I Trekked myself

"Turn Coat" Book 11 of "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher

"Turn Coat" Book 11 of "The Dresden Files"
by Jim Butcher
Read by James Marsters
Published by Penguin Audio
Approx 15 Hours

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher packs a punch like all the other 10 "Dresden Files" books, and once again I was sucked into Wizard Harry Dresden's Chicago and never wanted to leave. Harry Dresden is a wizard and private investigator in Chicago, and was recently made a warden of the White Council. The White Council is the government, so to speak, for the world's wizards. The wardens are all the Council's police force and are out to capture and punish anyone practicing black magic. Usually that punishment is death. Now, the strange part about Harry being made a warden is that he was once on probation for the possibility that he may start to lean to the dark side given his family tree and it's history.

While Harry was on this "probation" Warden Donald Morgan was assigned to watch over Harry's every move. Morgan did his job well, in fact the way Morgan did his job was to torment Dresden to the point of nearly accusing every move of Dresden's to be black Magic. In other words, Morgan and Dresden were enemies fighting for the same side. So when Morgan is accused of murdering a member of the White Council, and escaping their prison, no one would ever expect Harry Dresden to hide him from the others. But, that's just what has happened, and since Harry is always fighting for the underdog, who else could help him?

Harry is awakened by banging at his door and opens to find a bloodied and beaten Warden Morgan. Morgan tells Harry he must hide him. When asked why, of all people, he should help Morgan, Morgan tells Harry he is on the run from the White Council because they suspect him of murdering one of the White Concil wizards. When asked why they suspect that he says, "Because I was found standing over the body with the murder weapon."

Anyone that has read any of the other books from "The Dresden Files" series knows Warden Morgan could NEVER do anything against the White Council, it is not in his nature. Dresden knows this and decides to take on the case and find out who framed Morgan for the murder.

In the process of investigating this case Harry may have taken on more than he can handle. Not only might he have to go against the White Council. Every magical being and person is out to collect the huge bounty on Morgan's head.

The biggest foe seems to be a magical creature known as a Skin Walker, from Native American lore. This creature is a shape shifter and very powerful flinger of magic, and fast to boot. The first battle with the Skin Walker (of which there are 3 in the book) proves to be fatal to one of Harry's friends. Harry must pull in all assets he can find, werewolves, White Court Vampires, faeries and even the White Council to prove Morgan's innocence and defeat this "Shagnasty."

This book is one where from the opening sentence to the end, is non-stop action. Top it off with the great humor/sarcasm/wit of Harry Dresden and you will not want to stop listening. James Marsters captures the voice and being of Harry Dresden in the reading of this book that makes the listener feel as though their listening to Harry Dresden himself. I should point out that, yes that is the same James Marsters that played "Spike" in the "Buffy the Vampire Hunter" television series. His voice is perfect for the role.

I Won

"Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not" By Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello & Stephen Colbert

"Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not"
By Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello & Stephen Colbert
Read by the Authors
Produced by Highbridge Audio
4 hours 47 minutes

An out of work highway line painter, Russell Hokes, decides that he already knows how to draw lines, why not add curves to those lines and form words and become a writer. After a shady meeting with the editors at Hyperion books Hokes decides to tell the story of disappearing small town America. He receives a large sum for an advance on the book and gets prepared to write that book.

After blowing all the money on the beaches of Mexico and annoying calls from the publisher, Russell Hokes lets panic set in and tries to find small town America and find out why it's dissappearing. That's when his car breaks down outside the small town, or squatter village, of Wigfield. Here is the small town he's been looking for. Wigfield is a small town, sorta, that consists mainly of strip clubs and used auto parts stores. It seems Wigfield is on the brink of destruction, due to the local Congressional representative wanting to destroy a dam and unleash the waters to flood out. Wigfield. Okay actually the people are really only squatters that found out the dam was going to be destroyed and settled there hoping to get relocation money from the government.

Russell Hokes wants to save this town and writes his book using the towns characters/citizens to tell their story. Wigfield has it's resident arsonist/maniac/chief of police. Three mayors (due to a mysterious fire at the fire station / polling place on election night) who all vie for control except one who really likes his fudge, a coven of 2 lesbian witches, a strange taxidermist/mortuary manager, 2 women in their late 40s who both claim to be the oldest living resident of Wigfield, numerous strippers and a "Doctor" who practices medicine out of his van (mainly performing enhancements for the strippers.)

The best part of the audiobook is that you get to hear the extreme acting and vocal talents of the authors portraying all the citizens. Stephen Colbert plays the part of Russell Hokes and several other characters. Amy Sedaris' and Paul Dinello's characterizations are just too hilarious.

This entire book including the explosive conclusion is one that will have you laughing out loud.

"Illegal" By Paul Levine

Illegal
By Paul Levine
Published by Bantam Books
2009


J. Atticus Payne, affectionately known as "Royal" Payne by judges and law enforcement agencies, has problems. His wife has left him for a right wing tv talk show host, he's being hunted down by an internal affairs officer for skimming money from a sting operation in which he was to bribe a judge. Oh yeah he's also now hated by all judges and attorneys for bribing a judge. Things just don't seem to work out so well for Jimmy "Royal" Payne.

To make matters worse his son was killed by an illegal immigrant that was drinking while driving and smashed into Jimmy's car when he and his son were out for a father/son day. Payne is out to seek revenge on this Mexican by always threatening to hunt him down and kill him with his bare hands. Luckily his ex-wife, Sharon, has been able to stop this when he's threatened to do it before. But now it looks as though he has nothing to lose.

Oh but that's not all to this story, not by a long shot. You see, J. Atticus Payne had once helped some illegal aliens that were forced to suffer in the desert heat inside a metal tractor trailer. Some of the Illegals died but the ones that survived got to become citizens thanks to Payne. Now when Marisol and her son Tino need to cross the border and escape Mexico to the promised land of "El Norte," Marisol gives her son Payne's business card in case they get separated he should contact Payne to help him.

During their border crossing something goes wrong with the coyotes (the people transporting the immigrants) and the border patrol and Tino gets separated from his mother. When Tino finds Payne he discovers that Payne is not the great man the legends have created, but seeks his help to find his mother anyway.

Payne's ex-wife is supposed to arrest him (Payne) but after hearing the boy's story let's him go to reunite Tino and Marisol.

In an adventure that brings out the heartbreak and danger of the everyday life of an illegal immigrant Payne and Tino go back to Mexico to retrace the steps of their crossing to find Marisol. Covering the dangers of border crossing, the dangers of illegal workers in packing plants and farms and the dangers of being hunted down by the so-called patriots guarding the borders and even by those bringing in the illegals. This novel is fun, adventurous and poignant all in one. Not since I read T. C. Boyle's "Tortilla Curtain" have I absorbed a novel that covers the plight of illegal immigrants viewed from both sides of the issue.

Great book that you will not be able to put down once reading.

"Salvation in Death" by J.D. Robb

Salvation in Death
by J.D. Robb
Read by Susan Ericksen
Produced by Brilliance Audio
13 hours 23 minutes

Once again I get to visit the kick-butt New York cop of the Future, Lt. Eve Dallas. This time around it was less sci-fi and more simple detective work...there was of course a bit with recreating a portion of New York city in a hologram, that was cool, but not enough to grab the sci-fi part of my brain.

However the main thing that keeps the whole "...in Death" series by J.D. Robb interesting is the characters. Robb (aka Nora Roberts), has created a cast of some wonderful characters, and no matter what the crime these characters are fun, interesting and even seem like old friends, especially after reading a couple of the books. So I stayed interested regardless of the lack of cool gadgets.

You've got Eve Dallas a tough cop with great detective smarts who is haunted by a terrifying past. Her husband Roarke, the Irish street thug turned entrepeneur who now owns most everything on or off Planet. Some great side characters are also thrown into the mix with Eve's assistant Detective Peabody and her love interest, the colorful electronics division Detective McNabb, and a score of others that have a past, a present and you become interested in their future.

I go back and forth in this series between the audiobooks and the physical books. The one thing that keeps me coming back is the reader, Susan Ericksen. Ms. Ericksen's vocal abilities run the gamut in every book in this series. She captures with ease the Irish lilt in Roarke's voice, the entire character of Detective Peabody is encapsulated in the voice used. Not a single character is missed each with his/her own voice summing up their character. In this novel she even captures the accent of residents of Spanish Harlem with ease and as always is very convincing.

In "Salvation in Death," poisoned wine kills a priest at the Catholic funeral mass, Eve Dallas is called in as primary investigator. She pieces together disturbing clues that suggest identity theft, gang connections, and a deeply personal act of revenge. Then a second murder knocks the whole investigation sideways. With another poisoning of a religious figure, this time a televangelist with a world following. Something about the second killing doesn't seem to jibe with Eve. And soon she's investigating 2 separate but similar murders.

