Artemis – Andy Weir

I was skeptical when I first heard that Andy Weir was writing another book, like how could he back up after the Martian was such an amazing hit. Since we are all expecting another blockbuster do we then run the risk of over hyping this book and then being utterly disappointed once its released? Heck even cover is made to mirror The Martian. Fortunately I managed to convince myself to approach this in a positive light and while I can’t help but make comparisons to The Martian, this on its own, is a fantastic book. I hope they make a movie of it too.

Andy creates a world slightly more removed from our own, than the world established in The Martian. Yet the concept of a moon base isn’t too far fetched to require that much of a stretch of the imagination. Hell, if there was a moon base i’d move there pronto! I liked the character and the strained relationship with her father. Great believable characters and quite factual in terms of launch site location benefits.

Can’t really reveal more without entering spoiler territory but its a great story and
Hopefully Andy keeps the ball rolling and has plans for a 3rd blockbuster already in the works

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson

Who needs to describe the plot when the massively long title does it for you. But for those of you who hadn’t already figured it out, the story is about a 100 year old man who yes climbed out a window but its a bit more complicated that. Alan (the 100 year old man) is in an old folks home, not really by choice, he was sent there for blowing up his home, but that is a long story. He has a nasty nurse who keeps taking his hidden booze off him, so when he finds out that the old folks home intend to throw a surprise 100th party for him he has had enough and wants out. Being limited in his options and mobility, he decides to climb out the window and run away albeit very slowly since he is 100.

First stop after a sloth like crawl out the window is the nearby bus station, a short walk away for most but for him it was tiring, he approaches the sales person and asks how far he can get for 500 crowns, well its set in Sweden so all the currency is theirs too. Google converter tells me its about 20 bucks. Which seems a far more reasonable amount for a senior to have on them.The money wont get him too far, guess bus travel is expensive over there. So while he waits a few minutes for the bus arrive he sits down. Then a stranger approaches him and asks if he could hold his suitcase while he goes to the bathroom, before Alan can respond the man is off running for the toilet, just as Alan’s bus arrives.

Here is where the story takes an interesting turn, Alan looks at the bus, then looks at the suitcase and pretty much thinks ahh screw it, and takes the suitcase. At the end of the bus journey Alan with the help of a new friend opens the suitcase and discovers it is filled with millions of crowns, not actual crowns of course but the currency used in Sweden, what follows is an hilarious adventure and accidental heroism that would put the Pink Panther or Mr Bean to shame.

A hilarious adventure of Alan avoiding the police looking for him (our of concern) and of the gangsters looking for their money, Along the way Alan gathers new friends including an Elephant. We find out all about Alan’s past including meeting Presidents, Dictators, Secret police. We learn of his albeit almost unbelievable good luck and Alan finds out once again what it means to feel truly alive.

A fantastic read full of laughs

 

 

 

Templar Series – Raymond Khoury

Picked up the first book in this series along time ago but never read it. Didn’t even know it was part of series back then, i just saw it involved the Templars and thought it might be in a similar vane to Da Vinci code.

The Last Templar

The story in the is broken into 2 plot lines. The first set in the modern day world follows on from a heist at The Metropolitan Museum, where men on horseback dressed as Templars steal an artifact and the second plot line is set in the past first starting in 1291 and follows the Templars as they try and hide the artifact, as the city of Acre falls to invaders. Both lines do not initially discuss the nature of the artifact we find that out later.

What follows is very Da Vinci Code style hunt for treasure with Archaeologist Tess Chaykin(who was in the museum when it was robbed) and FBI Sean Reilly which leads them to a shocking discovery about the artifact. Which then leads us to the most disappointing part of the book. Tess talks about her job as an Archaeologist as uncovering the truth and how it is important to let the people decide etc, but then when she discovers what the artifact was she lets it be destroyed because it could upset some religious people, what a joke, a betrayal of her character. I just couldn’t believe this hogwash ending it just felt so wrong it almost turned me off the whole series luckily i persevered

The Templar Salvation

This book follows a similar vane with the same duo from the first book hunting down another Templar artifact. This time with a crazed Iranian hit man after them and the treasure. I never thought i would hope for a terrorist to win but after the bullshit ending in the first book i wanted the terrorist to find the artifact and reveal it to the world which was his intent.  Fortunately when the duo uncover it they too decide to share it and luckily it includes a copy of the artifact lost in the first book so their idiocy was undone

The Devil’s Elixir

I was disappointed to find that  this book goes on a different path and has nothing to do with the Templars. This one deals with figures from Sean’s past coming back to take him down and also to dispense a knew drug to the world with crazy hallucinations properties. I liked this one a lot, i thought it was going to go a bit too crazy with some of its mumbo jumbo but turned out there was a very logical basis for it. Very creative writing by the author.

