Next

By Michael Crichton

Hilariously written, a fast paced run through chapters on end about monkeys, stolen genomes, rights on genes, researchers and scientific geeks being businessmen and many things of the sort. I loved this book, it was quick to read, amusing to read, sometimes the bewildering shocking ideas Crichton plants in your head will blur the line between truth and fiction. Living in the age of the genome, the very contemporarily set NEXT will get your pulse running.. especially if you have to put those biochemistry papers you took in university to some good use. Cytokines, stem cells couldn't have been portrayed more excitingly if one tried.

Did I mention the transgenic monkey/human boy that one scientist makes and is forced to bring home and raise, while his wife manifests news stories and search results on Google about a monkey-like human syndrome we never heard about. Just goes to show how easy it is to pull a scam in our world. It is sometimes nerve jerking, to those people who hate genetic-anything, but it is a good read for one and all. Need I remind you that this book was written by the same guy who wrote the story for the defining movie of the 1990's 'The Jurassic park'.

For those of us that are so used to multitasking the story provides us with active participation in four to five background story lines. So brace yourselves for one helluva ride.

4.0 stars [****-]

Other reviews: NYT, Grist, Barnes&Noble, RoB

The Digital Fortress

By Dan Brown

The good bad and the ugly. This book meets the latter two criterion. Starts off with two people in a bed... Obviously Brown believes the suspense in the story wont pull the readers in so he tries sex to sell his book. By all means people would have indeed bought the book for no reason other than that it was well... written by Dan Brown. No holy grail, no controversy, hence it competes on the same level with other suspense thriller's novels. The whole Japanese element of the story is understandable with the movies like Tokyo Drift being the in trend. If you want to enjoy this book, dont expect anything. Go in with a blank (uncritical) mind and you'll like it.

The story revolves around the hard-to-live-up-to character Susan Fletcher, who is a par brilliant sex bomb with a 170 IQ. David Becker is however a character that most female's hearts will reach out to. As Susan put it .. he's perfect and his only flaw is that he insists on picking up the cheque everytime. I guess she should have just said He's Perfect. Fullstop.

The book does tend to arouse a very big curiosity about the fundamental workings of crptography, and the mystifying (fictional) world of an expert decoder, along the lines of A beautiful mind minus the schizo factor. The whole Pearl Harbour episode is brought to light in a slightly unrealistic form of Ensei Tankado.

Average book with a lot of sentimental value attached, as a very dear person gifted this book to me. I wont rate with prejudice however.

3.5 Stars [***--]
Other Reviews: CurledUp, WAP, NetSec, PorkRind

The Broker

By John Grisham

Another legal thriller delivered by Grisham set in the gorgeous towns of Italy. He achieves this feat perfectly because of the authors own love of the country. Joel Backman, a notable traitor of USA (not to mention the president at the time) who picks money over loyalty, and ends up in jail as a means to save his own life, as all his allies in his *crime* were killed like fleas. However after six years in prison, being broke, and having lost with almost all of his kith n kin he recieves a mysterious pardon. In a program 'like' the witness protection program he gets placed in Italy under 24 hours surveillance, no money, and some very fast coaching to become italian.

I developed a love-hate relationship with the power broker/lobbyist as he hesitantly conforms to his conditions. One's own life and sense of identity are tested as you go through the novel. The whole spy game is known territory to Grisham, and many facets are believable. The novel feels a bit stagnant at times, with a protagonist that has almost no control over his life, and well a bit too much Italy, if it can be had. Teddy Maynard the brain of the operation seems to have a baseless agenda against Grisham, which seems to lose sense once he actually gets kicked out of his job with internal affairs. Many of the motives are unrealistic, a bit painful. Some good tips for survival if you were being hunted by *top agent* blood hounds from almost every country on the planet, of how to live with no money and no connections.

An intresting read just for the pure amusement and amazement at some of Backman's guts. Another intriguing character Joel's own son that comes through without the least bit of selfishness to the world's most selfish dad. A novel that leaves you with a mushy the world is okay kind of feeling. This is because perhaps the protagonist doesnt seem to have suffered too hard. Its definitely an above average performance with a refreshing new setting. The book however doesnt stand out extraordinarily from any of Grisham's other novels.

3.5 Stars [***--]

Other reviews: AllReaders, CurledUp, ROB, USAToday

Blood Memory

By Greg Iles

What caught my intrest in this story is that the lead role of the book is not only played by a woman but a forensic odontologist. Greg Iles has a knack for setting his stories in very different settings and scenarios that eliminates a sense of monotony that one tends to notice after reading a few of the same authors novels. Esp those ones that fall in the same genre.