The murders of the two religious figures sends Eve on a crime-solving adventure that creates a bit of a morality tale that seems to say not all in the world is black and white, the gray areas are what are becoming more and more clear to Lt. Eve Dallas, NYPSD.

The Green Hills of Earth By Robert A. Heinlein

The Green Hills of Earth

By Robert A. Heinlein

Read by Tom Weiner

Produced by Blackstone Audio

Approx. 6.5 Hours

Some say that there was a simpler time when the year 1984 was in the distant future and the year 2000 was the stuff good sci-fi could speculate about. Maybe this was an innocent time and the exploration of worlds within our solar system would become a priority before the mythical year 2000, or maybe this was just the perfect time to write science-fiction. Either way Robert A. Heinlein was one of the masters of sci-fi that took the genre seriously. Heinlein’s stories not only gave the reader some fun reading but he also wrote stories that seemed very probable without getting too technical, and always seemed to have something more to say about humanity.

The Green Hills of Earth is a collection of some of Heinlein’s short stories that dwell on social aspects of the future. From the idea of women working alongside men, to the use of indentured servitude with focus on slavery and slave masters on plantations of Venus. Heinlein takes a look at human sociology through some fun to read sci-fi stories. Even with the title story, human social interaction is explored through a blind folksinger deadheading his way across the universe writing his swan song, “The Green Hills of Earth.”

Tom Weiner’s vocal aptitude is put to the test on this collection of short stories with many characters, attitudes and storylines. And put simply he passed that test. His vocalizations really make the different characters and situations stand out.

If you are up for some classic science-fiction writing and go out and grab this audio book and meet one of the masters of sci-fi.

Danger in the Dark By L. Ron Hubbard

Danger in the Dark
By L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast Performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio


Remember the old Science Fiction and Fantasy magazines? You know the ones that featured short stories written by great sci-fi authors. This audiobook was like going back to those old pulps and reliving the golden age of sci-fi. This audiobook contains 3 short stories written by L. Ron Hubbard that are as diverse in subject matter as they are fun to listen to.

The production is a multicast performance complete with music and sound effects and featuring the actress Karen Black. The other voices are R.F Dailey, Christina Huntington, Jim Meskimen, Gino Montesinos, Noelle North, and Josh R. Thompson. All the voices throughout the stories in this audiobook along with the music and sound effects create an aura about this production that makes it easy to get lost in the simple and fun stories.

The main story is the title story, “Danger in the Dark.” It tells the tale of Billy Newman, who strikes gold and buys an island in the Philippines. He gets the island at a bargain price and later finds out why. The natives all fall ill and crops begin to fail and the tribal chiefs blame Billy for angering the god Tadamona. Tadamona is a 75 foot god that runs the island and unless Billy can come up with stronger “magic” he will destroy the island.

The next story is a fun fantasy called “The Room.” A small town veterinarian goes missing. The last time he was seen was entering his room. This room is one that was his exclusively and no one was to clean, ever. After his disappearance, the veterinarian’s nephew inherits the room to find that things are not as they seem in this room.

The third story, "He Didn't Like Cats," is a morality tale along the lines of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart.” A man, who as the title says, doesn’t like cats, comes across the cat and gives it a quick kick. The cat falls into the street and is run over by a vehicle. Before it dies it howls in pain to the point that it almost sounds human. The ordeal shakes the man up a bit and is haunted by the cat through the rest of the night.

These are some great sci-fi/fantasy stories from the late 30s to the early 40s and the production on this audiobook make this an entertaining listen.

Listen to the audio review below.



Click here to get the MP3 podcast file from sfsite.com

Team of Rivals:The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Narrated by Suzanne Toren
Produced by Recorded Books

Wow, talk about an undertaking, "Team of Rivals" is not only an in depth study but an entertaining book as well. Doris Kearns Goodwin takes you on a trip back to a dark time in American History and sheds light on what the inner workings of not only a great American President and his cabinet but also on the feeling of a nation.

I first heard of this book when President Obama referenced “Team of Rivals” during his campaign for the presidency. I then had a couple of listeners to my radio show call up and tell me I HAD to read this book. The main reason I was told was that the parallels between Obama and Lincoln are uncanny. My first thought was, "What do a Republican president, Lincoln, and a Democrat President have in common?" Well quite a bit really. Obama has pretty much declared Lincoln his mentor.

Abraham Lincoln made the decision to bring into his cabinet all of his chief opponents for the Republican nomination, insisting the country needed the strongest minds available. Barack Obama is emulating his hero is this respect and he put in Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Joe Biden as vice president. On the eve of the Civil War, one of Lincoln's first acts as president-elect was to appoint William Seward secretary of state and build a "team of rivals" that would preserve the nation and free it from the curse of slavery. Just like Hillary Clinton, Seward was bitterly disappointed that the presidency had been snatched from him by an upstart lawyer, but the two men soon became great allies.

I think the best aspect of this book, however, is the information about the goings on and the politics involved with the American Civil War. The reader/listener gets a great education on all aspects of that war.

The book is somewhat told in a story form starting with Lincoln's early life establishing himself as a lawyer all the way through to his assassination and then a bit of follow up with the cabinet members after. The information, gathered from many sources, includes many letters between key characters which gives this book more of a personal touch. That makes it actually an interesting and fun read. (or in my case listen) She made it a point to change inflection when reading actual quotes so there was clear moments of when a source was being referred to.

I never go for abridged versions of audiobooks, when I can help it, and the reader in this audiobook had her work cut out for her. The printed hardcover runs 900+ pages and this cd version contained 36 cds, so, yes it took time but I feel rewarded for having listened to the life of this great American.

"My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding" A Collection of short stories edited by P.N. Elrod

"My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding"
A Collection of short stories edited by P.N. Elrod
published by St. Martins (2006)


It's been a while since I've posted a review, so let me explain, it's not due to slacking off. Quite the contrary actually, first of all I've decided to tackle the gigantic tome that which is "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The book is 994 pages and the audiobook is 36 cds. I went for the audiobook version thinking it would be easier. I could never settle for an abridged book so I dove head first. I'm not regretting it but it does take time, but the book is worth it as you will read in a future review. I did manage to squeeze in another book in between times listening to "...Rivals." I'm glad it was a collection of short stories in retrospect.

The main reason I picked this book up to read is that it contained a short story by Jim Butcher that adds to the adventures of my favorite wizard, Chicago's own Harry Dresden. With the new book in the Dresden files series not yet released I had to absorb all the dresden I could find. So, while being treated to a very nice Dresden short story, I also got to read some pretty entertaining/interesting short stories from authors I might have missed before. And speaking of missing, as with all collections of short stories some are hits and some are misses in this book, but the misses are not really far off the mark, just not my cup of meat.

All the stories in this book, as you could guess from the title, deal with weddings and what happens when different supernatural forces come into play.

So let's break it down story by story;

"Spellbound" by L.A. Banks

Known for her vampire huntress series of books L.A. Banks writes something a little different here. I was actually a little let down not by the story but that I was expecting a vampire story. The story follows the modern day Hatfield and McCoys. The feuding still goes on but Banks throws in an extra aspect to the showdown in that they are spell casters to boot. So the feud now involves some magic, hoodoo and other charms, but 2 young college students, a representative of each family, want to get married, to do so they spells must stop. But they don't, and through a little bit of fun and a little bit of nastiness can love survive?

"Something Borrowed" by Jim Butcher

For a complete review on this story click on the following link
http://www.gilwilson.com/blog/2009/01/something-borrowed-short-story-from.html

"Dead Man's Chest" by Rachel Caine

Best known for her "Weather Warden" and "Morganville Vampires" series Rachel Caine tackles the wedding theme by adding in some dead pirates. (oops a spoiler). With some humor and even a little romance grab a bottle of rum and have fun with this story.

"All Shook Up" by P.N. Elrod

Again I was let down with the subject matter but I do have to say that this was a fun read. You see, I really like vampire stories and knowing P.N. Elrod is famous for vampire stories I expected them but what is in this story is not vampires. Okay so I got over that and read on, and had some fun. This wedding is being catered by a woman who can see the future, and the bride and groom (a famous wrestler and a famous model) have a bleak future. However the wedding singer has powers of his own. In what at first seems like an Elvis comes back from the dead story, comes the story of an Elvis impersonator...er, um tribute artist..that can change the future when love is involved. This one is fun and hey if you are prone to emotional outbursts keep the tissues handy.

"The Wedding of Wylda Serene" by Esther M. Friesner

Not knowing what to expect here, I was ready for some entertainment, but this one just didn't grab me. This is a story about a wedding that is crashed by some Greek Gods. I just could not sink myself into this one.

"Charmed by the Moon" by Lori Handeland

Like Jim Butcher, Lori Handeland writes a short story for this collection that is within the realm of one of her existing series. From Her "...Moon" series we join Jessie McQuade and Will Cadotte as they are about to get married. Jessie is a werewolf hunter of sorts and Will is a shaman. Jessie discovers someone may have enchanted them to fall in love with each other and only wanting to be married if it is TRUE love and not a spell, Jessie and Will seek the truth.