Rasputin’s Shadow

My favorite book so far, the first book was the authors debut and now 8 years later with this book you can really feel how much the author has come into his own writing style and groove. This is much more structured and has the characters behaving in logical ways. Far better writing to be honest. The plot follows A Russian who is the son of a man very close to Rasputan, as he discovers a shocking secret behind Rasputan’s powers and builds a weapon following designs left by his dad. Realizing its power could be used by the wrong people he destroys it and flees to the US. Now in his last years of life he has been found and begins a race between the US n Russia to capture him and this deadly weapon before it is used

While originally i thought this was a series about Templar knights, its actually about Tess and Sean, which works since they are very like-able people and aside from some stupidity in the first book are quite fun to read. There are some issues from Seans past that are being slowly pieced together over these 4 books and looks like coming to a forefront in the next book. I’m really looking forward to it as i feel the author has come into his stride the characters make logical choices now and the plots and intrigue are just sucking me in each time. This series is very Da Vinci Code like for the first two books and then delves into a more thriller/adventure story as the themes move away from the Templars and focus more on Sean than Tess’s vocation.

Solomon Creed – Simon Toyne

A friend suggested this to me, and while normally she is good with her reading suggestions she has bombed out a few times (she sneakily tries to recommend romance novels or stories with a huge romance plot even though i detest those books). For awhile there she was persistently bugging me to read “Kite Runner” to which i have absolutely no interest in reading. So i thought if i give this one a go it might get her off my back for constantly rejecting her previous suggestion. Grabbed it off her shelf and read the blurb on the back, it was enough to pique my interest so i ordered myself a copy. I’m not a big fan of borrowing books.

A lone survivor of an airplane crash in the desert, ooh i liked it already. Set in Redemption, Arizona, The setting conjured up images of the wild west and John Wayne movies. Solomon, the survivor from that plane crash has amnesia and the only thing he can recall is he feels he was suppose to come save a man. The problem is that man just died. His only other clue is a bible in his pocket, with a handwritten message to him from the man he was suppose to save.

What follows is a two pronged story, we follow Solomon as he tries to unravel who he is and why was he suppose to save a man. The other story follows the towns founder and the story of how he came to find a treasure and found the town. How are these two stories related? Many a time i have looked at a map and wondered why on earth did they build that town there. I also wonder why states have a particular border. “how the states got their shapes” was a great read filling that wonder for me. But on a smaller level this story of the towns founder fills that desire for me.

The Book bounces back and forth between the towns founder story and Solomon’s and sometimes it leaves the founders story right on a cliffhanger. Frustrating as it is, it forces you to read a few more chapters until we return to the founders story

I was really digging the story and couldn’t put it down. At one point catching the train home from work, I was so engrossed in the story i hadn’t realized the train i was on had terminated and was sitting at the station for a good 15 minutes (i later determined) before i had noticed.

All was well until as the plot began to reveal itself to the reader in popped something paranormal. I didn’t even notice it at first and then after a moment i click and went back and re read that part, nope that wasn’t some poor description it was a paranormal object. trying to avoid spoilers here. It was so casually put it there, as if to say so what it happens all the time no big deal. i re read the books genres on Goodreads, fiction, mystery,thriller,crime. Yep no paranormal.

So i just dismissed it as a Macguffen to help along the plot but then as it neared the end, in pops another one. Hmm, i finished the book and while the plots wrapped up nicely i was still a little  bothered about the *insert paranormal object* There is an Epilogue and in it there is a bit of character development that throws a spanner into everything which would well and truly shift this book from thriller,mystery,crime deep into fantasy

It is suppose to be the first in a series of books but i’m yet to determine if i will look out for the second one as this book just really didn’t meet my expectations