“The date for the end of the world… it’s in four days.”

The Eye of God
by James Rollins

The quote above is the final sentence of the first chapter of James Rollins’ latest Sigma thriller, The Eye of God. In other words, it’s just another low-stakes drama from this master of disaster. This time around, the prologue opens in AD 453 with the death of Attila the Hun. From there, we quickly move to present-day Rome, with our old friends Vigor and Rachel. (Already, things are off to a good start.) Vigor is consulting with his niece about a mysterious package he’s just received from an old friend—a priest declared dead more than a decade prior. The package contains an artifact, a human skull etched with Jewish Aramaic. “I believe this relic is an example of early Talmudic magic practiced by Babylonian Jews.” It also contains a book bound in human skin. And these artifacts are pointing towards a coming apocalypse with a very imminent date.

Meanwhile… At an air force base in California, “something’s gone wrong.” So says Sigma’s Painter Crowe, who happens to be in attendance. A special camera has been tracking a comet’s progress through space, trying to collect “proof that the comet was shedding or disturbing dark energy in its wake.” After a few pages of fairly sexy physics talk, remote data is retrieved: “It displayed a satellite view of the eastern seaboard of the United States, the photo taken as the satellite blazed a trail across the sky. It was detailed enough to make out the major coastal metropolises. Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C. Every city lay in a smoldering ruin.” So, you’ve got your ancient prophecies lining up disturbingly with your weird space-time science anomaly prophesies. Ladies and gentlemen, we are off to the races!

Now, I’ve reviewed a lot of Rollins’ novels in the past decade plus, and the reviews are beginning to feel a bit redundant only because Mr. Rollins is so consistent with the strengths of his novels. So please bear with me as I go over the major bullet points:

• I read a lot of this type of science/adventure thriller and I don’t think there’s another writer out there that can touch Rollins for the complexity of the tales he weaves—and I mean that in an entirely positive way. Above I alluded to Attila the Hun, the Roman Catholic Church, advanced physics, and Jewish mysticism. That is merely the tip of the iceberg. Throw into the mix Genghis Khan, the world’s only freshwater seal, exotic locales spanning the globe, magnetic fingertips (So freakin’ cool!), St. Thomas, multiverses, and the question, “Could the ancient Chinese have had knowledge of events described in the book of Genesis?” In every book, Rollins weaves an astonishing number of incredibly diverse, incredibly cool elements into one cohesive tale. And usually it hangs together so well, I wonder if he hasn’t stumbled onto some secrets of the universe.
• Again, I must commend the author on his strong female characters. I don’t think readers are ever disappointed when Rachel and Seichan are both a part of the mix. The Eye of God introduces several noteworthy new female characters as well. (And for those of you waiting for something to happen with Gray… Your wait is over.)
• How many different times and ways can I express my love of Kowalski? This time around he
  
  enters with the line, “Why does that duck keep looking at me?” Which is just so Kowalski. I thought he was funnier than ever in this book. I want to quote all his best lines, but I’ll refrain.
• Easter eggs! There are Easter eggs in this novel that refer to a non-Sigma book in the Rollins-verse. It’s not a character this time around. Really, really fun!
• Not just one super-cool author’s note at the end describing what’s fact and what’s fiction, this time there are several of them.

Now, this is the point where I usually kvetch about a bunch of nit-picky stuff, but I don’t really have any significant complaints this time around. Once I was going to ding him on a plot element being too outlandish, but as he often does, he followed it up with enough science that I was willing to continue suspending my disbelief. No, this is a strong novel in the long-running Sigma series. The plot is fascinating, and I hope it goes without saying that it moves at a lightning pace. Furthermore, there are significant developments among the major players. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

I honestly don’t know how long James Rollins can possibly come up with these convoluted tales he spins. Surely he’s written about every single interesting thing in the universe by now? But apparently not. As long as he keeps writing them, I’m going to keep reading them!

The story of the T-fest t-shirt

This is me. 

It's a self-portrait I shot in a hotel room mirror a few days ago.  No, no I was not wearing any pants, but that's neither here nor there.  It was Sunday morning, after Thrillerfest, and I'd been up past 4:00am the night before.  'Nuff said.

Please note the t-shirt I'm modeling.  It has a few signatures on it.  It is my memento from Thillerfest VIII in New York.  And I have one t-shirt like this for each of the eight years that the conference has been in existence.  This is the story of how the tradition started.