"Tacky" by Charlaine Harris

Harris is another author writing within the realm of an existing series. This story comes from the Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire) Series. So finally I get a vampire story. This time a female vampire wants to marry a male werewolf. In this series the idea is that vampires have revealed themselves to the world and are treated differently by the government. But werewolves are still a secret. Also Vampires cannot marry outside their vampire race. So radicals will do everthing they can to stop this wedding to keep the human race pure. Oh and also the werewolves and vampires are supposed to hate each other. This story makes me want to go out and find the Sookie Stackhouse series and start reading it.

"A Hard Day's Night-Searcher" by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Kenyon writes this story with in the "Dark Hunter" series realm. The Dark-Hunters are immortal warriors pledged to the Greek goddess Artemis and dedicated to defending mankind against Daimons (vampires) and other assorted enemies: including a couple of rogue gods and goddesses. In this story an overprotective squire falls in love with a Dark-Hunter. This story is pretty much a novella coming in at 44 pages in length and dividen into chapters. It provides some great vampire hunting action and some interesting moments, a good read.

"...Or Forever Hold Your Peace" by Susan Krinard

This is one story I had a hard time trying to follow. It takes place in an alternate Victorian England known as Albion, where prominent families possess magicks. The somewhat detective team of Kit and Olivia have to figure out why a woman of social status has run away after her wedding was interrupted by someone that objected to the marriage but died before he could say why. Kit, Olivia and the Groom travel the countryside tracking down the woman using magic and then rescue her from an "Inquisitor." They soon find the woman may or may not be who she says she is. This story seemed to scream for a full length novel version.

Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert audiobook review

Heretics of Dune
by Frank Herbert
Produced by Macmillan Audio
Read by Simon Vance

What makes the original Dune series by Frank Herbert a classic in all science fiction is the fact that Frank Herbert created not only a story, but several religions, cultures and conflicts. Every book in the series works around the politics of these and yet still has something to say about today's society (no matter when that "today" is).

This audiobook production is read by Simon Vance. His reading not only keeps the listener in the complicated and twisting storyline but his vocal qualities create great characterizations that at times the production seems like a multicast recording.

The Heretics of Dune presents another view in the "Duneverse" this time exploring the meaning and purpose behind the emotion (and all that goes with it) of love. The heresy, which all the heretics presented in this book are guilty of, is Love. The Bene Gesserit have a breeding program in which the genetic line of the Atreides is preserved. No Bene Gesserit witch is allowed to fall in love. After all that is what Lady Jessica did in the original novel, and that created a Kwisatz Haderach, a being that could be in all places at once, and later the tyrant, God Emperor, Leto II.

The book takes place 1,500 years after the reign of Leto II. Arrakis, Dune has returned to being the desert planet, thanks to the sandtrout of Leto II's destruction bringing back the sandworms from extinction. The planet is now called Rakis. Another planet of note, Geidi Prime, former homeworld for House Harkonnen is now known as Gammu.

The empire fell into chaos before the return of the sandworms, due to the scarcity of spice. This created the "Scattering" in which many of the population sought the extreme edges of the universe to find other sources of spice or to expand the location of humanity. As the books opens many people have returned and have changed. There is a new force to deal with, the Honored Matres, they are very similar to the Bene Gesserit but the Matres use sex as a weapon and force of rule. The Bene Gesserit and Bene Tleilax see this as threat and somewhat team up to fight these Honored Matres.

The Bene Gesserit have been using gholas of Duncan Idaho through the years but the Tleilaxu always assassinate the ghola. A ghola is a clone that is capable of full memory of their past self. This time will be different, the Bene Gesserit have a plan. But, as it seems so do the Tleilaxu. They have "programmed" the ghola to kill the Bene Gesserit "imprinter" that tries to imprint him to guarantee his loyalty to the Bene Gesserit.

In the meantime on Rakis, a child is discovered by the priests that can control the sandworms. The Bene Gesserit hear of this and immediately take over Rakis, in order to make the child, Sheeana, a Reverend Mother, and maybe to breed with the Duncan ghola.

The Honored Matres also find this out and seek to destroy the ghola and the girl and Rakis. So with many battles to ensue we are introduced to a retired Bashar, Teg, who is brought out of retirement to not only guard the ghola but to awaken his memories due to Teg being the exact likeness of Duke Leto I. After awakening the ghola Teg, Reverend Mother Lucilla, who was supposed to imprint Duncan before the awakening, and Duncan are discovered on Gammu and have to go underground to get to Rakis. Teg is captured and tortured by the Honored Matres but during the torture some strange powers are awakened in him. He is able to speed his body and mind outside the normal flow of time, and able to destroy all occupants in a Honored Matres stronghouse. He then steals a no-ship (which is a ship undetectable by all, including prescience vision) and takes Lucilla and Duncan to Rakis.

With many plots entangled into one final outcome this book is yet another great representation of the "Duneverse" created by Frank Herbert.

Justice League of America: Wonder Woman: Mythos

Justice League of America: Wonder Woman: Mythos
by Carol Lay
Published by GraphicAudio (2009)
Multi-cast production
Approximate Running Time: 5 hours

Once again GraphicAudio delivers on it's promise of "A Movie in your Mind," this time focusing on the DC Comics Heroine, Wonder Woman. With realistic sound effects and excellent voice casting GraphicAudio puts together great production that keeps me not on the edge of my seat but also not wanting to stop listening. The mood music is placed into the production and fits so perfectly, it seems as though it were written by the author of the book.

In Wonder Woman: Mythos the story relies heavily on the origin of Wonder Woman and the legends of Greek Gods. Themyscira, the home and origin of Wonder Woman (Paradise Island for the old school comic fans), is an island of women, the Amazons to be exact. Diana, Wonder Woman, was created from the soil of Themyscira because the women of the island could not reproduce and Queen Hippolyta wanted a daughter. Hippolyta was instructed to mold some clay from the shores of Paradise Island into the form of a baby girl. Six members of the Greek Pantheon then bonded the soul to the clay, giving it life. Each of the six also granted Diana a gift: Demeter, great strength; Athena, wisdom and courage; Artemis, a hunter's heart and a communion with animals; Aprhodite, beauty and a loving heart; Hesita, sisterhood with fire; Hermes, speed and the power of flight. Wonder Woman was raised on the island and later became the liaison for Themyscira to "Man's World." This is when she became a superhero and joined the Justice League.

The Justice League of America consists of all the Superheroes of DC comics, the main heroes are; Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and The Martian Manhunter. They have their base of operations in an orbiting satellite called the Watchtower. At the beginning of this book Martian Manhunter and The Atom are bringing down the Watchtower's systems for upgrades and repairs, leaving the JLA out of communication with each other. Each hero heads back to his hometown during this downtime.

Wonder Woman is going to Themyscira after hearing that a man has dissappeared in the Bermuda Triangle, which is in the vicinity of the island. A man on Themiscyra would be dangerous to him and to the Amazons on the island. After arriving on the island Diana is taken to the Oracle who warns Diana of the island of opposites and that Themiscyra will be attacked. Knowing that this may be linked to the missing man Wonder Woman searches for the man, only to find the man's new bride searching where the man was last scene.

The man and his wife were spending their honeymoon in the Bermuda Triangle where he was mysteriously drawn. The man finds an glowing orb and then leaves his wife to head for an island. His wife heads back to her boat only to discover that the island is no where to be seen. When Wonder Woman arrives she assists the woman in the search. After some mysterious water spouts appear threatening the dive boat Wonder Woman is transported to another dimension where this island of men are governed by some paintings in "God Cave." The paintings show the men rising up and taking arms upon the arrival of the man and Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman learns the God Aries is behind the power and must use all her powers to keep the men from attacking Themiscyra and then the rest of the world.

Wonder Woman: Mythos is an exciting adventure featuring Wonder Woman, with appearances from Batman, Superman, The Flash and Green Lantern that will keep you listening to the last sound.

"Judgment in Death" by J.D. Robb (2000)

"Judgment in Death"
by J.D. Robb
published byBerkley (2000)


It's been a while since I read one of the "...in Death" series of books by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts) so I picked up this book from earlier in the series. It was like visiting an old friend. NYPSD Lt. Eve Dallas and her rich and powerful husband Roarke make a great crime solving team. Lt. Dallas works homicide and has a reputation for kicking butt and always solving the case. Roark owns pretty much everything on and off-planet. I say off planet because these books throw in the sci-fi twist to what are great detective novels. This book takes place in the Spring of 2059, which being that close in the future you still get real cop work being done, yet being far enough in the future that there are some real cool gadgets (automated cars, lasers, super cool computer systems and 'droid maid service).

Now, on with the story. Lt. Dallas is called to a murder scene in a strip club called "Purgatory" to find the place trashed and a dead body lying in a pool of blood. The victim was bludgeoned to death and the scene was made to look like a robbery gone bad. But Eve doesn't buy that. Roarke doesn't either looking around he notices that the expensive liquors were smashed rather than stolen and fenced, and surrounding the body are several credits, 30 to be exact. Roarke is on scene to Eve's dismay because, as usual, this is a property he owns. Eve turns the body over to discover that the victim was lying on his badge. The badge is intentionally covered in blood. With these symbols; blood on the badge, and 30 "pieces of silver", Eve realizes this was no robbery but that a statement is being made.

On her way home from the scene she is confronted by former lover now Internal Affairs officer Webster. Webster drops hints for Eve to follow the money. Looking in to the victim's financials, it appears as though he was receiving large somes of money. The money seems to be coming from Ricker, a crime boss in New York that once had a shady relationship with Roarke.

After another cop's body is found Eve now has two crimes to close, finding the cop-killer and bringing down the crime boss that is funding these bad cops. The problem is that the first victim was a plant by Internal Affairs to find all the cops on the take and that the IAB was trying to make him look bad to cover themselves. Eve discovers that another precinct seems to be the breeding ground for corrupt cops and one of their own is killing off the bad cops. So before anymore bodies show up Eve and Roarke (who also becomes a target of Ricker) use pure instinct, cop know how, and great gadgets to catch a cop-killer and bring down Ricker.

Once again this book is full of the great characters that are prominent in these novels. You've got the trusty, although sometimes sarcastic aide to Lt. Dallas, Officer Peabody, Electronics Division Captain Feeney, and NYPSD psychologist/profiler Dr. Meara. A great team of great personalities are what make these books worth the read.

Eclipse (Twilight Saga, Book 3) by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse (Twilight Saga, Book 3)
by Stephenie Meyer
Read by Ilyana Kadushin and Matt Walters

Continuing on with the saga of high school student Bella Swan and her boyfriend the Vampire and her almost boyfriend/best friend the Werewolf, Stephenie Meyer brings out the best in her story with book 3, "Eclipse." This book has some real nice qualities to it and seems to be a stronger story than the previous 2 books in the series.

The relationship between Edward Cullen, the vampire and Bella is strenghtened in this book. For the romance lover this is the book where true love is defined and embodied through the characters of Edward and Bella. A problem arises in this relationship in that Bella is also friends with and possibly in love with Jacob Black, a Quilute Indian and werewolf. With the werewolf being the natural enemy of the vampire you can see how this would create some stress. Jacob and his father have been friends with Bella and her father for years where Edward only came into the picture within the last year or so. Also, it doesn't help that Edward left Bella (for her safety), during that time Bella was severely depressed and the only thing that brought her out of the funk was Jacob. Jacob also is in love with Bella.

Now with this background we are treated to a great love triangle, and may the best man win. But Stephenie Meyer doesn't make it that easy. In the first book, "Twilight," Edward destroyed a tracker vampire named James. He did this because James was out to kill Bella. Well James' mate Victoria was not happy with this and in order to get revenge she wants to destroy Bella. In "Eclipse" Victoria's back and this time she has created an army of new-born vampires to take the attention of the Cullen family while she kills Bella. The Cullen's try to pull in every favor they can think of but no one wants to help with this little war being waged. No other vampires want to bring the attention of the Volturi upon themselves. The Volturi are the "governing class" of vampires that destroy any vampires that bring attention to the existance of vampires.

Eventually the Cullens team up with the pack of werewolves from the Quilute reservation in order to make the odds a little more even against the newborns and Victoria. Thus forcing Edward, Jacob and Bella to deal with this extremely complicated realtionship. This temporary truce between the werewolves and vampires creates the possibility of leading to a long term working relationship with two groups of "good guys."

In this book Jacob really turns out to be a bit more immature acting when it comes to loving Bella. He forces a kiss on her twice the first time Bella looks at the kiss as an attack the second...well let's just say it is eye-opening. Even if Jacob is a bit less mature, I'm still with Team Jacob and the werewolves. They are just more fun.

Also revealed in this book are more background on the Quilute tribe and their magicks as well as the backstory on Edward's "brother," Jasper, his "sister," Alice and other "sister," Rosalie.

Keep in mind all this is going on while Bella is finishing out her senior year in high school and getting ready to graduate and on top of that become a vampire herself after she graduates. Before she is to become a vampire Edward insists she marry him.

So with true love, true friendship, battles between vampires and werewolves and vampires this book has a lot of tension and action. Truly the best, so far, in this series. Too bad there is only one book left in the series.

"Something Borrowed" a short story from the Dresden Files

"Something Borrowed" a short story from the Dresden Files
by Jim Butcher
From the book "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding"
edited by P.N. Elrod
Published by St. Martin's 2006

Okay here I am waiting for the next Jim Butcher "Dresden Files" novel "Turn Coat" and I have nothing to read. So I go look on his website ( http://www.jim-butcher.com ) and find he has written a few Dresden short stories. I can't get enough of Wizard Harry Dresden's wit, wisdom and ability to kick serious supernatural butt, so I'm going to devour all the stories I can.

I picked up the book and have found it full of some fun supernatural short stories, I'll be posting a review of the book as a whole later. Here I am to tell you of this adventure of Harry Dresden. This story takes place between Dead Beat and Proven Guilty.

As you can probably tell from the title of the collection all the stories have weddings as the centerpiece. Weddings are hard enough to bear but throw in some monsters, faeries, vampires, wizards et. al. and you have a real mess on your hands. And we all know Harry Dresden is a magnet for trouble.

In the beginning of this story Harry has been "drafted" to be the best man for the wedding between the werewolves Billy and Georgia. He is being forced into the position because the original best man (another werewolf) was severely injured during a battle the night before. Harry was involved in the battle but turned out to be battered less than the wolf. So with a black eye and sore muscles, Harry is being fitted with a last minute tux. Georgia's evil stepmother (not supernaturally evil, just evil) is being a control freak in everything that could make this wedding go bad. Harry is one such thing.

After dealing with the step-mother, Billy expresses to Harry he's concerned for Georgia, she doesn't answer her phone. He asks Harry to check on her. Harry goes to her apartment to discover a scuffle had taken place, so he calls in backup, in the form of Lt. Karrin Murphy of the Chicago police, Special Investigations unit.

Harry and and Murphy track down Georgia to discover a faerie is seeking revenge on the werewolves from when they took down someone from the Winter Court of Faeries. Georgia is swapped with a faerie so Billy will marry the faerie and then Billy and Georgia will die. After Georgia is found in a spell, Harry discovers the spell can only be broken by a kiss.

With evil-stepmothers, true love and a sleeping beauty, this story carries all the fun and excitement of a Dresden Files novel but condensed down to one fun-filled short story.

Princep's Fury Book 5 of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher

Princep's Fury
Book 5 of the Codex Alera
Jim Butcher
Read by Kate Reading
Penguin Audio, 18 Hours



Jim Butcher has created an epic series of magick, swords and mythical beasts in the Codex Alera, and he's approaching the finale of the series according to his website book six is to be titled First Lord's Fury and will end the series. Knowing this and having listened to all the previous four installments, I listened as slowly as possible not wanting this relationship I have developed with the land of Alera and the born leader in Gaius Octavian, Tavi to his friends. Jim Butcher's creativity has created a world that I had hoped be able to visit forever.

Once again Kate Reading provides a great auditory escape into Jim Butcher's world of Codex Alera. Her vocal characterizations are simple enough to put sound to the characters and to be able to inflect emotion into those same voices.

The beginning of this series brought us the character of Tavi, who has a secret, the secret is slowly revealed throughout each book that Tavi is the son of Gaius Septimus, son of the First Lord of Alera and heir to that same title. Septimus was killed in a major battle between on of Alera's enemys, the Marat. Tavi's mother, Isana, hid Tavi's fury crafting abilities so that he would be safe from those that would assassinate him and the first lord to take over the crown. Tavi grows up without the ability to fury craft, making him a freak among the Alerans.

The Alerans use a special magic/sorcery called fury crafting to call upon the furies of the elements to perform functions from the simplest tasks of lighting lamps, pumping water or building homes from wood or earth to military uses of flying, increasing strength, healing, or functioning at super human speed. Everyone in Alera can perform some fury crafting to some degree, the most powerful of which are leaders of the separate states in the land, and the First Lord being the most powerful of all.

In Princep's Fury Tavi has been accepted as the Princep's (heir to the crown of First Lord), however the recent civil war in Alera has left many citizens disgruntled and wanting for something more than what Gaius Sextus, the First Lord, seems to offer. Alera has had many enemies surrounding the land The Marat to the south, the Ice Men to the north and across the sea to the west the Canim. Through diplomacy and kindness has created an ally through the Marat. While not so much of an ally, the Canim have agreed to cease hostilities as Tavi and his legion assist them in building ships and returning to their homeland. Tavi has earned the respect of the Canim Leader, Varg and through that a working relationship with the Canim.

One other enemy that has come to Alera from unknown origins is the Vord. The the first book in the series Tavi awakend a Vord Queen while proving himself to the Marat leaders. The Vord is an insect like species that are extremely powerful. They take forms similar to the people in the lands they invade. They can takeover a living being body (animal or human) through a small taker that eats its way to the brain of the "host" and then controls the "host's" every move. Also the Vord Queen can read minds thus making her a dangerous enemy. Many people in Alera do not believe the Vord to be real, until now.

The Vord have begun to attack Alera, this time around they are using fury crafting, which only Alerans have been able to do. This makes the Vord even more dangerous. To save Alera the First Lord, Gaius Sextus, has plans. The first of which is to send Count Bernard (Tavi's Uncle and a powerful fury crafter) and his wife Countess Amara (former cursor/spy for the First Lord) to discover how the Vord are able to suddenly use fury crafting. Next, in order to bring in more legions Gaius sends Tavi's mother Isana to the Shield Wall in the north, where the perpetual war with the Ice Men is waged, to form a truce so that the Legions there can come fight the Vord, and finally the First Lord lures the Vord to the Aleran capital where he can fight the Vord Queen. Killing the queen is the only way to stop the Vord.

While the possible destruction of Alera goes on, Tavi has arrived with ships full of Canim in their homeland, only to discover that the Vord have destroyed all the people and lands save for one small faction fighting a never ending war with the Vord. Tavi must then fight the Vord side by side with the Canim to escape back to Alera.

Once again, with Princep's Fury, Jim Butcher has created a masterpiece of high fantasy with excitment from many factions that will sweep you up in the excitement that is Codex Alera.

"Just After Sunset" By Stephen King

Just After Sunset
By Stephen King
Published 2008 by Scribner

Stephen King the master of horror delivers once again with his latest book, “Just After Sunset.” “…Sunset” is a collection of short stories that, as King states in the introduction to the book, allow him to exercise that little used short story muscle. Back in the day when he was writing, not to put food on the table, but to allow that extra check that turned out be nice to a then struggling family where his source of income was teaching high school English and summer jobs as a delivery driver or in a laundry. This book is basically his challenge to himself to see if he can still write the short story.

He Can!

“Just After Sunset” is a collection of 13 stories ranging from the romantic ghost story to the gross out kill-the-man-by-locking-him-in-a-port-a-potty-and-tip-it-over story. Each story is different but they all ring true of that Stephen King touch. He takes the what-if and makes it real, but usually in a scary or at least a haunting finish.

In the back of the book Mr. King provides a story by story explanation as to why and how the stories evolved.

Here’s a breakdown of the stories.

1. “Willa”
The story of some folks that have just experienced a train crash and have been waiting for hours at the nearest depot for a back-up train to take them home.

2. “The Gingerbread Girl”
read my review of the audio release of this story here:
http://www.gilwilson.com/blog/2008/08/gingerbread-girl-by-stephen-king.html

3. “Harvey’s Dream”
A man who wakes up from a nightmare of his wife being killed, and wanting to tell the wife. She doesn’t want to hear the story but knows she has to.

4. “Rest Stop”
A writer his headed home on the interstate and stops in a rest stop to relieve himself. As he enters the building he hears an argument and a man beating a woman. This is a what-would-you-do story that brings out the hero in all of us.

5. “Stationary Bike”
A man buys a bike to become healthy and prolong his life but ends up crossing into another dimension.

6. “The Things They Left Behind”
This is Stephen King’s story to help understand the after effects of 9/11. This is a heartwarming story telling what happens to one man that survived the bringing down of the twin towers in New York. Told in a way that only Stephen King could.

7. “Graduation Afternoon”
Another Stephen King what-if. A girl celebrating her boyfriend’s graduation and contemplating her own future is witness to a sight that changes all future plans. When reading this story it may be helpful to play Pink Floyd’s “Two Suns in the Sunset” from the Final Cut album.

8. “N.”
A psychiatrist treats an OCD patient that developed his disorder after leaving a Stonehenge like structure.

9. “The Cat from Hell”
A great story about a hit man hired to kill a cat.

10. “The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates”
A cell phone is the last connection to a wife’s late husband.

11. “Mute”
An interesting guy-picks-up-hitchhiker-then-goes-to-confession story.

12. “Ayana”
“Pay it Forward” movie meets a psychic healer.

13. “A Very Tight Place”
This is the gross out story in the book, and my favorite. Two enemies from the rich part of society, one seeks revenge by locking the other in a port-a-potty and tilts it over and leaves him to die.

Fun stories to read and all have that Stephen King touch to keep any fan happy. If you are not a typical Stephen King reader you’ll enjoy this also, a story for everyone.

Cursor's Fury: Book 3 of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher

Cursor's Fury: Book 3 of the Codex Alera
Jim Butcher
Narrated by Kate Reading, unabridged
Penguin Audio, 20.5 hours


Jim Butcher has yet again created a memorable masterpiece in the Codex Alera series. The story is set in the mystical land of Alera, whose residents seem to be descendants of Roman Legionnaires. As befits legionnaires of any time or place, there are plenty of stunning battles, heroic characters, and menace from both ingenious alien races and treacherous allies. Add to this the ability of Alerans to control different aspects of the forces of nature (fury crafting) and you have the ingredients for an exciting piece of literature that spans five books. Each title builds toward the conclusion of this saga, with the sixth and final book in the series scheduled for publication later this year.

Narrator Kate Reading keeps the audiobook alive with a delicate command in her voice that demands attention. She accurately conveys excitement and danger, providing a good read that will lock in listeners and keep them engaged throughout the battle-filled story.

Cursor’s Fury continues the adventures of Gaius Octavius, or Tavi, the only Aleran who cannot perform magic by controlling a part of nature. But Tavi is the grandson and only heir to the First Lord, Gaius Sextus. His true identity is kept secret to avoid assassination by those seeking to overthrow the First Lord. Tavi’s mother uses her water-fury crafting skills to prevent Tavi from developing what would no doubt be extremely powerful fury crafting. As a result, Tavi is forced to rely on his wits to overcome many serious tests that come his way.

Recognizing his leadership skills and seeing through the veil created to hide Tavi, the First Lord, Gaius Sextus, realizes Tavi is his grandson. To protect him, Tavi is sent to train with a legion of recruits who are far away from civil strife. Because the First Lord has not named an heir to the throne, some of the major houses of Alera feel the need to overthrow the powerful First Lord and place themselves on that throne. The most ambitious of these is House Kalare. Lord Kalare has made it known that he will do anything to capture the throne, and in Cursor's Fury he makes his move.

To help insure his victory, Lord Kalare allies himself with the Canim, one of the sworn enemies of Alera.
The Canim are a humanoid/wolf race that live across the ocean from Alera. Lord Kalare asks the Canim to invade at the same time he attacks the First Lord. The plan seems to be working until it’s discovered that the Canim have something else in mind. They don't come over with merely an invading army, they come over with most of their population in order to take Alera themselves. And to emphasize the point, they burn their ships so they cannot return to their homeland.

Meanwhile, instead of being out of harm’s way, Tavi's 1st Legion of "fish," finds they must fortify and hold the bridge to the city of Elinarch. The bridge is a strategic point where the Canim threaten to invade Alera. The young legionnaires are called fish because they are new recruits and, instead of knowing how to battle, they flop around like fish. Through a series of unplanned events, Tavi is forced into the rank of Captain and must use only his wits to lead the legion of "Knights Pisces" into a major battle that may decide the future of Alera.
With a war on three fronts, this book is full of exciting action and a great cast of characters. Codex Alera is one series that is worth reading, or better yet, hearing again and again.

The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket published 2006

The Beatrice Letters
A Series of Unfortunate Events (companion)
By Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Brett Helquist
Published by HarperCollins 2006


The Beatrice Letters was published just one month before the final book in the Series of Unfortunate Events, written by Lemony Snicket and featuring the tales of the Beaudelaire orphans. The series was a hilarious romp through the adventures of these three children with plays on words, anagrams and subtle references to many works of literature. Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) had a flair for humor and his adolescent fiction series provided some fun reading that even the adults could enjoy.

This companion to the series is a bit confusing at first but fun nonetheless. It's confusing because we never really know who Beatrice is. In the Books Beatrice is the mother of the orphans, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, and she dies in the fire that begins the troubles, and leaves the children orphaned. In The Beatrice Letters, Beatrice seems to be 2 people, the mother and a sibling to the 3 orphans. The letters at first seem as though they are correspondence between Lemony Snicket and Beatrice, but as the reading progresses it seems the Lemony Snicket letters are written 10 years before the Beatrice letters, yet they flow. Very fun to read, but I warn you if you need clues to the secrets of the Baudelaire orphans you either have to dig really deep into this book or they don't exist.

The packaging of the book is also clever, it includes a mysterious poster, and a portfolio in which the book fits. The book also contains twelve punch-out letters (of the alphabet, as opposed to correspondence, although the ambiguity is intentional), and each is mentioned in different, interesting ways. An example is that the first letter is an E, juxtaposed against a card from Snicket to Beatrice, in which a map Snicket had drawn forms an E. The cardstock letters appear to be an anagram of 'Beatrice Sank'.

The book is a very short read with only 13 letters in total, but quite fun to puzzle over. Normally, when I review a book that is a part of a series, I will tell you whether or not the book can be read independently of the series or if you need to start with book one. With this one, ummmm I don't know...maybe, maybe not, but, I will tell you this, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is an awesome series and very fun to read, so read the 13 books in the series anyway.

White Night The Dresden Files, Book 9 by Jim Butcher

White Night
The Dresden Files, Book 9
by Jim Butcher
Published 2007 by ROC

As any of my friends in Chicago can verify, life in the Windy City can be hectic and still full of adventure. Well, to say that's an understatement in Harry Dresden's Chicago is in itself an understatement. Harry Dresden is a wizard and private investigator that has set up shop in Chicago. Harry has a hero streak in which he HAS to help the common man. Oh yeah, he's also a warden for the White Council (the governing body of wizards world-wide), holder of one of the swords of the Knights of the Cross (which he is supposed to be find a true holder), fighting off possession of Lasciel (a fallen angel/Denarian), mentor to a teenage wizard, half-brother to a vampire of the White Court (a vampire that lives off sexual energy) and consultant to the Chicago P.D. Special investigations division. Busy guy.

If that weren't enough, Harry is sometimes called upon in his duties as warden to train new wizard recruits for the war between the White Council and the Red Court of Vampires. The war has taken its toll on the White Council, thus the reason Harry, of all people, has been made a warden, and new wizards are few and far between. The wizard's power is passed down through the mother's line of ancestry.

In this book someone is targeting female wizards with small amounts of power, and killing them. The women targeted are not powerful enough to be part of the White Council but have enough power to perform small magicks and they all seem to be suicides.. The person who is last seen with the murdered/suicidal women seems to be either Harry or his half-brother Thomas. Sgt. Karrin Murphy of the C.P.D. S.I. calls in Harry on one scene due to some strange circumstances on the scene. The suicide just doesn't feel right to Murphy. Harry soon discovers a "magical" message that was meant only for him to find. The message is, "Exodus 22:18," a Bible quote which states, "Suffer not a witch to live." Harry soon finds this hidden message on the body of another victim. The second victim was made to look like a suicide, but with the help of Harry's apprentice, he discovers she died in sexual ecstasy, as in an attack of a sexual vampire, from the White Court.

Suspecting his half-brother, Harry tries to find why Thomas is avoiding all of Harry's attempts to communicate. Harry goes to Thomas' home and finds a map with all the addresses of the missing women and some of the dead ones. Harry knows Thomas is not capable of such acts and tracks him down.

What comes next is a conspiracy within the White Court of vampires, an attack on Harry's psyche, an attempt to destroy the White Council of wizards, and a huge battle between vampires, wizards and an army of mercenaries hired by Chicago's own crime boss, "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone.

Things just aren't easy for Harry, but that same excitement is what makes the Dresden Files books a great series to sink your teeth into. I will warn you it would be best if you picked up the first book, "Storm Front" and read them in order before you get to this book, which is number nine in the series, because of plot points that were started in earlier novels. Trust me, once you read one you'll want to get through the series as fast as you can.

Justice League of America: Exterminators by Christopher Golden

Justice League of America: Exterminators
Christopher Golden
Multicast production
Graphic Audio
Approx. 5 hours
Audiobook published 2008

I was going through my stack of books and audiobooks to review and saw that I had another audiobook from Graphic Audio. I soon became excited because, well, when Graphic Audio promises "A movie in your mind," not only do they deliver, they deliver with a punch. Another Graphic Audio production and, to add icing on the cake, another production of a Justice League of America audiobook. With great production and the exciting events that follow Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, The Green Lantern et. al. I got myself ready for the ride of a lifetime.

I would like to first emphasize how wonderful Graphic Audio's productions are when converting a novel to audiobook. The music, sound effects and voicework really place you into the action and keep you glued to the audiobook. There were times where I would intentionally drive slower when listening in the car or find more housework to do so I could wait that much longer before I had to shut off the audiobook. It reminds me of the old radio serials where your imagination worked to push the story along. However comparing this audiobook with a radio program is like comparing (to stay in the comic book genre) the '60s Batman television series to the 2008 theatrical release The Dark Knight. The cast of voices all perform their roles as superheroes while the narrator pushes the non-dialogue sections of the book creating a constant flow of storytelling mixed with superb sound effects and music.

The story in this novilization based on DC Comics Justice League of America heroes begins when a surprisingly large number of people are popping up with super powers. These ""meta-humans"" come to be under close scrutiny of the Justice League because they can either use these powers for good or bad. While some come out to help the world's known superheroes some seek to use their powers for ill will and creates a new problem for the heroes to combat.

These ""meta-humans"" cropping up all share common background, the United Kingdom. This leads the older members of the Justice League to think that due to their handling of a previous situation in the U.K., the Justice League themselves are responsible for the creation of these "meta-humans".

To make matters worse the "meta-humans" begin evolving into creatures that resemble armored salamanders and begin burrowing into the Earth. The burrowers then begin cropping up in major cities around the world destroying everything in sight. With millions of lives at stake the Justice League goes into action fighting these seemingly indestructible creatures while at the same time finding the reason they have come into being.

While the action takes place in the story a series of flashback segments takes the listener back ten years to when an alien force invades Earth and is destroyed by newly formed Justice League and the Royal Air Force over the skies of the U.K. Leading to the outcome that the aliens have returned in the form of a parasite to destroy the planet.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman become so overcome by these burrowers they have to call in the Justice League reserves, so no matter who your favorite DC Comics hero is, they'll probably make an appearance in this exciting tale; Justice League of America: Exterminators.

"New Moon" The Twilight Saga book 2 - by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon
The Twilight Saga book 2
by Stephenie Meyer
audiobook read by Ilyana Kadushin
Published by Little, Brown Young Readers (August 21, 2006)

As many of you know I'm a sucker for a good vampire story (ha, sucker...vampire). So I've decided to give this Twilight Saga series a read, and I can say that they aren't bad. I knew going into this reading adventure that I was diving into adolescent fiction, but hey, Harry Potter was very entertaining and Lemony Snicket's "Unfortunate Events" books kept me in stitches, so the adolescent fiction can sometimes be a real treat.

I'm still on the fence on this one but I will say that during the moments of tension and thrills the author kept me reading with a fervor that makes these books worth reading. BUT (I know everyone's got a big BUT), the main character, Bella Swan, is a typical mopey teenage girl, that uses her teenage girly wiles to get what she wants. At times I just wanted to slap this wanna be Emo girl. But she did represent a fairly large slice of the psyche of teen angst, especially in this installment of the Twilight Saga, "New Moon."

In this novel Bella (the mopey human girl) and Edward Cullen(the beautiful, moody vampire) compare and contrast their lives with Romeo and Juliet. Bella has to watch the movie for her English class and uses this as a stall tactic to keep from going to her birthday party the Cullen's (family of vampires) have planned for her. You see, Bella doesn't want to age any more she wants to be eternally 17 like Edward, but Edward does not want Bella to become a vampire. Edwards reasoning behind this is that he believes vampire's souls are damned and he doesn't want to damn Bella. At the end of the Romeo and Juliet movie Edward states he doesn't want to live in a world without Bella.

Eventually she goes to the party and is showered with gifts. As she opens one of the gifts she gets a paper cut. Typically not a problem, actually at most parties it would be a source of a joke, but in a house where the folks live off blood and the smell of blood can encourage an attack, this creates problems. One of the Cullen family is still trying to get used to the not feeding on humans and only animals (vegetarian vampires), and goes to attack Bella at the smell of her blood.

This fiasco shows the Cullen's that their living in the same town as her creates a constant danger to her life and decide it's time to move on. The family leaves and Bella is thrown into several months of depression in which her dad, who she refers to with his first name, Charley, rather than calling him dad, finally decides he doesn't know how to handle this depression and threatens to send her back to live with her mom. This motivates Bella a little so she becomes a little more active with her social life. During these months of depression she has also made herself a bit of an outcast with her friends at school, and surprises one by inviting her to go to a movie.

After the movie Bella comes to walk near a bar where some neighborhood ruffians are hanging out and being the target of constant danger and accidents, she walks too close to the guys and as she does she hears Edwards voice in her head warning her to watch out. After she clears what could have been danger she realizes that in order to hear the sweet voice of Edward the only thing she can do now is put herself in danger.

