Book Review: Seed by Ania Ahlborn

This is a review of the Kindle version.

The author has a pretty good grasp on the story, dialogues and the settings, resulting in one of the best horror books out there.

One possible loophole could be that the family dog does not deduct the change in the personality of one of the characters. When the dog does so, it happens quite late in the book. I thought this to be significant, as the author makes quite a number of references to horror movies, X-Files and Stephen King's Stand.

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Another thing that stuck me is that towards the end of the story, police arrive at the family's house and question couple of the family members. One of the family members must have been in the police records for couple of killings that took place in the past. But the police never mention that and the author makes no indication of the fact that they know about that either. I won’t reveal anymore, but suffice to say that it struck me as odd...

Other than these minor gripes, I was quite enthralled by the book from start to end, with some parts being particularly gripping.

Definitely recommended for fans of Horror/Supernatural genre.

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Book Review: The Firm by John Grisham

This book is very good in terms of character development and the way Grisham moves the story forward.

The story starts with a young law school graduate, Mitch McDeere who is being interviewed for his new job with Bendini, Lambert and Locke, a small tax law firm based in Memphis. He bags a great job offer with loads of perks/bonuses. He moves in with his wife Abby into the new apartment and also gets a flashy new BMW, both provided by his new employer at lower mortgage and on a new lease respectively.

Soon, couple of Mitch's colleagues die in a “mysterious” accident. Mitch is intrigued to learn of a few more unsettling truths about the firm. Mitch hires his own detective, Eddie Lomax to investigate these discrepancies. Shortly, Lomax gets murdered and a FBI agent starts hounding Mitch.

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The plot quickly escalates to a cat-and-mouse chase between Mitch and his employer's goons. Mitch has few confidantes besides Abby: his brother Ray and Lomax's secretary, Tammy.

Grisham paces the story nicely and the reader is sucked into the proceedings, just like Mitch. The only downside is that I found it to be a little bit lengthy.Other than this, the book scores on all fronts.

Recommended for fans of legal thrillers.

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Book Review: A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert M. Sapolsky

Dr. Sapolsky with one of his favorite baboons 

Easily, one of the best books I have ever read so far.

Dr.Sapolsky is a great writer, in addition to being an extraordinary primatologist and scientist. His book A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life among the Baboons is a class act and should be read by any nature or animal lover. 

Even though Dr.Sapolsky has been a big fan of Mountain Gorillas since his childhood, his academic pursuits forced him to choose a different species as the subject of his studies.

The book chronicles not only his work on baboons, but also his cultural experiences in Africa. He has a sharp sense of humor and is quite liberal in using it while writing this book. The resulting work is one of the funniest books I have ever read. And to top it, one will never find this book in the humor section of any bookstore (online or otherwise).

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Dr. Sapolsky has been spending few months every year (for the past 3 decades) with a group of wild baboons in Africa study the sources of stress among the baboons. He discovered that baboons suffer similar psychological and social tumult created by their own species, very similar to humans.

A baboon's canines are bigger than those of a lion!

But baboons are not the only ones to receive Sapolsky's attention. His assistants, Richard and Samwelly are only a few of the humans Dr. Sapolsky dwells on in great detail in this book.

There are numerous occasions on which the author comes close to getting killed, in his scientific pursuits. He hikes rides on Lorries, vans, jeeps among other types of land transportation and these journeys are some of the most amusing accounts of road trips put on paper. His descriptions of the various scams perpetrated by the corrupt officials on unsuspecting foreigners/tourists are by themselves worth the price of the book.

Finally, the book details the lives of the baboons as only the author can. As one of the world’s foremost authorities on baboons, Dr. Sapolsky’s book is an eye-opener for anyone who has not had the chance to appreciate the complex yet emotionally rich lives of these primates.

Some of Dr. Sapolsky’s favorite baboons include Saul, Joshua and Benjamin. The final scene in the book is that of Dr. Sapolsky, his wife and Joshua eating cookies and enjoying the beauty of nature. Truly a fitting end to a timeless masterpiece from a peerless writer.

Dr.Sapolsky and his work is also featured in the National Geographic Documentary Stress - Portrait of a Killer. Click here to visit the official website for the documentary.

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Book Review: Meg: Primal Waters by Steve Alten

This is a review of the Kindle version.

This installment in the Meg series deals with Jonas and his daughter Danielle participating in a top-rated reality TV show “Daredevils”. In a separate plot thread, Terry Taylor investigates whale beachings off Vancouver Island.

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Michael Maren has masterminded his latest scheme using the titular Meg “Angel” to off the Taylors. Does he succeed?

Steve Alten, the author

This books entertains. No doubt.

Having said that, it takes liberties with science. All fishes/monsters in this book are super-sized. There are lot of descriptions of “747 sized fins”, “cave sized mouth”, “truck sized head” and so on. I guess the author knows how to sell his wares!

I like sharks and did enjoy this book.

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Book Review: Meg: Origins by Steve Alten

This is a review of the Kindle version.