It was the first day of the very first Thrillerfest in Phoenix, way back in 2006.  I already had a few friends in the thriller community.  (I'd actually been at the party at the Algonquin Hotel a year earlier where ITW, and hence Thrillerfest, was born.)  Nothing was really scheduled to begin until late afternoon, and so I agreed to join my friend J.A. "Joe" Konrath to sign stock at a couple of bookstores.  That's a whole story in and of itself.  I actually accompanied Joe on the first two stops of his insane 600-store book tour for Rusty Nail.  Was he grateful for my company as he embarked on this epic journey?  I don't think so.  I recall him snarling, "Flap faster, Susan, faster!"  That was at the renowned Poisoned Pen Bookshop.  After that, we were joining some other ITW authors at a Walmart somewhere in Phoenix.  They were promoting the first Thriller story collection.

Joe Konrath plots his book tour.

There were quite a few big-name authors all sitting at a table, filled with books just waiting to be signed.  When Joe and I walked up, they were all alone.  I know that James Rollins, Steve Berry, and David Liss were there.  Gayle Lynds was supposed to be there, but she was feeling unwell, and I actually wound up in her seat.  And I could swear that there was one other author present, but for the life of me I can't remember who it was.  Isn't that awful? 

This is what I do remember: no one would come near the signing table.  Here were all these best-selling authors, and in the words of a boss I once had--they couldn't sell sex to a sailor.  In the course of about two hours they sold and signed maybe two or three books.  And that was with the added inducement of a free t-shirt!  It was truly pathetic.  At some point, one of them handed me a t-shirt and said, "Here, we'll sign this for you."  They were desperate to sign anything by that time.  And that is the moment this tradition started.

After the signing, I bailed on Konrath and hopped into the back of a limo with Rollins, Berry, and Liss to head back to the Biltmore and the official start of Thrillerfest.  It was where I had the first of many arguments with David Liss, who I'd just met.  Good times!  Eight years later, we're still at it.  It's how we express affection for each other.

Once the conference got going, there were so many awesome writers in attendance, it seemed

David Liss

like a good idea to have them all sign the t-shirt.  As I've said countless times in the years since, "It weighs a hell of a lot less than schlepping everyone's books back and forth from California."  I had a spare Thriller t-shirt I used for the same purpose the following year in New York, and I've bought a cheap t-shirt on the street every year since. 

I'm one of a dwindling number of individuals who have never missed a T-Fest in the conference's history.  The t-shirt is my memento of each year's conference.  It gives me an excuse to interact, at least briefly, with most of the authors in attendance.  The regular attendees know exactly what's up when they see me coming.  F. Paul Wilson addressed me as "T-shirt lady" the other day.  That's a moniker I could live without, but I'm sure he's not the only one who thinks it.  The newbies look at me (with my shirt stretched helpfully over a stitching frame) and say, "That's a great idea!"  Every year someone says, "I ought to do that."  They never do.

Close friends James Rollins & Steve Berry

And there's one more question I get over and over, "What do you do with these shirts?"  The answer, truthfully, is nothing.  I throw them in a drawer.  (Well, technically, most of them are in storage in a box at the moment.)  I'm not really the t-shirt-wearing type.  They're not framed.  They're not sold on E-bay.  They're kept.  I think of each t-shirt as a yearbook for that year's conference.  Who was in attendance that year?  They're a memento of dozens of friendships I've made through Thrillerfest in the past eight years.  So while I don't technically "do" anything with them, they're quite special to me. 

Lately, I've been wondering how much longer I can continuing trekking to New York for Thrillerfest each summer.  I'm eight for eight, but 3,000 miles is a long way to fly.  It's an expensive conference, and I'm neither a writer nor a wanna-be.  The truth is, I go to spend time with my friends.  Many of my closest friends for the past decade have been made at Thrillerfest.  It's hard to believe.  Exhibit A is Boyd Morrison, who I also met on the first day of that first conference in Phoenix and who has become a dear friend.  Eight years later and he hasn't missed a T-fest yet either.  I'm so grateful to spend this time with Boyd and Randi Morrison each year.

I was talking to ITW Director Liz Berry the other day.  We were talking about how many long-time attendees were missing this year's conference for the first time.  Apparently there were about 250 attendees total that first year.  So there can't be that many of us who have made it to all eight?  It was Liz who reminded me of the tenth anniversary of ITW's formation next year, and of Thrillerfest the year after.  That's my goal.  Make it to ten years, ten t-shirts.  After that, well, we'll see.  It's a great party and a great tradition.  I really hate to let it go.

New series, new collaborator, new genre for the New Year!