Within a few days she sees a school mate is giving away 2 motorcycles, she knows that Charley has always forbidden the riding of motorcycles and they potential danger they hold, so she takes them. In comes Jacob Black, a minor character in the first book and member of the Quileute Indian nation. Jacob has a talent for fixing vehicles so she gets him to fix up the bikes and show her to ride. Side note here; this is one of the areas that really ticked me off. Bella played on Jacob's emotions and crush on her to get him to do what she wanted, fix bikes and teach her to ride. Jacob is smitten with Bella and that is his weak spot with her. So thinking she likes him he does what she wants.

The nice turn in this part of the story is that Jacob, being a member of the Quileute nation, soon becomes a shapeshifter/werewolf. According to legend the werewolves protect the tribe from vampires.

Jacob and his pack of other werewolves rescue Bella from a rogue vampire, Laurent, who we met in book one. Laurent is out to find Bella so the other vampire in their pack, Victoria, can kill her. This is revenge for Edward killing Victoria's mate, James.

Victoria continues to hunt for Bella, which leads to many dead bodies and the community is out looking for large wolves. The wolves are seen leaving the kill sites as they try to track down the bloodsucker. Bella is kept on the reservation while the wolves hunt. During the boredom Bella decides to try to hear Edward's voice again (it's all in her head, by the way) so she decides cliff-diving is dangerous enough.

One of the Cullen's, Alice, has a talent for seeing the future and sees this dangerous activity as Bella committing suicide and succeeding. Word get's out to Edward about Bella's "death" and he heads to Italy to get an ancient family of vampires to kill him. Remember the Romeo and Juliet reference?

Bella must now hurry to Italy with Alice to prevent Edward's suicide.

The events in Italy create an interesting outcome that affects the remaining 2 books in the series, and honestly I can't wait to read them. Make sure you note I'm on Team Jacob and not Team Edward.

Proven Guilty The Dresden Files, Book 8 by Jim Butcher Published 2006 by ROC

Proven Guilty
The Dresden Files, Book 8
by Jim Butcher
Published 2006 by ROC

Things just never get easy for Harry Dresden. The White Council who always had it out for him has recently mad Harry a Warden for the White Council (basically the police force for the wizarding community). You'd think with this promotion Harry Dresden, wizard/private investigator, would be more accepted. But at the beginning of this book, Proven Guilty, a trial is being held for a young man that has used magic to influence the mind of a human, this not only breaks one of the 7 laws of magic but also uses black magic which can bring harm the user. As with most trials conducted by the White Council the youth is found guilty,declared a warlock and sentenced quickly. There is only one sentence for breaking the laws; DEATH.

The White Council held this trial in Chicago to make sure Harry saw the outcome. Harry remarks how blood does not stain the gray cloaks of the wardens as he is forced to watch the beheading of the warlock.

With this impression made Harry and the rest of the council depart. Most go off to continue the war with the Red Court Vampires, others go off to continue their duties. Harry in the meantime is contacted by The Gatekeeper, a higher up Council member that through some mysterious method of sending a message from the future asks Harry to investigate some black magic going on in Chicago.

Before I go too much further I would like to talk about the Dresden Files series in general. I've said before that Jim Butcher has created one of the best series of myth / magic / and mayhem with this series. One of the things that makes these books so good is they always start out with some big event grab you and you have no choice but to hang on and enjoy the ride. Proven Guilty is no exception. Without giving too much of a spoiler hereI will point out that the beginning and the end of this book is perfectly bookended and not only comes full circle but hits with some great life lessons. In fact I love the way Jim Butcher through Harry Dresden turns the Parable of the Talents from they Holy Bible into the catch phrase of Stan Lee's Spider-Man, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Back to the story...the black magic Harry has to track down seems to be occurring at "Splatter-Con" a convention held in Downtown Chicago celebrating the art of horror movies. Creatures from the movies are coming to life and attacking the patrons of "Splatter-Con." One of the many talents of Jim Butcher is to be able to write some wit and humor into these stories, in fact Harry Dresden wouldn't be worth reading about if it weren't for the quality of "wise-assness." During some of the magical battle scenes with some of the more popular creatures, Harry Dresden quotes the movies with some great tact and fun reactions.

The creatures creating the monsters are known as fetches, they are from the "Nevernever" and they feed off fear. The fetches have come for the daughter of Michael Carpenter, Michael is a Knight of the Cross...yes THE CROSS...and is God's swordsman (one of 2 left). It seems that Michaels daughter, Molly,has some magic abilities and the fetches abduct her. Now it is up to Harry to rescue her.

With a rescue party that features, Karrin Murphy of Chicago PD, Harry's half-brother/ White Court vampire, Thomas and Molly's mother, Charity, Harry follows the fetches into Arctis Tor, the castle of the Winter Queen and fights off the fetches, the faerie and fae of Winter's court, the Erlking and many more to come to an exciting climax which then forces Harry to bring Molly in to a trial with the White Council.

For some great action, thrills, chases and everything that makes a great read the Dresden Files is the perfect series, and Proven Guilty fits into the series offering even better action, thrills, chases and everything mythical and magical.

"Reunion in Death" by J. D. Robb Published by Berkley, 2002

"Reunion in Death"
by J. D. Robb
Published by Berkley, 2002 

Once again Nora Roberts, er...ummm...I mean J.D. Robb has created a exciting futuristic detective novel in the "...in Death" series.  This book, like most of the other books in this series, starts out running and never lets up until the villain is caught.  (Not much of a spoilere there, really, because Lt. Eve Dallas, NYPSD always gets her man, or in this case woman.)
 
Before I get to the meat of the story of this book I would like to point out a few things.  The characters in this series of books are awesome!  They are so realistic and their relationships are very human and work well to show the human side to drama.  The action in these books usually is up and down but with this one it never lets up. 

I really only have one complaint with these books but really it's not much of one.  It has to do with the graphic sex scenes throughout all the books in this series.  I understand Eve and Roarke really love each other and are a very physical married couple and I understand that Nora Roberts is a romance writer, but jeez, enough already.  These books are perfect science-fiction detective novels with great character development but I feel the books are cheapened by the bodice-ripping sex scenes.  I keep looking for Fabio on the cover.  I have a hard time convincing people to keep reading these books when they get to the sex scenes.  Some of the scenes described could make a Licensed Companion (LC) blush.  In the future prostitution is legal as long as they are licensed.  It really is for me an abrupt stop in the story when Eve and Roarke start having sex and the details of such scene is drawn out in explicit detail.  Okay yeah I know now after reading most of the series to skip ahead about 10 pages, but .....c'mon!
 
One other thing but this is on the cool side of stuff.  For anyone who has read any of the novels or my reviews, you know that Lt. Eve Dallas' husband Roarke owns nearly everything on and off planet.  But in this novel we learn he has  a holodeck.   How cool is that?  A holodeck!  I love this guy.

Okay, here's the story. In this book Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke return to New York rested from a vacation. Eve is eager to get back to work in the madness and mayhem that is homicide in NYPSD. When she returns to her desk she finds her office has been cleaned and painted and all her paperwork filed. Is it pixies? Nope, Officer Peabody took initiative and finished all pending paperwork and cleaned Eve's office while she was away, but only after Peabody and EDD Detective McNabb came back from a vacation funded by Roarke.

Since there are no pending cases or paperwork, Eve opens up the cold case file and finds one that seems solvable, and proceeds to give Peabody her first case to fly solo on. But just as they return from interview a dead woman's husband there's a ruckus in the bull pen in homicide division and a faint smell of baked goods....hey, cops and doughnuts, even in the future they go hand in hand. Anyway, the baked good culprits are Officer Peabody's parents dropping in for a surprise visit. The visiting Peabodys wrangle their way in to staying in Eve's & Roarke's mansion. Now Eve has to do the one thing she detests most, entertain guests.

Luckily she becomes busy when a man is murdered and Eve is called on the case. The man was poisoned at his birthday party in plain sight of all the guests. Eve soon learns that one of the catering staff left the scene. The staff member is identified as Julianne Dunn, a woman who Eve had put in prison for murdering her three husbands, a black widow who likes to poison her husbands and take off with their riches.

This time Julianne Dunn is seeking revenge on Eve, the only woman that ever bested her. To do so she targets Roarke but before she takes away Eve's man she sends the Eve and her staff chasing red herrings, other murdered men that fit no pattern.

What turns out to be a global romp with great action and great detective work "Reunion in Death" is another superb sci-fi cop thriller that can get you hooked on this series. So if you like/don't mind the sex scenes go ahead and read them but if you think they are just fluff and serve little purpose (like i do) skip over them and enjoy an action packed thriller.


 
 

STAR TREK

"Valis" by Philip K. Dick audiobook review

Philip K. Dick
Valis
Read by Tom Weiner
Blackstone Audio
Approx. 8 1/2 hours
Audiobook published 2008

Valis is the first of Philip K. Dick's three final novels (the others are Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer) and seem to cover PKD's final days searching for the meaning of life within religion. This book fits not only into the science fiction category, but could also fall easily into the philosophy realm, because the book consists of the main character discussing the origin of God and the purpose of life while suffering through mental illness.