Hey, if Hollywood can do it, so can Steve Alten! 

So here is the “Origins” story for Jonas Taylor and Megs. Megheads, as Steve Alten likes to calls them, will devour this one. That's for granted. As for newcomers to the series, Alten would be hoping this book should make them a Meghead.

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He even provides some content from the first book in the Meg series in the hope that readers would fall hook, line and sinker for his series. Will they? That remains the million-dollar question, as Steve continues his never-ending quest to get the Meg series made into a multi-million dollar Hollywood movie franchise.

Steve Alten, the author

Steve even mentions Summer 2013 as the probable release date for the Meg movie. Here's rooting for your Steve. Hope that Meg movie gets released soon. 

As for the book, we meet a younger Jonas Taylor as he prepares to go deep down in the Mariana Trench. Jonas meets a really big Shark that exceeds 60 ft in length and is about to swallow his submarine. And what happens next? You will have to read the book to find out. Just kidding! Jonas Taylor is the main protaganist in the Meg series and he does make it through.

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Book Review: As the Twig is Bent: A Matt Davis Mystery by Joe Perrone Jr

This is a review of the Kindle version.

The character of the main protagonist, Matt Davis is very well fleshed out. We get to know him really well. Joe Perrone Jr knocks this one out of the park.

The crime mystery itself is passable without any major twists and stands nowhere near the complex mysteries of Agatha Christie.

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The book contains couple of instances of very explicit descriptions of adult content. Parents would be highly advised to peruse the book, before introducing the book to kids.

Still, a recommended reading for the way the character of Matt Davis has been developed.

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Book Review: DRACULAS (A Novel of Terror) by Jeff Strand

This is a review of the Kindle version.

To me, this is one of the best vampire stories with well-fleshed out characters, great action scenes and a mix of humor and romance thrown in for good measure. As mentioned in the book preface, this is not about teenaged heartthrobs. This is the old-school, hard-hitting Vampire story that does not take any prisoners.

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On the downside, the story itself is over before the half-way point. The remaining half of the book is spent on interviews with the authors and previews for other books by these authors. While I have nothing against self-promotion, spending more than half the book pages on stuff other than the main story is a bit too much, in my honest opinion.

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Book Review: Autobiography of a Werewolf Hunter by Brian P Easton

This is a review of the Kindle version.

This, my friends is one of the best Werewolf books out there. Brian P. Easton is bang on the target and delivers plenty of Werewolf Action. Equally thrilling are a couple of encounters between the main protagonist and a hulking bounty hunter. The first one of these encounters comes out of nowhere and will catch the reader totally unawares. 

The story deals with an individual, who loses his near and dear ones to Werewolves and is hell-bent on getting vengeance. He gets trained by a spiritual mentor and this section of the book really delivers. His first werewolf kill is as exhilarating to the reader as it to the protagonist himself.

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The protagonist's encounter with a huge werewolf in Russia is another section of the book, where Easton scores big time.

The book has a lot of other action sequences that are as good as this, if not better.

Best parts of the book: The description of the main protagonist's training, his encounters with the bounty hunter and of course, for the superbly-crafted werewolf action scenes.

Highly recommended for all fans of the Werewolf genre and/or horror genre.

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Book Review: Intensity by Dean Koontz

I read Dean Koontz's Phantoms and then came to this book. Perhaps, Phantoms set the bar too high or maybe I am more of a fan of horror/supernatural genre than of suspense genre. Either way, Intensity failed to hold my attention till the end.

Chyna Shephard is visiting the family of her friend, Laura Templeton. Chyna had endured a tough childhood, marked predominantly by a lack of parental care and is very happy when she is provided warmth and acceptance by her friend's family. Her joy is short-lived, when an intruder breaks into the house and quickly proceeds to kill her hosts.

Consumed with rage and grief, Chyna sets out to avenge and jumps aboard the killer's vehicle. Soon the killer is aware of her presence and takes her to his house. In addition to the killer, Chyna has to contend with a pack of trained vicious Dobermann pinschers.

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The starting is good. The middle secton is OK. Then it kind of got repetitive. I just lost interest and skipped to the end of the book.

I would recommend Phantoms to any reader looking for their first Dean Koontz book to savor.

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Book Review: Phantoms by Dean Koontz

This is a review of the Kindle version.

This is the first book by Dean Koontz that I have read.

The protagonists, Lisa and Jennifer Pailey, return to their home town, only to find that the town is mostly deserted. As their investigations slowly start revealing the extent and the cause of this situation, help arrives from outside. Soon, a small band of survivors is formed, setting up the stage for the inevitable showdown with an unique breed of evil.

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Great setup. Excellent character development. Best of all, an exciting and engrossing horror story.

I also liked Koontz's references to Lord of the Rings (a character named “Underhill”) and Batman (characters named “Isley” and “Arkham”).

Highly recommended for fans of the horror genre and/or readers interested in Dean Koontz's works.

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