Cat Ferry makes an intresting protagonist because well she's hot, she's smart and she's not perfect. It brings a visage of reality to her character where one realises that we are afterall human beings. And we are influenced by the experiences we endure. There is an intresting parallel drawn in the story, one between the ongoing murders and the sense of supsense in her own life. And hence as the novel's plot moves along, Cat's character is established more, and more is explained about her own flaws.

The broody atmosphere of her home in mississipi 'Malmaison', reflects the gloom that surrounds Cats life, and the nature of her work. Its a novel full of symbolism, and elements that tie into each other so beautifully. The story moves along quickly and sometimes takes your breath away. Its a page turner that will get you into a nailbiting habit.

A suspense thriller that is based on the dirty secrets that invade many of our society's bedrooms. It is a story of believable coincidences, a suspense thriller that tie's Cat's work to her past. A spiralling life, a pregnancy on hand, a panic attack at a murder scene, a blood stain in her bedroom at Malmaison, a lover that wont leave his wife, a doctor that comes to the rescue, and another doctor that just wont speak the truth, all blend in to bring this chilling thriller to life.

4.0 Stars [****-]

Other Reviews: Curledup, TheMysteryReader, Rebecca'sReads, LibraryThing

The Alchemy of Desire

By Tarun Tejpal

It shocked me to find a book with so much sex.. that I have never seen so much conceptualisation of sex in my life. The protagonist is a writer, that describes the writing of his own novel while he describes his obsessive mutual sensual relationship with his wife falling apart. Going back and forth into the past and the present, he describes the way one woman captured his intrest for nearly a decade n a half.

What one can appreciate about this novel is that in the very first line of the book the author states his purpose his focus clearly... "Love is not the greatest glue between two people. Sex is." You can expect the rest of the novel to live up to this sentence (or attempt to in most instances). Another thing that a reader tends to notice his raw expression, his lack of euphemism where one would expect it.

It sometimes is hard to keep the pace going. The tension between two people and the dynamics of a relationship are unrealistic and unbelievable at the verybest. Its a novel that focuses less on the rest of the world and more about the connection between two people. It takes some real concentration to follow the rif raffing plotlines and temporal relationships of whats happening and when.

The story tries to achieve too much and establishes nothing.

1.5 stars. [**---]

Other reviews: Asian, RedHotCurry, MouthShut, Nilanjana

All He Ever Wanted

By Anita Shreve

... Was probably to be loved by her. An american novel set at the beginning of 1900s about a man called Nicholas Van Tussel and his never ending search for love in the eyes of one woman. The story moves easily and is a bit daunting... however for that few days that this book lies on your night stand you will be exported to a different world. New England at the turn of a century, about one independent woman and the love of one man.

He is struck by her as he watches her escape a hotel on fire, and since that day he pursues her and eventually enters into a matrimonial relationship. This story encaptures the concept where a woman is secured physically but mentally securing her is a different quest all together.

The story takes a shocking turn when ones obviously predicted fact that she is a woman that has lost in love. Its intresting to see what conclusion that this temporally and spatially messed up love triangle brings. And its a bit what you know should logically be but wish wasnt.

For the setting, and characters that seem so real. For the awesome insight into a man's thoughts when he discovers that he's not the first man in his woman's life. For the intresting relay of domestic dynamics, This book is all thumbs up.

On the other hand for the ending I did not like, for a boring protagonist, for a story of too much reality maybe, this book is a little bit of a nono.

Overal its 3.5Stars for All he ever wanted. [***--]

Other reviews: Bookreporter, ROB, BookHaven, Trashionista, Curledup

The Three Fat Men

By Yuri Olesha

Just wanted to start off the blog with the book that started it all for me. This is the first full fledged novels I have finished reading. (An adventure I undertook in second grade.) It was a childrens novel with a story line full of twists that would scare Grisham. I couldnt describe it better than this...

"A fairy tale of revolution. A tightrope walker, balloons, very large pastries, and a brave little girl help topple the dictatorship of some very fat men."

The Three Fat Men are brothers pick up the male twin of this little circus girl a decade ago to be their heir. When the circus returns to town, through some very intresting events the girl ends up in the Palace as a "doll" to her own twin. Some of the remarkable points that left an impression on me was that the 'heir' has an iron heart. Because TFM believe that he'll be too soft a future king if he has a real heart. Anyway with some very amusing twists that I could only comprehend when I eventually turned 13 this book made its way into my heart. And made a track for many more to come.

For the Moral tale, the twists, the suprisingly intelligent plotline (for a kids book), one very intresting couple of twins, three amusing fat {evil} villians, a doctor, a part successful attempt at comedy, the heir's own personal zoo, and a prejudiced sentimental attachment

.. award this book a 4 star rating [****-]

For an online summary version: The Three Fat Men

Other reviews: Amazon, Yahoo