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#BookReview: Arkangel by James Rollins

Solid Sigma Tale. Unlike a certain reviewer who claimed that this was a standalone book, I’m going to tell you right now that you need to read at *least* books 14-17 (ish) before coming into this one in order to fully understand and appreciate it. But once you’ve read those other books, you’re going to want this one anyway… and you *will* appreciate likely the very same things I liked about this book – namely, certain elements of its ending. Which is all I’ll say without going into spoiler territory.

Beyond those ending elements, this is a standard-ish globe trotting Sigma Force action/ thriller, emphasis on the action. And yes, it is about as plausible as the Fast and Furious franchise at this point, but you don’t come into these kinds of tales wanting or expecting the ultra-realism of say Andy Weir’s The Martian. You come into these types of books *wanting* to see the motorcycle vs attack helicopter fights, the desperate and last second escapes from traps of various forms, the ultra close quarters action where blades get left stuck between arm bones… and, yes, with now *two* very well trained war dogs, Tucker and Kane and Marco’s scenes damn near steal the show every time they come up, ala the “motorcycle ride with the raptors” from the first Jurassic World movie that Universal’s Islands of Adventures’ Velocicoaster captures so well with its initial launch. Because *that* is the kind of adrenaline rush you want in a rollercoaster and in a tale like this, and by God James Fucking Rollins is going to give you that in *spades*.

Some people like Hallmarkie romance books. Others like This Is Us level dusty-rooms-every-other-scene dramas. Others like more pure scifi ala the aforementioned Weir or the more scifi based Rollins type action of Jeremy Robinson. Some like their fiction to be ghost chili level damn near erotica spicy, others don’t like reading the word “fuck” at all in anything whatsoever. There are all kinds of books for all kinds of readers, in other words, and if you like the type of book that Rollins continues to write, well, you’re gonna like this one too.

Very much recommended.

This review of Arkangel by James Rollins was originally written on October 1, 2024.

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#BookReview: The Babylon Plot by David Leadbeater

Complex Heroes + *Dark* Villains + Taut Suspense = Winning Combo. While this particular tale almost seems like the ending of at least Phase 1 of these heroes (and you should absolutely start at the beginning of this series, rather than jumping directly into this book), this is also a book that features some of the most complex and complicated heroes I’ve come across in fiction – which is a worthy aim as an author, and one Leadbeater pulls off remarkably well. It also has some of the most brutal, sadistic killers I’ve ever come across in fiction – which is another win, certainly for those who like that particular type of villain. And seriously, from pretty well Page 1, the stakes are sky-high and never really drop, even as different team members get different parts of this particular tale to truly shine in. Truly one of the better crafted team-based adventure series I’ve ever come across. Very much recommended.

This review of The Babylon Plot by David Leadbeater was originally written on October 19, 2023.

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Featured New Release Of The Week: The Memory Man by Steven Savile

This week, we look at an intensely dark and gritty new police procedural story that is intended to launch a new series. This week, we look at The Memory Man by Steven Savile.

This was one of the darkest, grittiest books I’ve read in quite a while. It opens with the brutal torture and murder of a Swedish politician, and it only gets darker from there. All across Europe, we see people getting mailed human body parts with a note demanding a meeting, going to the meeting… and disappearing. Clearly, a serial killer is on the loose. Eurocrimes Division agent Peter Ash, based in London, gets roped into the mystery when his friend, a fixer for the Catholic Church, asks for a favor in Paris. Eurocrimes Division agent Frankie Varga gets roped into it by a mysterious request from someone high in her local government in Sweden asking for her specifically to investigate the murder that opens the book. Along the way, all three will find they are on the exact same case.

Overall, this tale works extremely well in setting the book in the real world with all of its messiness – including brief commentary on the complexities of implementing the impending Brexit split. Each of the characters have an interesting backstory that could work as their own spinoff books, and the overall central mystery is one of those insanely dark tales that unfortunately is plausible enough – while fortunately *not* directly based on any actual known real world events – that the story desperately needs to be told. Sadly, too few authors have the courage to even mention it. Savile manages to string the reader along with just enough reveals and just enough further muddying of the waters to keep the reader engaged, and the short chapters help to compel a sense of both urgency and satisfaction of having completed another chapter.

This reader for one is very much looking forward to Book 2, as this promises to be an excellent new series indeed. Very highly recommended.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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Featured New Release of the Week: Gold by Steven Savile

This week, we feature a book that produced a longer wait between books than even George R. R. Martin is infamous for. This week, we feature a book that I have waited more than SIX YEARS for, and other fans have waited over SEVEN YEARS for. This week, we feature Gold by Steven Savile.

Roughly six years ago, I was introduced to a “Secret World” Facebook book club by an author friend of mine who it turns out I gave the first review of his first book. In this new world, I met several authors and fellow readers alike, and have developed strong friendships with some of them, which is how I met Savile. At the time, one of the main books he was talking about was called SILVER, a story of a diverse team of spies, assassins, and soldiers came together outside the bounds of MI-6, similar to the crew in Mission: Impossible – but even more deadly and with even higher stakes.

SILVER, to this day, remains one of the best thrillers I have ever read and completely changed how I greet news of a new Papal election. It is HIGHLY recommended reading – but not the actual subject of this post.

But after reading SILVER, I wanted Savile to release GOLD post haste. I wanted to see how this story ended, dangit! And I would ask him about it quite frequently at first, petering out over the years until it got to the point where I never mentioned it.

Two weeks ago, Savile made a surprise announcement: GOLD was coming in just two weeks! SEVEN YEARS after the publication of SILVER, the Ogmios team was finally going to conclude their adventure. I was quite shocked to be offered an ARC, but hey, I never turn down those kind of opportunities – particularly not when it is THIS ARC, one of the ones I had hoped to be able to read for so long and was FINALLY getting a chance to.

And y’all, this book has lived up to the anticipation. As good as SILVER was – and it was truly phenomenal – this one may be even better. It has one particular scene in two parts that is the most horrifyingly beautiful scene I have ever read, bar none. It picks up with the fallout from SILVER, and the threats made in SILVER plague our heroes throughout this book as they fight to end this threat once and for all and save as many lives as possible – even as the odds are stacked ever more against them.

I don’t say this often, but this is truly one of those “drop whatever you’re reading and read this book” level books – it is *that* good.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon and YouTube reviews after the jump.
Continue reading “Featured New Release of the Week: Gold by Steven Savile”