The Blood Gospel
by James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell

It's no secret to readers of my reviews that I'm a huge fan of James Rollins' novels, and have been ever since Subterranean was first published. In the years since, in addition to penning the wildly popular Sigma Force series and several excellent stand alone thrillers, he has written seven fantasy novels under the name James Clemens as well as two young adult adventures. I love that he isn't content to write the same type of story over and over. Not only has he expanded his own literary horizons, he's very much expanded my own.

The Blood Gospel is yet another new direction for Mr. Rollins. Well, two new directions, actually. For the first time, he's sharing authoring responsibilities with Rebecca Cantrell, a writer well-respected for her own historic mystery series. And while The Blood Gospel is as much a fast-paced thriller as anything Mr. Rollins has written to date, it also falls firmly in the territory of a new genre: horror.

The novel opens with a brief prologue set in the past--AD 73 in Masada, Israel--where readers are witness to events leading to the tragedy for which the historic site is known. However, we are also witness to a far more inexplicable drama... After just a few pages, the action shifts to present-day Israel, at the dig of American archaeologist Erin Granger. Her own promising work is interrupted by an earthquake--and is further interrupted when Israeli and American soldiers arrive to escort her to Masada. The quake has unearthed something and her expertise is required. Along on the journey is a mysterious figure. "He was no soldier. He was a priest. He wore black pants, overhung by an ankle-length hooded cassock, along with black leather gloves, dark sunglasses, and the familiar white collar of the Roman Catholic clergy." You've just been introduced to Father Rhun Korza. He's not the first priest to appear in Rollins' fiction, but I'm telling you right now that he's the most interesting.

At Masada, this is what Erin finds:

"A macabre sculpture hung on the wall, like a blasphemous crucifixion. She moved past the corner of the sarcophagus. With each step, a growing horror rose in her.

It wasn't a sculpture.

On the wall hung the desiccated corpse of a small girl, maybe eight years old, dressed in a tattered, stained robe. A handful of blackened arrows pinned her in place, a good yard off the floor. They pierced her chest, neck, shoulder, and thigh."

What can I say? These authors can paint a tableau, and sometimes the details are haunting. I don't know if it was Mr. Rollins or Ms. Cantrell who supplied the detail of the doll, but that is the beauty of collaboration. It's hard to say who did what (I couldn't tell), but hopefully the work is stronger when two talents bring their a-game.

I'm not going into any detail about the plot of this novel. What I can tell you is that the third primary character is an American soldier named Jordan Stone. The novel is the first of the new "Order of the Sanguines" series. These three diverse characters find themselves on an urgent quest for an artifact called the Blood Gospel. "It is the Gospel. Written by Christ's own hand. In his own blood."

So, let's talk about religion. You may have heard, it's a hot-button topic for some. I'll be VERY curious to see the popular response to this novel. Me, I'm a secular Jew. I'm not going to lie. This got kind of New Testament for me. BUT this is not--emphatically-- Christian fiction. I wouldn't call it excessive, but there's foul language within the text. Even more noteworthy, there's some fairly steamy erotic content. (Well done, too!) So, this is NOT Christian fiction, but it has a fair amount of religion, some of which might be considered blasphemous by certain segments. Rollins tries to look at faith from different angles. At one point, Erin asks, "Why me?" and is told:

"I have followed your work, Dr. Granger. You are skeptical of religion, but steeped in biblical knowledge. As a result, you see things that nonreligious scholars could miss. Likewise, you question things that religious scholars might not. It was that rare combination that made you perfectly suited to bring the Gospel back to the world."

Suffice it to say, there is significant opposition to our heroes' quest. Some of it is worldly and some of it is otherworldly. There's a big word that I'm not saying, but it won't take you long to discover the supernatural elements to the tale. Readers have seen a lot of this in recent years, but James Rollins is putting his own twist on the familiar.

Mr. Rollins and Ms. Cantrell are off to a strong start with this series. This book introduces some truly intriguing characters with complex backgrounds and motivations. And it features a plot that surprised me at every turn. More importantly, there's a complete story arc to Book One, with a conclusion. That's not to say that there aren't bigger picture questions left unanswered for future books--and one flat-out jaw-dropper in the final chapter. (Seriously, DO NOT PEEK.) You've gotta love the jaw-dropper! Um, when is Book Two out?

