet Union. There's even a very welcome crossover appea...
July 9, 2016
Review: Beyond the Ice Limit
Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas PrestonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This has been a long time coming.
The sequel to The Ice Limit, last seen as a fictional book-within-the-book in one of the Pendergast stories (Still Life With Crows, if I remember correctly), is finally a reality - and as part of Gideon Crew's adventures too!
Without a doubt, Beyond the Ice Limit is one of Gideon Crew's best stories yet, especially given how much the previous installments in the series have all been building up t...
July 7, 2016
Review: Staked
Staked by Kevin HearneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I can't remember how long it's been since I read an Iron Druid Chronicles book - and it doesn't help that this latest entry in the series has, I think, been delayed. (Though not to the degree we've been seeing lately on the Dresden Files - or, really, any Jim Butcher book.) But like all the best urban fantasy series, this here Atticus O'Sullivan adventure was well worth the wait.
The title is pretty much a dead giveaway that vampires will be the...
July 6, 2016
Review: Bluescreen
Bluescreen by Dan WellsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A little something new from Dan Wells? Sci-fi like the Partials sequence, but less apocalyptic? Combining elements of Blade Runner and Dollhouse? Yes, this was a very good idea, and Wells definitely delivered on yet another addicting adventure.
It was nice to see such a diverse cast of characters, all of whom have reasonable competency in each other's languages - but I did have one minor issue with the fact that none of the foreign-language dia...
July 4, 2016
Review: The Crossing
The Crossing by Michael ConnellyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thanks to my parents having recently signed up for Amazon Prime, I've been able to watch Bosch. Now, going into Connelly's latest a few months late to the party, I can only read it while picturing Titus Welliver in the lead role, and hearing that theme song that'll never leave my head ("got a feeling and I can't let go, can't let go, can't let go...") But this has the added benefit of allowing me to sink into a Bosch book like I haven...
Review: Cross Kill
Cross Kill by James PattersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Patterson wasn't done with Alex Cross' first nemesis just yet.
The first Alex Cross BookShot brings the late Gary Soneji back to torment Cross yet again. This is a Cross who's survived betrayals, the abduction of his entire family, and so much more - and yet, despite Soneji having faded into the background long ago, his specter is back and deadlier than ever.
Just like fellow first BookShot Zoo 2, this novella ends with a serious cliffhang...
Review: Zoo 2
Zoo 2 by James PattersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The original novel was an excellent standalone thriller, now the inspiration for an underrated, amazing CBS summer series. With the release of this bite-sized novella continuation, the source of the TV series' new storyline about humans getting the same kinds of mutations as the animals is now known. Turns out they're adapting Zoo 2 now, and like the original Zoo, they're going to build on the story considerably, of that I'm sure.
One thing I...
July 3, 2016
Review: The House of Secrets
The House of Secrets by Brad MeltzerMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I've been kind of losing my faith in Brad Meltzer lately, and after this book, I think it's time I gave up on him for a while. I couldn't get more than 75 pages in without stopping, because for some reason, the book just wasn't cutting it for me. I can't really explain it, but I felt no connection to any of the main characters or any of the goings-on in this book. And it was often really hard to tell what was a flashback and what...
