Sandstorm

Title: Sandstorm (Sigma Force #1)

Author: James Rollins

Published: May 1, 2005

Genre: Action, Mystery

After an explosion in a London museum a group of people set off for an adventure in the Arabian desert, during a mega storm, looking for answers.

This was a fun action book. I was impressed with how the story had real consequences. If the group of characters didn’t manage to save the day the world would have ended up a drastically different place. The plot and the ways the characters managed to live through most of the action was convenient, but that is going to be true for any book like this.

I did not enjoy the almost love triangle the author set up. I don’t like them under normal circumstances, but here it was even worse. There was no real basis for the attraction between Painter and Safia. They didn’t spend any real time together (outside the action sequences), and had few conversations. When we listened to their inner thoughts they didn’t even talk about how attractive physically they found each other. Their budding potential romance just felt contrived.

Going into the story I was looking for a fun action with some plot. The author had been recommended to me and I was hoping to find another series to read. I felt it could have been a little shorter, but feel the book gave what it promised. I am more than willing to read the next one.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Title: The Sixth Man (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell #5)

Author: David Baldacci

Published: March 1, 2012

Genre: Mystery, Action

King and Maxwell were brought in by Edgar Roy’s lawyer to prove he wasn’t a serial killer. When they were supposed to meet to discuss the case they ended up finding the lawyer’s body instead.

I was excited to finally meet Edgar. I will admit I started reading this series because I enjoyed the television show. Edgar was one of my favorite characters in the show and I have been wondering where he was. I do find it a bit odd we had to wait until book five to meet him, but there you go.

I really liked how Sean and Michelle talked through this book. He wasn’t keeping all his thoughts and plans completely to himself. In this book it felt as if they were in a true partnership. It made me like both of them more.

I am excited to read the next book. Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Review: I Am the Weapon

 
Title: I Am the Weapon (The Unknown Assassin #1)

Author: Allen Zadoff

Genre: Action, Young Adult

Published: May 13, 2014

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sixteen year old who was a part of The Program would show up long enough to make friends kill his target then he would disappear. His next target was to get close to a girl named Sam and kill her father the Mayor of New York. As the assignment started he began to have doubts.

This book had a really good beginning. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had the time to read it all in one or two sittings, but since I ended up reading it when I could I began to think the character's internal musings about the girl and the surrounding situation dragged a little. It was interesting even the character explaining what was happening. He also managed to talk a lot, I felt as if he was telling me a lot of information, but still managing to not actually tell the reader anything. Somehow I felt as if I knew most of the information the character knew, which was mostly true.

I had a difficult time with the motivations in the book. There didn't seem has if he had a lot of loyalty to the people running the program or to his country. The reason we are given why he did what he did was because that was what he was trained to do. I didn't understand why he stayed with the program. He had almost full autonomy why didn't he try and disappear once his training and probationary time was finished?

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Review: The Innocent

Title: The Innocent

Author: David Baldacci

Genre: Mystery, Action

Published: April 17, 2012

Will Robie was a government sanctioned assassin. When things went wrong on a mission he ended up with the care of a fourteen year old girl named Julie and the need to figure out what was going on.

The story was fast paced. The mystery was intricate with a long build up. Due to how involved the rest of the story was I became surprised when I had fifty pages left and they hadn't touched on a resolution. With as much as had been devoted to the rest of the book the end felt as if the author had run out of space. I am not saying I disliked the end. I am saying it was much shorter than I was expecting.

The characters were all engaging even the secondary characters. I cared what was happening to them and hoped for a good ending.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Review: The Blood of Alexander

Title: The Blood of Alexander

Author: Tom Wilde

Genre: Action

Published: April 29, 2014

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jonathan Blake stole antiquities from people his foundation believed had stolen them first. The U.S. government forced him to go on mission to authenticate a relic. He ended up in improbable circumstances trying to save himself and the agent, Caitlin, sent with him.

Let me start by saying the action was well written and it was engaging. This is why I am giving the book as high a rating as I am. I could very easily see this book made into a movie and I think if I had seen this on the screen I would not have spent enough time with these people to see the things I didn't like.

I think if Mr. Wilde had stuck with the original plot, where Blake was trying to find a lot of stolen art, I would have liked the story a lot more, but that was quickly discarded for plot number two. As I was reading the rendition for this part of the story I wondered if the author was serious or if it was an unbelievable explanation for the benefit of the main character. Then the third plot came along. I found it easier to swallow than the second, but the rest of the book fluctuated between plots two and three. I guess they could have been considered an extension of each other, but that seems like a lot of work.

The motivations within this book did trip me. Blake did everything he did because of the girl. Caitlin was not actually in that many chapters and when she did make an appearance she did not show a lot of personality. Her character was pretty flat and no depth. I didn't understand the unwavering devotion Blake felt towards her. The villain's motives had problems too. I have found when someone tries to write crazy they don't always do it well and when it is not done well it just feels disingenuous.

Overall I gave this book 3 stars out of 5.

Title: Simple Genius (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell # 3)

Author: David Baldacci

Genre: Mystery, Action

Published: April 24, 2007

A man from a respected think tank went over the fence of Camp Peary and died. King was hired to find out if he killed himself or if he was murdered.