Sigma's going to the dogs

Bloodline
by James Rollins

After a brief prologue, James Rollins’ latest Sigma Force thriller picks up shortly after where last year’s superlative The Devil Colony left off.  Commander Gray Pierce is dealing with the fallout of his mother’s murder, and the team is ready to exact vengeance against the Guild. (Now, those first two sentences should tell readers something.  While I certainly think that there is enjoyment to be had reading Bloodline as a stand-alone, this installment of the series is very much built upon what’s come before, both in terms of plot and character arcs.  In a perfect world, I’d recommend reading this after reading the other books in the series, or at the very least The Devil Colony.)  Early in the book, the enigmatic double-agent Seichan shows up unexpectedly:

“‘There’s been a kidnapping off the Seychelles by Somali pirates.  A high-value American target.  Painter wanted to know if you were up for a mission.’  Gray frowned.  Why was Sigma involved with a simple kidnapping?  There were plenty of policing and maritime agencies that could attend to such a crime.  Sigma Force—made up of Special Forces soldiers who had been retrained in various scientific disciplines—was a covert wing for DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Sigma teams were sent out into the world to protect against global threats, not to address the kidnapping of a single American.”

Well, there’s high-value, and then there’s HIGH-VALUE.  And this kidnapping victim is the latter.  And wouldn’t you know, this crime eventually leads back to the Guild.  This is the book Mr. Rollins has been promising readers.  It is the ultimate showdown between these two organizations.  And, yes, Sigma is called upon to fulfill the mission stated above.  The Guild’s plot goes well beyond kidnapping, but I shall decline to elucidate further.  What I will do, instead, is highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of the book.

STRENGTHS:

 

·         Seichan tells Gray, “We’ve been ordered to pick up another two teammates, local assets already in the region, with unique skills to help us on this mission.”  Those who read Rollins’ recently published e-short, Tracker, have already guessed that I’m referring to retired Army war dog, Kane, and his handler, Tucker.  These two are the freshest thing to hit Sigma in quite some time!  First, they’re just great characters.  Former-veterinarian Rollins does a bang-up job writing from a dogs-eye view.  These war dogs are unbelievably skilled.  What they can do, and how they work with their human, is flat-out fascinating.  Are you a fan of Dean Koontz’s Watchers?  You are going to LOVE Kane!

·         I think Rollins’ greatest strength is the integration of really smart, completely fascinating, and scarily plausible science into his plots.  I have never failed to learn something within his pages.  This novel deals with genetics, robotics, and the quest for immortality.  At one point, the mad scientist is giving an epic lecture on how men can live indefinitely, and I’m thinking of a huge scientific impediment to that idea.  I’m about to proclaim it all BOGUS.  Well, almost as if he had read my mind, Rollins addressed my objection.  Is it plausible?  I don’t know.  But it sure sounds legit.  I proclaim it NOT BOGUS.

·         Rollins lets some recently underutilized characters shine in this novel, none more so than Kat Bryant, Sigma’s second in command.  She’s out in the field for the first time in a long time, and this lady knows how to kick some ass.  I’ll never look at her the same way again.  Bloodline is very much an ensemble piece, with everyone getting some face time, and it is stronger for it.

·         Which reminds me… Way to write those strong female protagonists, Mr. Rollins!  This has always been a strength, and it continues to impress.

·         Kowalski.  Kowalski is so awesome in his Kowalskiness.  Who else, after watching Kane’s amazing, life-saving performance under fire, would sum everything up with, “I got to get me one of those dogs”?  He’s always good for comic relief, but Mr. Rollins shows great restraint in not making this character too over the top, or of over-utilizing him.

·         As always, Rollins leaves readers with a fascinating author’s note about fact versus fiction.  This time around he even includes links to video.

Now, die-hard fan that I am, it makes sense that I see more strengths than weaknesses, but as always, I do have some quibbles.

WEAKNESSES:

·         For the last few books, Rollins has been trying (successfully) to humanize Seichan, and to reveal more of her background.  That is very much the case here, but for me, personally, things were getting a little too… sentimental.  You may judge for yourself.

·         Also, I don’t need to hear any more about the “inexplicable bond between dog and handler, tying them together by something deeper than just hand signals and spoken commands.”  I LOVED seeing the two in action, and Rollins didn’t belabor the point, but any time their “bond” was referenced, I just wanted to roll my eyes. Clearly, I am a horrible person.

·         Maybe it’s because I’m a Washingtonian, or because I was obsessed with The West Wing, but I found certain elements of the Presidential/White House subplot of the novel strained even my generous suspension of disbelief.

Okay, sorry to prattle on, but there’s always so much to talk about with these books!  Despite my penchant for criticism, when you get right down to it, James Rollins is at the top of my favorite authors list.  As always, he leaves me anxiously awaiting his next installment.

Note: The video below tells far more about the novel's plot than my review does, though obviously the author and publisher aren't giving out significant spoilers.  Also, secret inside scoop, the retriever walking with Jim is his loyal companion, Penny.  I was at his house the day Penny arrived, a sickly, skinny little puppy, many years ago now.  The shepard-looking dog is the same breed as Kane in the novel, and was recently adopted by one of Jim's sisters.  Now you know more than anyone else watching the video, LOL.

