Book Review - The Immortality Virus - Christine Amsden

Title:      The Immortality Virus  

Author:  Christine Amsden

Review:  I read this in two days and felt it was a good book.  I could visualize the depressing world the Earth had become, lack of resources and greed had taken over.  The book progressed well and my only complaint was that it seemed to drag, just a bit, in the middle.  But, I wanted to know what was going to happen so I trudged through.  It kept me interested and reading with a kick butt detective and her search for why the world had gone to hell in a hand basket.

This book is set in the future where no one dies of old age anymore.  Everyone looks about 25 and only die from accidents and viruses that are still around.  The problem is the overpopulation this has caused.  People fill the street starving and homeless.  The rich and wealthy have everything they need and the rest of society is trying to catch a bone, the middle class is virtually nonexistent.

The author paints a dark world that I would not want to live in or raise children in.  Hunger, poverty and homelessness abound in her world.  She let us see what a shame immortality could be if everyone had it.  A dead body, found on the street, was fair game to anyone who came across it, hungry children and desperate adults rule this world.  The future was bleak and that led this detective to her next job, the one that could be her last.

This book is imaginative and quick to read.  If you enjoy urban futuristic stories you will enjoy this.  The author even mixed in a tiny bit of romance that always makes life worth living and books worth reading.  I hope the future is better than this.

First chapter preview here.

 

Publisher:  June 2011 Twilight Times Books

Copyright: 2011

Pages:  268   

ISBN: 9781606190

Quick Review:  3 1/2 Stars out of 5.

Why I Read it:  The author was looking for bloggers to review her book.

Where I Obtained the Book:  The author sent me the Kindle version.

Synopsis:  In the mid-21st century, the human race stopped aging. Those who know why aren't talking, and the few who are brave enough to ask questions tend to disappear. To an elite few, The Change means long life and health, but to the increasing masses, it means starvation, desperation, and violence.

Four centuries after The Change, Grace Harper, a blacklisted P.I., sets off on a mission to find the man responsible for it all and solicit his help to undo The Change – if he's still alive. To complicate matters, Grace's employer is suspected of murdering his father, and when the police learn of their connection, they give her a choice – help them find the evidence they need to convict Matthew Stanton, or die. But if they discover Grace's true mission, they won't hesitate to kill her in order to protect their shot at immortality.

Author Biography:  I have been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as I can remember. I love to write and it is my dream that others will be inspired by this love and by my stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. I write primarily about people and it is in this way that I strive to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

I was born in St. Louis but moved to the Kansas City area with my husband in 2004. My husband, Austin, is my biggest fan and has been the key to my success. We have one child; a son, Drake. Two orange tabby cats, Kosh and Delenn, complete our family and demand the rest of my attention.

Other Reviews:

Books and Things

A Sea of Books

I will be interviewing this author tomorrow and the author will be giving away a copy of her book at the Easter Hop, come back tomorrow.  Thanks

Book Review - Time Keepers - Running Blind and The Beast Within

Title:      Time Keepers – Running Blind part one and The Beast Within part two  

Author:  Nicki J Markus

Review:  This is a short work, there’re each about 10 pages long.  It reads very fast and flows well.   The story starts out strong and keeps you interested.  I would have liked it to have been in longer segments.  I felt cheated when I only got ten pages, I barely had time to get excited about the story and characters before it was over.  But, don’t let this discourage you, I enjoyed the two segments and look forward to the next one to see what happens to Nick and Ash.

It’s paced well and the two segments ended with you hanging wanting to know what the heck is going to happen.  I would love to see this released all together once it is all out.  I think the author has an interesting story that will keep you reading, I hope the rest are as grabbing as the first two are.  This is set in the future at a time that the world is aware of paranormal creatures, but just a bit wary of them still.

Thank you Nicki for allowing me this opportunity and I wish you luck in the future with your writing.  As with all my reviews I do not know the author personally nor did I receive any compensation for my time and review.

 

Publisher:  Wicked Nights (March 3, 2011)

Copyright: 2011

Pages:  45 KB   

ASIN: B004QOAVUA

Quick Review:  31/2 Stars out of 5.

Why I Read it:  The author was looking for bloggers to review her book.

Where I Obtained the Book:  The author sent it to me on PDF, I read it on my Kindle.

Synopsis:  Running Blind:  Please Note: This work is under 4000 words. It seems like any ordinary day as Nick waits for the train, but then a chance encounter with a young woman turns his world upside down. What is it that she is running from and will helping her jeopardise his own secret, making him a target too?

The Beast Within:  Please note: This work is under 4000 words and part of the Time Keepers Series. With Nick's secret now exposed, he and Ellie must run for their lives, pursued by the Governor and his Time Keepers. Will they be able to stay hidden or is their time nearly up?

Author Biography:  Nicki J Markus is 28 years old. Born in England, she now lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her fiancé. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages. She has completed a BA (hons) English with French from the University of Greenwich, London and a PGDip in Translation from the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Nicki J Markus launched her writing career in 2010. She writes a variety of non-fiction articles for Suite101.com and some of her fiction work has recently been accepted for ebook publication by Wicked Nights Publishing and Silver Publishing.

In her spare time, Nicki J Markus also enjoys many other creative pursuits including music, theatre, photography, sketching andweb-design. She also has a keen interest in history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling and travel.

Come back Nicki will be giving away the first segment on Friday ARC Giveaway.

Other Reviews:

 Double Shot Reviews

Paranormal Options

Sunday Recap of the Week

Sunday recap is a look at the books we reviewed this week.  We would love to hear what you thought about these books and about our reviews.  Did you think we missed an important point?  What stood out to you?  Will you read them or have you?  Thanks for looking.

   I enjoyed this book here is the review.

   I enjoyed this book and here is the review, authors interview, and giveaway link.

  The link to this review.
   
  Monday mailbox add-on.  I received another 7 books in the mail this week.  The 17 Day Diet, Save Your Marriage in 5 mins a day, Brandon Marlow and the spirit catchers, The Baby Planner, Ghellow Road, The Breakout Novelist and Tristan and Isolde.  Three for the Kindle also, Aching for Marvin,  Mocked By Destiny and Sugar and Spice.  I need a month to get through these alone.  I also mailed two books out for our winners.  A busy week for the mail. 

Book Review - Apple Turnover Murder- Joanne Fluke

Title:      Apple Turnover Murder

Author:  Joanne Fluke

Review:  Are you hungry?  In my effort to try more “local” authors I perused the mystery section of my local library and “discovered” a Minnesota series by Joanne Fluke.  Going through my cozy checklist I find all the elements present – lovable heroine who is smarter than people think, quirky family, multiple love interests that she can’t quite commit to, a small town filled with interesting characters, and a murder rate on par with Deadwood.  But this book added a relatively new element (for me) found in a lot of modern cozies – a overall twist found throughout the series.  In Fluke’s case her heroine is a baker, and as such she takes every opportunity to work though her problems by baking a variety of desserts.  All recipes are found throughout the book complete with cooking instructions.

The more cynical side of me thinks she just does this as space filler because the books are too short, but the recipes are worked into the narrative quite well (no clunky segues) and you find yourself getting hungry reading them.  Though I would like to see if she ever makes a treat and have the characters in the book go “God that was just awful.”  The mystery proper was okay and this happens to be the number 13 in a series of 15 so far.  Once you are familiar with the basic format of a cozy, it was no problem to step in that far into the series and no what was going on.  That said if I revisit this series I will definitely start back at book one because that is how I am.

So if you like cozy or like to bake desserts this series will do you proud.  If you like doing both, then these books should be canonized right next to your Bible.  Most of the location plot could have taken place in any small town and was not very Minnesota specific (i.e. the reason I picked up the book to begin with).  For a stronger Minnesota experience be sure to read John Sandford or Julie Kramer.

Publisher:  Kensington Publishing

Copyright: 2010

Pages:  292 pages

ISBN:  978-0-758-23489-6

Quick Review:  3 stars

Why I Read it:  I picked it up as a digital book to listen to as I worked on my house remodel, plus it is a Minnesota mystery.

Where I Obtained the Book:  At my local library

Synopsis:  It's June in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and for Hannah Swensen, that means bridal showers galore, plus a massive fundraising event in need of confections—not to mention a killer who never learned that charity begins at home...

Early summer brings plenty of work for Hannah, even before Mayor Bascomb's wife drops by The Cookie Jar to place an order ...for eleven-hundred cookies! Stephanie Bascomb is organizing an elaborate three-day event to support local charities, and though it's a worthy cause, Hannah almost flips when her business partner, Lisa, suggests setting up an apple turnover stand. Hannah's never made a turnover—but, pushover that she is, she places her faith in Lisa's mother-in-law's recipe and agrees to be a magician's assistant in the fundraiser's talent show...

Dozens of pastries and one hideous purple dress later, Hannah has to admit that stepping out of her comfort zone has been fun as well as profitable. The only snag is the show's host, community college professor Bradford Ramsey. Hannah and her younger sister Michelle each had unfortunate romantic relationships with Ramsey, and when the cad comes sniffing around between acts, Hannah tells him off. But when the curtain doesn't go up, she discovers Ramsey backstage—dead as a doornail with a turnover in his hand...

Now, to protect her reputation and Michelle's, Hannah must get to the bottom of the professor's bitter end. There are plenty of scorned suspects, including an ex-wife who feels cheated in more ways than one, and a prominent local who may have been using Ramsey to avenge her own randy spouse. But who was unstable enough to snuff out Professor Love? A killer who's flakier than puffpastry—and far more dangerous...

Includes Over Ten Cookie and Dessert Recipes!

Author Biography:  Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker.

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.

Other Reviews:


Weber Family Blog

Book Reporter

Not Enough Books

ARC Giveaway Friday - Easter Hop #! - Allon by Shawn Lamb

    I'm giving away my review copy of this book, Allon.

Giveaway entries:

1 - Follow the blog and comment with your email address so we can contact you if you win.

Extra entries: 2+ for commenting on Draga and his plans(read yesterdays post)

                       2+ for linking this giveaway on your blog.

                       2+ for Tweeting about this giveaway.  Be sure to tell us and leave a     link in the comment you leave. 

US Shipping only sorry about not getting that in earlier, copy and paste must have missed that part.  Kimberly is the winner of The Extra 2% from last Fridays giveaway.  thanks

Thank You.  Giveaway closes at Midnight on the 17th of April.  Winner announced the 20th at the next giveaway post.