This book was better than the last one. Even the fight scene on the water that was in both books was more exciting in this one.

I found myself far more interested in Michelle's story than Sean's. I think I am on a psychology kick at the moment. Finding out more of where she had come from and how her childhood experience was affecting her as an adult along with how it had manifested itself was the most compelling part of the book.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Title: Freefall (Saint Squad #1)

Author: Traci Hunter Abramson

Type of book: LDS fiction, Action

Amy Whitmore was one of seven people taken hostage in a foreign country. Lieutenant Brent Miller was one of five Navy Seals sent in to save them. Things went awry, Amy and Brent had to make their own way back to safety.

I kept thinking I shouldn't like these people. Amy was athletic, supermodel gorgeous, artistic and incredibly smart. Brent was the male version. Despite the fact that these two characters were entirely too perfect I still liked them.

The pace of the book was fast and fun. I am currently sick and this book did not take a lot of brain power to be able to follow along. Exactly what I need.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Title: American Assassin

Author: Vince Flynn

Type of book: Action, Spy

This book explains why and how Mitch Rapp became a CIA assassin.

I have read other reviews of this book and a lot of people were upset because of the many typos. Since this book could be categorized as pulp fiction I do not believe the grammatical errors were that big a deal.

The characters were engaging and the plot moved fast. The book was an enjoyable experience and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Title: Hour Game

Author: David Baldacci

Type of book: Mystery, Action

A serial killer styled his murders after previous serial killers methods. King and Maxwell solved the case.

I like the style of writing and the way the author is able to have twists so the solution to the case isn't completely obvious.

I do have a problem with how King does not tell Michelle what was going on and what he was thinking. I realize that is the author's way to not reveal too much to the audience, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated for Michelle. It left me dissatisfied with King's character.

The mystery and the action within the book were both really good and involved. I thought the almost romances for both of the main characters felt a little forced.

Overall I gave this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Title: Note to Self

Author: Peter Ward

Type of book: Science Fiction, Action

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The main character was Richard Henley. An ordinary man whose life was turned upside down and he managed to receive help from an unusual source.

I liked the beginning when Richard didn't know what was going on. The story was vaguely trippy in a good way.

I really liked the action sequences. The car chases were particularly exciting.

I would have rated this higher except there were two things I had problems with. At one point Richard starts quoting lines from the poem "Invictus" by William Henley and he did not actually tell us where he was getting his material. Maybe the author thought since the main character shared the same last name the reference was there?

The other problem I had with the story was the anti-technology soapbox the characters kept getting on. I understood the moral he was trying to make, but I do not really need it shoved down my throat that deeply and I don't really agree with everything he was saying. Sorry I can't believe looking up information on the Internet a bad thing.

I gave this book 3 stars out of 5.

Title: Split Second (Sean King and Michelle Maxwell Series #1)

Author: David Baldacci

Type of book: Mystery, Action

Eight years apart one presidential candidate is murdered and another is kidnapped. Both had been protected by the secret service. The agents protecting them had their lives turned upside down with their inability to protect. Other than that how were they connected?

I found the book to be very fast paced and action packed. I had fun with the characters and the situations they got into. I liked that most of the problems the characters had were not because they were stupid and blundered into something that could have easily been avoided.

I did find the motive behind the crimes a little convoluted. The killing of the first candidate I could buy as being the result of a warped personality, but then he continued with the kidnapping and the reason behind that just felt a little like grasping straws. There were enough twists and turns for the story to be fun enough that it almost didn't matter the overall motive was far fetched.

I enjoyed it enough to give the book 4 out 5 stars.

Title: A Brewing Storm (Derrick Storm Trilogy #1)

Author: Richard Castle

　
Derrick Storm was pulled back into the world of the CIA when a senator's stepson was kidnapped.

Derrick Storm is from books written by the fictional Richard Castle that do not actually exist. There is a graphic novel with the character that has been published, which the story makes more than one reference to information the reader was supposed to have gained by reading. I have never been into graphic novels so I did not read it before reading this story. Normally when reading a book that is not supposed to be the first in the series the reader will miss certain jokes or references from the previous books, but authors do not want to alienate people so they generally keep the story moving forward and if a moment from a previous book is mentioned they will either explain or keep the memory brief enough that it doesn't detract from the current plot. The references to the past in this story were just annoying. They were too many to be considered brief and very few of them were actually explained in a way that satisfied.

It was almost as if Storm was supposed to be the American Bond without the charisma. Every time he spoke to April I was thinking just stop talking. He couldn't come up with a better line than, "Come up to my suite for a debriefing"? Well I am completely shocked she didn't fall for that.

This story could have easily been a much longer book. The characters, ones we were supposed to already know and those we were just introduced to, had no background. This made them all feel like cardboard cutouts. The plot could have been thicker. Instead of getting information about the kidnapping in a report the story could have started with that as an actual seen. It would have given us a better connection to the victim. That is just one example. I felt like I was being told a story instead of reading it. I was just skipping across the surface instead of diving into the water.
Despite loyalty to the tv show I give this 2 stars out of 5.