Mailbox Monday: Litquake 2011 edition

What a week it's been!  After nearly a decade in San Francisco, I took a BIG step in my life as a citizen.  I got a library card.  My first San Francisco library card.  I mean, you saw the picture from my apartment; you know why I never needed one before.  But I've been inspired by technology, because now, from the comfort of my own home, I can borrow e-books for my Kindle and audiobooks for my iPod, and that is awesome.  I'm still not a big fan of the concept of giving books back, but it's nice to have the option to borrow.  And a big kudos to the helpful folks at my local library branch, who not only walked through the technology with me, but also gave me a choice of designs for my library card, LOL.

So, I've been talking about this for a while, but San Francisco's annual literary festival, Litquake has officially begun!  I'll be attending a bunch of literary events in the next week, and wherever possible, I'll shoot video.  My week got off to a great start yesterday with an event that could only happen in San Francisco!  And, oh yes, I got video.  It's shocking!  And it's uploading as I type.  With any luck, I'll be able to get it posted later today.

And, I'm off to see Christopher Moore tonight in conversation with his friend Flip Nicklin.  Flip is a renowned underwater photographer and whale researcher, and the two met while Chris was researching his novel Fluke.  So, I'm willing to bet this will be an interesting evening.  It almost feels like two parts of my life are intersecting.  I used to interact with underwater photographers (including Flip's dad) on a daily basis back in my dive magazine editor days.

On Tuesday evening, I'll be going out to hear Chuck Klosterman, who's The Visible Man I liked very much.  Wednesday, I'm taking a night off from the Litquake to attend a film screening.  Thursday, I'm considering attending a literary/theatrical crossover event, and on Friday, I'm thinking Jeffrey Eugenides.  There are some daytime readings I may attend on Saturday, and the whole shebang ends Saturday night with the famous Lit Crawl through San Francisco's Mission District.  Hundreds and authors participate in readings in every sort of venue imaginable (art galleries, bars, boutiques, coffee houses, theaters, sex shops, and yes, bookstores).  You can count on at least 10,000 lit lovers flooding the neighborhood.  The crowds are a pain in the ass, but how can you mind seeing that many people embracing literature?

And on that note...

The Sense of an Ending
by Julian Barnes
Release date: October 5, 2011
Source: Purchased with Audible credit

I predicted that if this novel won the Man Booker Prize that it would be released earlier than the originally scheduled date of January 21, 2012.  Apparently merely being the presumed winner was enough to get the novel released two weeks ahead of the announcement.  (Which comes in 8 days!)  Review to come shortly.

Matched
by Ally Condie
Release date: November 30, 2010
Source:  Purchased with Audible credit

I've had the highly-coveted book two of this trilogy since May.  I've been meaning to read the first one for the past year.  Now I have, and The Hunger Games it's not.

Sanctus
by Simon Toyne
Release date: September 6, 2011
Source: 3 Finished hardbacks from publisher

You may recall that I enjoyed this debut thriller quite a lot.  The kind folks at HarperCollins have supplied me with three shiny (literally) copies that I'll be giving away in a big blog hop giveaway starting this Saturday, October 15th!

There but for the
by Ali Smith
Release date: September 13, 2011
Source: The Amazon Vine Program

I've been meaning to read Smith for years, and I love the premise of this novel!  It's off to a great start.

The Stranger's Child
by Alan Hollinghurst
Release date: October 11, 2011
Source: The Amazon Vine Program

This will be another first for me, reading Hollinghurst.  I enjoy a good family epic.  The Booker watchers were shocked when this novel failed to make the cut for the short list.  Until that happened, it had been the presumed front runner.

The Judas Strain
by James Rollins
Release date: July 2, 2007
Source: $1.99 Kindle purchase

This is the novel where James "Jimbo" Rollins wrote about a nice, blonde, scuba diving lady named Susan Tunis, and proceeded to torture her for several hundred pages.  How could I pass up the special discounted e-book?

The Hangman's Daughter
by Oliver Pötzsch
Release date: August 2, 2011
Source: $.99 Kindle purchase

I have a paper galley, but for less than a buck, I like having a Kindle copy as well.  The novel has a lot of positive buzz.

The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Release date:  April 12, 2004
Source: My first library book!

I read and very much enjoyed the second book of this quartet, but never did read this first one.  It's as wonderful as everyone says.  Hopefully the third book will be out soon!



Books finished this week:

Matched by Ally Condie
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Tension City by Jim Lehrer


Currently reading:

There but for the by Ali Smith
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon


So, what have you been reading lately?  What books have you acquired lately?  Do let us know in the comments!

Mailbox Monday: Dead tree edition

If you guys even suspected how much time I spend looking at photographs of mailboxes, you'd be rightly appalled.  Still, the photo above is a striking, huh?  It was shot in Santa Fe, NM by a guy named Randy.  Technically, I don't think that tree is dead, but I was being clever.  The Mailbox Monday photos have been pretty stunning lately, but next Monday I'll have a fun theme post.  Come back, you'll like it.

So, remember my tantrum last week about the weather?  It went downhill from there.  Today is cold, damp, foggy, cloudy and in the 50's.  I'm freezing and don't know what to wear.  UGH!  Jimbo and/or Nicole, I'm coming to visit very soon.  What are you doing this weekend?

Also, I forgot something very bookish from last week--after having attended the very first preview of the stage musical of Armisted Maupin's Tales of the City, Jon and I and our friend Mike attended the closing night performance ten weeks later, last Sunday.  What a difference!  Everything had pulled together so terrifically during the course of the run!  And, Armisted and Christopher were there, of course, so I got to say hello to them.  They're always lovely.  I swear, I will blog about the show some day.  Last night, Jon and I caught the Turtle Island String Quartet at Yoshi's.  Not bookish, but very entertaining!

This week I'm looking forward to seeing my friend David Liss come through San Francisco on tour for his new novel, The Twelfth Enchantment, which goes on sale tomorrow.  I haven't read it yet, so no review, I'm afraid.  But once I've purchased a copy, I'll try to get to it fast.  I've been looking forward to this one for a while!  And I had the pleasure of chatting with David about the novel while we were both in New York last month.  I'll be posting that interview tomorrow.  For local readers, David will be at Book Passage on Wednesday, August 10th and M is for Mystery on Thursday, August 11th.  I haven't decided which to attend.  Anyone want to come with? 

Did you see the video I posted of Chris Moore and Ian Corson last week?  Chris posted a link on Facebook and suddenly hundreds and hundreds of people swung by the blog.  Thousands of page views.  Oh, so that's what it's like to have readers, LOL.  David Liss, please send your rabid fan base over here tomorrow.  I'll be waiting.

And, I don't want to get you guys too excited, but I'm posting a review of an AWESOME debut novel on Wednesday.  It's something completely different.  Should I tell you?  Okay I will.  It's Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

On a personal note, so many of you have kindly inquired about my sister.  She finally seems to be recovering from her surgery, and there will be no follow-up operations.  This is excellent news!  Thanks to all for your very kind concern.  And on that note...

The Leftovers
by Tom Perotta
Release date: August 30, 2011
Source: Paper galley, gift from Nicole

Talk about leftovers--this book is a leftover I forgot to include on last week's list.  It's one of the buzzier books of the fall, and I'm quite curious to read it.  I'm just not sure what I'm going to think of it.  We shall see.

Zone One
by Colson Whitehead
Release date: October 18, 2011
Source: Paper galley via Amazon Vine program

For a girl who "doesn't like zombies," this will be the fourth zombie novel I'll have read in the past year.  But I'm quite excited to read this one!  I love the current trend of major literary novelists taking on plot-driven genre literature.  This is another buzzy fall title--and it will be out just in time for Halloween.

The Accident
by Linwood Barclay
Release date: August 9, 2011
Source: Paper galley via Amazon Vine program

I've been wanting to read a Barclay novel for a while now.  This one seems to have had a "ripped from the headlines" inspiration.  From what I've read, the plot seems reminiscent of that tragic accident when a woman killed herself and several children in the car while drunk driving, but her husband and people in her life were unaware of a drinking problem.  Of course, in a thriller writer's hands, I'm sure there's more to the story than a domestic tragedy.

Pigeon English
by Stephen Kelman
Release date: July 19, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

So, did anyone notice that the Man Booker longlist was announced a couple of weeks ago?  So I thought I'd read a couple books off the longlist, starting with this one.  God, I hate written dialect.  Seriously, if you choose to read a novel called Pigeon English, you just have no room to complain.  Full review soon.

LA Mental
by Neil McMahon
Release date: September 27, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

James Rollins sez: “As much a mind game as it is thriller, a scientific puzzle buried in a murder mystery, all set against the surreal world of Hollywood filmmaking. . . . I can’t wait for the next book!”  Well, that's enough for me!  (No it isn't.  But I got the straight dope from that well known blurb 'ho Rollins, and he said read it.)

