Ricky Pine's Blog, page 124

Review: Bluescreen

Bluescreen by Dan Wells
My 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...

Review: The Crossing

The Crossing by Michael Connelly
My 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 Patterson
My 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 Patterson
My 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...

Review: The House of Secrets

The House of Secrets by Brad Meltzer
My 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...

Review: False Hearts

False Hearts by Laura Lam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"You don't know if it's fear or desire
The danger of a drug that takes you higher..."
-U2, "So Cruel"

"The dream is collapsing."
-Arthur, Inception

Funny that I should read this book today right after I started a new chapter of my own work, a chapter in which the villain is revealed to the reader (and the narrator) as a US Senator - and closet fundamentalist Mormon leader - who owns an entire town in Utah full of people loyal to him and his warpe...

Review: Foreign Agent

Foreign Agent by Brad Thor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thor's definitely got a gift for high action, but when it comes to storytelling, I got a pretty strong sense of "been there, done that" from Foreign Agent. I mean, you can only do so many stories about ISIS and Russian terrorists before you start turning your one-story-a-year series into so much 24 on repeat. Not to mention the fact that this book takes place largely overseas, thus making it feel a bit detached compared with some of Thor's...

Review: Kill Shot

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Welcome to Part Two of the Mitch Rapp prequel. The first book had the setup to his future career, and this book features his first major roadblock. Betrayal aplenty, assholes in power, and Rapp on the run.



In this book, Rapp's personality shows a hell of a lot more, and perfectly validates the casting of Dylan O'Brien in the upcoming movie of American Assassin. He's really channeling his inner Tom Cruise here, not to mention his inner Mr. Rees...

Independence Day: Resurgence - "On Behalf Of Planet Earth, Happy Fourth Of July!"

NO SPOILERS FOR RESURGENCE, BUT SPOILERS FOR THE ORIGINAL INDEPENDENCE DAY ABOUND WITHIN.

It's become so normal for our people to hate anything old Roland Emmerich puts out - and even his older, classic works (with the possible exception of Stargate) are fair game for snarkers and sporkers. What, is it so wrong for us to enjoy seeing large casts of characters show massive heroism in the face of planet-breaking disasters time and again?

"They like to get the landmarks!"
Thank God Emmerich, D...

Review: The Epidemic

The Epidemic by Suzanne Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

***SPOILER ALERT***

Eerily, I read this one not long after picking up Stephen King's latest, End of Watch, which also deals with suicide - or so it appears, as the deaths in King's book aren't technically suicides, being supernaturally and externally influenced. King did, however, mention the concept of suicide clusters, which of course got me thinking about The Program and all the rest of the books in this series.

With the conclusion of the...