The reader, Tom Wiener, has a very pleasant voice that adds a bit of a feel of authority while reading through the many sections. The book covers times when the main character is locked up in a county mental hospital, writing and quoting from his exegesis (his book on trying to find God), hanging out with his friends and discussing theology and finally meeting what could be the messiah of our time. When Weiner reads the scripture-like quotes from the exegesis they sound like real scripture being read from a pulpit, which definitely makes listening to this book more interesting and easier to absorb the philosophies.

Valis takes place in the 70s in the United States, and may be semi-autobiographical. One hint at the autobiographical feel is that the book is written in both first and third person. In first person the narrator refers to himself as Philip the sci-fi writer and refers back to some of his books. When the narrator shifts to third person he refers to the character Horselover Fat. It is revealed that Horselover Fat is actually part of PKD's schizophrenic split personality and all his friends treat them as 2 different people and hope for him to be cured eventually. Another semi-autobiographical aspect is in the name Horselover Fat. "Horselover" is English for the Greek word philippos (Φίλιππος), meaning "lover of horses" (from philo "brotherly or comradely love" and hippos "horse"); "Fat" is English for the German word "dick".

Valis is about a group of friends' search for God, who turns out to be a virus, a joke, and a mental hologram transmitted from an orbiting satellite. The friends are very reminiscent of the friends in the book "A Scanner Darkly," especially in their very humorous dialogues about God. Basically the friends are all former stoners who have stopped doing dope and now have philosophy as their new drug.

The main character of the novel, Horselover Fat, is thrust into a theological quest when he receives communion in a burst of pink laser light. From the mental ward of a bay area hospital to the ranch of a fraudulent charismatic religious figure/rock musician where they confront the Messiah: a two-year old named Sophia. She confirms their suspicions that an ancient, mechanical intelligence orbiting the earth has been guiding their discoveries. who turns out to have a direct com link with God,

Truly, Valis is an eye-opening look at the nature of consciousness and divinity as PKD leads us down the twisted paths of Gnostic belief, mixed with his own bizarre and compelling philosophy. For an exciting sci-fi trip through theology and philosophy with some great humor thrown in pick up Blackstone Audio's recording of Valis by Philip K. Dick.

Academ's Fury Book two of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher
Academ's Fury Book two of the Codex Alera
Read by Kate Reading
Penguin Audio
Approx. 21 hours
Audiobook published 2008

Jim Butcher wanted to create what he called a "sword and horses" novel and the Codex Alera series is that and more. This high fantasy series  is very successful in creating a new world where swords are the weapon of choice and the horse is one of the main transportation methods. However, Butcher did not limit himself to these two concepts when creating his world. Other weapons include furies, a type of sorcery using the elements. The furies are also the answer to transportation as well as communication and medical arts. Basing all this on the ideals of the Roman Legionnaires, Butcher's writing not only provides excellent battle scenes but great characters that live in a four dimensional universe. Academ's Fury builds on that foundation and not only pushes the series along but also is an intriguing read in and of itself.

The narrator, Kate Reading, has a touch of a British accent that brings a classic quality to the book. Her accent gives this sword and sorcery novel the feel of an Arthurian tale. At the same time, she provides the perfect level of emotion during the warm moments of love between the characters and, when needed, bursts of excitement during the novel's tense battles. She can deliver lump-in-the-throat speeches as well as screaming enemy attacks.

Academ's Fury picks up 2 years after the events in the book, Furies of Calderon. The hero, Tavi, lacks the ability to control the furies (fury crafting), making him a "freak" in Alera.. Studying to become a cursor, or messenger, for the First Lord (Emperor) of Alera, Tavi learns the job also requires becoming a spy and a warrior.  As his studies near their end a new danger comes to the capitol of Alera, where the First Lord resides and is the home for the acadamy Tavi is attending. This new danger is in the form of a being known as the Vord.

The Vord is an insect-like race also referred to as shapeshifters. The Vord gain control of the body and mind of an enemy, creating a zombie with a Vord mind to battle their enemies. This tactic is a demoralizing weapon because the body taken over by the Vord, perhaps a loved one or even a child, becomes a treacherous killer. In any great story a hero will have his ultimate villain, Batman has the Joker, Spider-Man has Venom. Jim Butcher has created one of the most ultimate nemeses of all time with this race of Vord. They are powerful, dark and complex.

Tavi awakened the Vord in the first novel in the Codex Alera, Furies of Calderon, by spilling some of his own blood on the Vord nest in the wax forest. This not only awakened the Vord but also made Tavi a target. When the Vord expands its community it separates into 3 queens, which move to different locations and set up new nests to conquer all life in that area.

Duroga, a clan leader of the Murat, has come to warn Tavi's uncle of the danger after destroying one of the three nests. The other two must be destroyed or all of Alera will fall. One nest is in Calderon Valley the other is seeking Tavi in the capitol city.

While this new danger is going on there also exists the beginnings of a civil war in Alera due to the First Lord having no heir. So with complications of politics piling on top of the pending destruction of humanity, Tavi must use his wits and strength to save Alera.

This book is cram-packed with excitement that will keep you up until you hear the final sentence, and even there you will be reaching for the next novel in the series.

"Dead Beat" Book 7 of the "Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher

"Dead Beat"
Book 7 of the "Dresden Files"
by Jim Butcher
published by ROC, 2005


Once again Jim Butcher has created a great novel of suspense, action, thrills, and dare I say... a little romance, featuring the coolest wizard of all time Harry Dresden. In this novel the Wardens of the White Council are all but wiped out by the Red Court Vampires, all of humanity is threatened by the Erlking, Chicago will be destroyed by 5 necromancers seeking godhood, Harry Dresden faces a Fallen Angel that threatens to take over his soul, and his half brother is a slob. But hey, this is just a typical Halloween for Chicago's wizard for hire Harry Dresden.

This title of this edition of the "Dresden Files," "Dead Beat," refers not to Harry having to hunt down a dad not paying child support but rather the relentless toll the never ending perils facing humanity that he must defeat, thus leaving his body "Dead Beat." One thing I've noticed in all the Dresden files books I've read is it seems that Wizard Harry Dresden always takes on more than seems like he can handle, but usually through friends and sometimes pure dumb luck he comes out on top. He always seems reluctant to ask for help but eventually volunteers come out of the woodwork. That excitement of not knowing whether he will survive the ordeal and the absolutely wonderful wit and humor by author Jim Butcher keeps me coming back to these books.

This book however Harry finally admits he's in over his head and asks for help from the Wardens of the White Council. The White Council is the Justice League for wizards and out to battle evildoers, the Wardens are their police force. The problem is , when Harry asks for help it's a bad time for the White Council, the ongoing war between the Red Court and the White Council (started by Harry, by the way) has cut down the number of Wardens from 200 to only 50 remaining alive around the world. Thus only 5 can come to Harry's aid. In the process and much to the dismay of Morgan, the Warden that hates Harry, the Council makes Harry a Warden. But before I get to far ahead of myself, let's talk about what happens here.

Harry gets a message from Mavra, the leader of the Black Court of vampires who Harry supposedly destroyed in the last book, apparantly Mavra got away and now wishes to speak to Harry. Remember the Black Court are the most evil of all the vampire courts and are the ones best represented in the Bram Stoker novel, rumor has it that the White Council encouraged Stoker to write that book so the average joe can kill a Black Court vampire, which led to their near extinction. It seems Mavra wants Harry to find a book for her. Only this book is the ultimate of all evils and the ultimate book of Necromancy, black magic raising the spirits of the dead. With this book Mavra could become a god. The catch is that if Harry doesn't find this book, Mavra will destroy the life of Harry's best friend and possible love interest, Lt. Karrin Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigations. A little blackmail and Harry pretty much has to do this, actually this is where chivalry gets the best of Harry Dresden.

At the same time Harry is searching for this book, 3 days before Halloween, 5 powerful Necromancers are also looking for this book. When they learn Harry is searching for the book they now have to hunt down Harry.

Dresden learns that the necromancers will use this book to raise the Erlking, a faerie king that can destroy humanity, and make one of the 5 a god with ultimate power to destroy all of mankind. The race is on and Harry is finding these necromancers too powerful to be handled alone.

Harry decides to call in the Cavalry, in this case the Wardens. Keep in mind here that Harry has been under constant surveillance by the Wardens and under the most extreme scrutiny that if he were to ever delve into the Black Arts, he would be executed immediately. Well the Wardens come in to help but before they do they make Harry a Warden, big decision for Harry. He accepts and they go to battle with the Necromancers.

Big action, big thrills, big suspense in "Dead Beat" the 7th book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. A little bit of a spoiler before I go--- It is so cool when Harry goes riding through Chicago on the back of a T-rex with a polka playing one man band riding with him.