Showstopper
by Abigail Pogrebin
Release date: May 31, 2011
Source:  Kindle purchase

This isn't a book, it's what's called a "Kindle Single."  It's basically a really long magazine article and it generally costs about $2.  This was an example of Amazon doing brilliant targeting on me.  Once I saw the cover, I couldn't resist.  Today, Abigail Pogrebin is a respected journalist, but 30 years ago when she was 16, she was one of the teenagers in the original Broadway cast of the much maligned Sondheim flop Merrily We Roll Along, which closed after 16 performances.  This is not only her recollections of the show, but how the experience effected her, and much more.  Very interesting!


Books finished this past week:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
LA Mental by Neil McMahon


Currently Reading:

As yet undecided...


So, what have you guys been reading?  What books have you acquired this week?  I'd love to hear in the comments!

Mailbox Monday: Oy, three weeks late edition

Happy Monday, one and all.  How much do you love this mailbox?  It's a lobster trap.  It feels appropriately summery--unlike San Francisco, where high temps last week hovered in the upper 50's.  Please let this week get warmer!

I am finally back from my travels, and, as you can see, blogging again.  I have a lot more to write about Thrillerfest, and I'm trying to catch up on my book reviews.  Normally, I'm behind with my reading.  At the moment, I've been reading up a storm.  Unfortunately, I haven't been writing the reviews.  I'm more than a dozen behind, so that's a problem.  But look for them to start appearing this week, okay?

In other news, my voice is beginning to recover from T-fest.  So sad to have such delicate vocal chords.  Clearly, I should spend more time typing and less time talking.  And I have a lot of typing to do this morning.  I haven't posted a Mailbox Monday post in three weeks.  You can guess how many books I've acquired in a three-week period.  Plus, there was another Audible.com audiobook sale, and you know that I can't resist them!  So, we'll see how far we get before I give up.  Anything that I can't get to will have to roll over to next week.

Only Time Will Tell

by Jeffrey Archer

Release date:  August 30, 2011

Source:  Amazon Vine

This is how you can tell I'm a child of the 70's.  I keep hoping Jeffrey Archer's going to write another Kane & Abel.  I did so love those classic novels.  This one is apparently going to be the first in a series, a family saga.  My hopes aren't really that high, but this should be reasonably enjoyable nonetheless.

Dominance

by Will Lavender

Release date: July 5, 2011

Source: Amazon Vine

Yes, another copy.  Someone's going to get it.

The Vault
by Boyd Morrison
Release date: July 5, 2011
Source: Finished hardback from publisher

I love it when publishers send em books that I'm dying to get my hands on!  However, this one didn't stay in my hands for long.  It was last week's giveaway.  I suspect another copy will be coming my way soon...

No Rest for the Dead
Various authors
Release date: July 5, 2011
Source: Finished hardback from publisher

This was a surprise from the kind folks at Simon and Schuster.  I hadn't heard of this book before it arrived in the mailbox.  It's one of those collective novels, where each chapter is written by a different novelist building on what's come before. The list of contributors is impressive indeed. Among the 26 authors are: Alexander McCall Smith, Sandra Brown, Faye Kellerman, J.A. Jance, Jeffery Deaver, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline, and Jeff Lindsay.   I'll be honest, I generally like the idea of these things better than the execution, but hope springs eternal.  The book is short, starry, and in my house, so I'm going to read it.  I'll let you know how it is.

Overbite
by Meg Cabot
Release date: July 5, 2011
Source: Finished hardback from publisher

Ms. Cabot has moved from Princess Diaries to vampires.  That seems like a logical progression.  Sorry, can't give this away here.  I know someone who is desperate to get her hands on it.

Betrayal of Trust
by J.A. Jance
Release date: July 5, 2011
Source: Finished hardback from publisher

Wow, this is the 20th book in the series.  Impressive longevity!  I'm unlikely to jump into the series at this point, no matter how good the books are.  A likely future giveaway.

Killer Move
by Michael Marshall
Release date: June 28, 2011
Source: Finished hardback from publisher

I'm not familiar with Michael Marshall, but the description of this book is really enticing.  Much more so than the cover, I'm afraid.  Is it just me?  I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing this one soon!

The Map of Time
by Felix J. Palma
Release date: June 28, 2011
Source: finished hardback from publisher

This book, on the other hand, has a beautiful cover.  And, I read my galley of it from cover to cover within the past few weeks.  I haven't written the review yet, but the short version is that after some early misgivings, I found this book to be truly delightful, and am looking forward to the next book in the trilogy!  I would give away my galley copy here, but it's a little too well-read for you guys.  (I like to give you clean, unread books.)  Your loss is the face-to-face book group's gain. 

French Lessons
by Ellen Sussman
Release date: July 5, 2011
Source: Galley from publisher

Does this look familiar?  Oh yes, it's this week's giveaway that no one is entering.  What I've seen of this book is completely delightful.  Man, y'all are tough to give free books too!  Perhaps once I get video of the author up on the blog...  Sorry for the delay.  There aren't enough hours in the weekend.

Excavation
by James Rollins
Release date: March 1, 2011
Source: Gift from author

This is a newly reissued copy of this novel.  Jimbo's earliest novels are finally being released in hardback, one a year.  This particular title is special to both of us, as it is the book that brought the two of us together 11 years ago, and incident that we still frequently laugh over.  Jimbo bought this copy for me at the Mysterious Bookshop while we were in NY and nicely inscribed it for me.  Thank you, Jimbo!  You know I love all your books!

Adrenaline
by Jeff Abbott
Release date: July 1, 2011
Source:  Thrillerfest tote bag

Yes, I received a lovely finished hardback of this current bestseller in my T-fest tote bag.  Score!  I've heard nothing but good things about it.

End of Days
by Robert Gleason
Release date: August 30, 2011
Source: Thrillerfest tote bag

This galley was the other title in my tote bag.  I haven't really had a chance to look it over properly yet, but the cover is certainly an eye-catcher!

Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon
Release date: 6/28/1992
Source: Thrillerfest giveaway

I now have a Kindle, audiobook, and paper copy of this book on hand.  I am rapidly running out of excuses not to read it--except for the fact that it's 896 pages long!  Should I move it up on the TBR list?

The Crown
by Nancy Bilyeau
Release date: January 10, 2012
Source: Thrillerfest giveaway

The debut author of this forthcoming period thriller was signing galleys at T-fest.  I heard her speak on a panel regarding historic fiction, and I look forward to checking the book out.

Rebirth
by Sophie Littlefield
Release date: July 19, 2011
Source: The novel's editor

Adam gifted me a copy of the galley of Rebirth while we were at Thrillerfest, and Sophie kindly signed it.  Guess what?  It's going to be this week's giveaway!  As it happens, I finally read this book over the weekend, and I loved it.  And not just because we're friends.  I'll be posting a review within the next 24 hours.

Luminarium
by Alex Shakar
Release date: August 23, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

I already have a paper galley of this one that I was looking forward to reading, but having an electronic copy as well just moves it that much higher on my TBR list.  You guys may have noticed that I like reading books in multiple formats--often at the same time.

Birds of Paradise
by Diana Abu-Jaber
Release date: September 6, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

Here's another book I have in paper.  It was one of the titles I was most excited to grab at BEA, as I am a fan of the author.  There are so many great books to read before fall, I barely know where to begin!

The Prague Cemetery
by Umberto Eco
Release date: November 8, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

Shameful confession:  I have never finished an Eco novel.  I tried to read Foucault's Pendulum years ago, but it defeated me.  I can probably count on the fingers of one hand writers who were too challenging for me:  Eco, Pynchon, Dostoevsky.  Those are the only three I can think of, and I haven't attempted to read any of them in years.  I've been intimidated.  It's time to conquer my fear.  Mr. Eco, we've got a date this fall!

The Twilight of Lake Woebegotten
by Harrison Geillor
Release date: October 4, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

Some readers may recall that I read the first book in this series, The Zombies of Lake Woebegotten, because it was a gift from the publisher.  Despite being neither a fan of Prairie Home Companion nor zombies (all evidence to the contrary), I thought the book was a hoot!  That is why, after refusing to read or view anything written by Stephanie Meyers, I will read this book.  What will the pseudonymous Mr. Geillor satirize next?  I can't wait to see!

Ghost Lights
by Lydia Millet
Release date: October 24, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

I have never read Ms. Millet, have you?  The description of this novel sounded interesting, and the page count sounded short.  It seemed like the perfect introduction to the work of an author I hope I'll like. 



Okay, we're already at 20 books.  Let's save the dozen Audible.com titles for next week, shall we?

Books finished within the past few weeks:

I can barely remember them all, but here are a few titles...
Rebirth by Sophie Littlefield
Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
Charlie All Night by Jennifer Cruisie (red-eye flight reading)
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder
Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Blood of the Reich by William Dietrich
Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

Books I'm currently reading:

Machine Man by Max Barry
Dominance by Will Lavender
Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (Yes, Nicole, I'm reading my first Murakami.  I'm totally lost, but the writing is gorgeous!)

So, what books have come into your home?  What have you been reading?