Kaiju Winter | Jake Bible

Summary:

The supervolcano underneath Yellowstone Park is about to erupt. The United States is barely able to hold on to its identity as a country while shipping civilians to other countries. Some people think to use the chaos to their advantage while others just want to get out of the ash. Everyone's plans, however, are derailed when, instead of lava, giant monsters start pouring out of the earth.

Review:

If you don't take this book too seriously, it is an absolute joy to read. I'm not sure this is what the author intended, but I loved it for all the same reasons I loved Deep Blue Sea, it was worthy of ScyFy channel movie status. There is very little science involved or thought given to the "why" of things. Instead, the focus is on the human reaction, following the interconnected stories of a handful of people in this impossible situation. I'll be picking up the next book in the series, and not just because I love stories about giant monsters. This series promises to be a lot of fun and has clearly had a lot of energy put into it. 4 hoots!

                Hoot! Hoot!

                Hoot! Hoot!

Autumn Fire by Tom Wither

My reaction at the end of Autumn Fire is very similar to my reaction at the end of it's precursor, The Inheritor: There had better be another book in the works!

Autumn Fire picks up where the The Inheritor leaves off. The American East Coast is without power in millions of homes and offices. Aziz is still pulling all the strings and is close to completing his plans. Thompson of the NSA is having issues dealing with the self-imposed guilt from providing incorrect information that cost many lives. Agent Johnson of the FBI is being called back to Saudi Arabia to follow up on the arrest of the man they interrogated. And The Wraiths are stationed in the States to help train National Guardsmen. Then the next attacks hit!

This book hits you with problem after problem in a way that makes you empathize with the feelings of helplessness that the main characters feel. Once that is established, Wither makes sure you also feel their pride when they accomplish something, their relief when they succeed, etc. The characters in Autumn Fire are easy to relate with, even the lesser characters. At one point I was actually yelling because I was worried that one of my favorite characters was going to die.*

Like The Inheritor, Autumn Fire also gives more insight into the workings of Saudi Arabian politics and culture. Little things that we may consider innocent, asking how one's family is doing, are considered rude "Family is an intensely private matter here, spoken of only among other family members."** While other things we consider rude, such as invading a person's personal space, is seen as customary "[t]he last thing he needed now was to appear evasive or give the appearance of having something to hide by backing away..."*** Moreover, it is the establishment of respectful relationships that results in what success the main characters to achieve.

Probably my biggest concern with this book was that there seemed to be significantly more detailed violence than in the first book. This could be because there were more deaths in this book, while The Inheritor had more focus on the actual energy infrastructure, but some of the details about the effects of the specialized Wraith weaponry seemed...excessive. They definitely got the point across about Wraith weapons being more powerful than standard issue weapons. They also served the purpose of showing how dedicated the Jihad's were to continue in spite of these grievous wounds, but it was a bit much for me. The only other problem for me was that, because I received a digital proof and not a final copy, I came across several spelling errors that were distracting from the story, but I trust Turner Publications to have these corrected for the final product.

There were several times, while reading, that I had to tell my husband not to bug me because I did not want to stop reading. The ending itself left me wanting more, hence my reaction stated above. I greatly enjoyed Autumn Fire and wish it well in its upcoming release, September 9, 2014. I also encourage you to pick up your own copy, especially if you have read the first book, The Inheritor. If not, please see my earlier review. All in all, I give Autumn Fire 4 hoots and cannot wait for the next book!

Hoot!Hoot!

Hoot!Hoot!

*Whether (s)he did or not, I will not say. I don't deal in spoilers.
**Page 363 in the digital proof.
***Page 325 in the digital proof.
****This book was provided, in digital format, by Turner Publishing. This does not have an effect on my review.

The Inheritor by Tom Wither

To quickly summarize my reaction to this book, let me just say I found it agonizingly engaging. What I mean by this is that The Inheritor by Tom Wither left me shaking and jittery when I had to put it down because I wanted to keep reading it!

I was worried, at first, because I normally don't care for government agency books, but I was pleased to find an exception to this rule. Wither's methods for introducing the main characters was very well done. Some of the introductions were more pedestrian, Emily is starting out in the office, Agent Johnson is looking for a promotion. Then we get Lieutenant Matthews, called into a seemingly straight forward mission, only to be wondering right away what went wrong. All the while we get snippets of a man behind-the-scenes with a computer. 

There were times when I felt Wither was giving more of a treatise on American Government/Politics in his expositions. Some of the back stories seem more like an essay on "how things are" instead of pushing the story forward, but after the first few chapters this habit because significantly less needed and the writing focuses more on the here-and-now.

The story itself is quite interesting. Breaking down America's energy infrastructure without publicly announcing any hatred against the US until well after your plans have taken place. It's quite intelligent and meant that none of the intelligence agencies were looking for the bad guy. It was only through sheer serendipity that they get any information leading to The Inheritor, and even that is circumstantial evidence. Meanwhile you have a "ghost" of the KGB organizing and implementing The Inheritor's plans. 

On top of all of it, there are the natural emotional reactions to consequences of The Inheritor's plans. It doesn't help to read about one or two of the casualty's family lives. And with memories of terrorist attacks still in our memories, reading about people running towards the explosions looking to help and people walking around in shock are all-to realistic. There is also a lot of empathy for frustrated characters, "Cain could do nothing more than read about it and feel frustrated." We've all felt completely helpless when we hear of mass shootings, explosions, fires, natural disasters, etc. 

But along with this humanization of casualties, you also get to see a humanity behind the terrorists carrying out the work. Ahmad is first seen in his house with his wife and children. He does this for his religion, but also for them, "They would sleep in a safer world after today." He is also the first to tell us "warriors do not kill women" as he is selecting his targets for the random shootings. In fact, during that phase of the plan, no women or children were killed. There are also several passage that back up my assertion never to trust a rich a "holy man". 

Now, there are also several parts of this book that remind you that not all Muslims are terrorists. When Agent Johnson is in Saudi Arabia he is told, "You should see what our people are like while you are here." While few of the Saudi armed forces appreciate an American presence, an understanding of their culture does help. Johnson's informal request, that very nearly gets him fired, is greatly appreciated by Akeem, the Saudi who is working with him. Probably the most telling of the differences between American and Arab cultures is on page 259, with the explanation of the phrase "Insha'Allah", "if it is Allah's will". In the US, we very much like the idea of being in charge of our own lives. In the Arab world, lives are dictated by the will of Allah, and so you should not fret if things don't go how you wished, for Allah still has your best interests in mind. While I am not a Muslim, I do like this philosophy. 

Overall, I find this book to be very engaging, very real, and I highly recommend it. I give it 4.5 Hoots.

Hoot!Hoot!

Hoot!Hoot!

Hoo!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher