404 by J. G. Sandom

404.  J. G. Sandom. Cornucopia Press.  November 2014. 331 pp. paperback and e-book. ISBN #: 9780985695484.

John Decker, a cryptanalyst forensic examiner, is working at the National Counter-Terrorism Center when some violent, strange occurrences begin throughout America.  Right before they begin, a number of crimes happen where the perpetrator is caught on camera and to Decker looks like his old Arab nemesis who was thought to be dead, El Aqrab.  Decker and his family soon become the target and indeed messages seem to be luring Decker into danger and at the same time are compelling him to discovery the mystery behind Aqrab’s reappearance. 

Two planes collide; a nuclear reactor has a disastrous shutdown of its most protective technology; the government’s defense system is easily hacked, and more disasters affecting thousands of Americans lead this country to the brink of physical, political and financial disaster. 

Decker is drawn to receive the help of a Chinese computer expert, Xin Liu (known to all as Lulu).  At the same time Decker’s career is in jeopardy as it is beginning to look like there’s a mole in his department and it looks like it’s him.  This is another mystery as there is a period of his life involving his first encounter with Aqrab when something happened to him that he doesn’t remember.  He actually wonders if he’s going mad.  Lulu helps him to pursue the answers to his multiple questions as his personal life parallels the national disasters growing larger and larger by the minute!  Lulu’s a funky, unpredictable character, is an evolving wonder of a character who easily matches the skills of any expert on computers and martial arts as well!

This novel addresses the well-known, but little understood by the average person, issues of cyber-hacking and cyber-terrorism.  For those who are computer buffs, you’ll be in your glory as there are explanations galore about the technology of hacking and how the Internet keeps systems flowing or breaking throughout the world.  For those not as computer savvy as the experts, there’s enough riveting action and nail-biting intensity with each new level added to the complex plot to keep you flipping the pages and reading faster than you can imagine!

This reviewer has been reviewing J. G. Sandom’s novels over the years and must say this is his BEST story yet.  The most harrowing part of it all is that it’s REAL and we may be closer to this story’s coming to pass than we ever imagined!  It’s not a game at all!  404 is a best-selling crime thriller that is sure to please any reader who loves a great story with layers of depth and thrills.  It would also make one heck of a movie!  Congratulations, J. G. Sandom!  404 is a gem of a read!

The Resting Place: A Graveside Diary by Pamela Little

The Resting Place: A Graveside Diary.  Pamela Little. Soul Custody Press. November 2014. 143 pp.  ISBN#: 9780990784807.

Pamela Little wrote this memoir to put her life in perspective.  Since she was young and suffered from bipolar disease, as well as suffering an abusive trauma in her youth, she’s had an obsession with death.  She’s not afraid of it but finds herself drawn to it.  She therefore decides to begin a journal which she mainly writes only when visiting a cemetery, where she has bought her own plot which she plans to share only with her mother someday.  Initially, it’s the only place she truly feels at peace!

Don’t write off Pamela’s background, for this memoir is replete with gems about living that few people take the time to ponder and appreciate!

A great deal of the account takes place as the author attempts to write through her chemical changes that put her into either a manic or depressive state, exacerbated with panic attacks.  But it is in those places where she sees what has weakened her relationship with her family and acquaintances and what she could possibly do to strengthen them instead of giving in to the compulsions that turn destructive if acted upon.  One doesn’t have to be bipolar to recognize how normal and prevalent these situations are in every family.

The close relationship she shares about her mother and daughters is what fuels her continuous writing of this journal with the goal of being more obsessed with living than dying.  She does just that.  For example, choosing not to give in to binge eating when in the depressed phase of her illness actually allows her freedom and space to grasp what is bothering her behind the surface manifestation of illness.  Choosing to write one’s obituary frees one to realize an opportunity to actually put into practice what few of us actually do, rather than wait until after a loved one’s death when one writes of words, feelings, and thoughts that were never actually shared with a loved one while alive.

Most of all, this account is about realizing how responsible we each are for our own lives, leaving out the blame game that only serves to distort reality!

Cherishing and loving life as it manifests in people, places and events are what fuel the unique quality of this memoir.  It’s a rare and special gift for any and all readers, one to relish and even share with our own families, friends and acquaintances.  Thank you for sharing this account, Pamela Little!

The Thursday Night Club - A Tale of Christmas Spirit - a Novella by Steven Manchester

The Thursday Night Club – A Tale of Christmas Spirit – a novella.  Steven Manchester. The Story Plant. November 2014. 64 pp.  ISBN#: 9781611882032.

Izzy and Ava host a weekly Thursday Night Club get-together with Jessie Cabral, Ava, Randy and Kevin.  They’re College Senior students who work hard at their studies and play just as hard, goofy friends who love nothing better than a good prank on each other, harmless fun that lightens their work load. Some have risen from poverty and are paying their tuition by the skin of their teeth but they don’t focus much on the hardship part of it all.  They are loyal to each other and beyond that focusing on meeting the directions of their various professors.  One professor in particular is a philosophy teacher who is highly demanding but how isn’t specified.  Jessie Cabral is probably the only remarkable student among them, preferring to be out on the streets doing something kind for someone in need but never flaunting it in anyone’s face. 

We meet them one Thursday night when they bet $.75 each to see who can play the funniest prank, specifying that such a plan is not to cause harm or hurt anyone else’s feelings. The game is on and they all do a great job which the reader will be sure to chuckle at.  But the laughs are soon to end dramatically when a tragedy strikes one of their group.  It will change their lives forever and many, many other lives because of what follows!

“Pay it forward” is a phrase that has been put into action over the last few years, but what this group agrees to do following the tragedy they are now living with will far exceed that temporary phase.  They will make another bet to see who can do the greatest good to another human being but they must remain anonymous. 

What follows is inventive, spontaneous, and a true blessing to each recipient of the deeds these students initiate.  To tell all would be a spoiler unworthy of this Christmas gift given to us by Steven Manchester.  One little hint – would you donate part of your body to give life to another – while you are alive?

The Thursday Night Read… is not only a perfect  holiday read but also one for every day of the year and years to follow.  A great read, may it inspire others to live a life with “purpose.”

The Job: Fox and O'Hare Series #3 by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

The Job: Fox and O’Hare Series #3.  Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. Bantam Books. November 2014. 320 pp.  ISBN#: 9780804179898.  

FBI Agent Kate O’Hare conned a major con, Nicolas Fox, in order to capture him.  But the criminal con was so good the FBI released him to help catch other criminals they couldn’t catch without his help.  Oh, by the way, no one is supposed to know that later bit about releasing him!

Kate supposedly despises Fox but she has to admit with humorous reluctance of course, that he is good at what he does, very, very good!!!

In this latest Fox and O’Hare series, Kate O’Hare and Fox travel through America, Europe and elsewhere in order to figure out two things.  The first is what con is posing as Fox in order to steal famous art works and the second is the major drug cartel leader who yearns for more and more treasure and has the means and ways to make that happen with ease!

The story involves a hidden treasure (duh, or something like that), a female bodyguard who’s almost pathological, a Portuguese enforcer, a pirate, a special effects creator and director, and a retired Special Forces father, and more crazy, fun, chaotic characters who are part of this lunatic plot to capture or con the major con master!

The plot is simple but what makes this latest Evanovich novel delightful is the way cons con other cons and the humor and delight they get in discussing and carrying out these events.  It’s even better than Bonnie and Clyde! It’s a MUST read!

Proxima by Stephen Baxter

Proxima.  Stephen Baxter. Roc/Penguin Group (USA). November 2014. 480 pp.  ISBN#: 9780451467706.

Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star far, far from the planets of Earth, the Moon, Mars, Mercury and all the other planets so familiar to present day Earthlings.  The year is 2166 and laser beams of energy developed from kernel engineering can hurl a spaceship into different galaxies.  Phases of history on Earth have passed, including a period of purging intelligent scientists who supposedly committed “crimes” (though never specified); and now there is an intellectual war about who will control the forces of energy with amazing potential for not only space travel but also creating new colonies on distant planets. 

Yuri and Mardina were both forced to become colonists on Proxima or Per Adua as it is otherwise called.  Their fellow inhabitants were initially a larger group; but uncontrolled feelings, thoughts and deeds caused several violent scenes in which many were murdered, leaving finally only Yuri and Mardina as survivors. There are other colonists somewhere on the planet but they were dumped in places far away and the chances of their meeting each other are slim indeed!  For now Yuri, Mardina and a specialized robot ColU explore their new world.  It appears that its living inhabitants are plant-like creatures, with a hidden eye, who are always busy building other plant-like structures and creating structures like dams to move or close water sources.  Even the water contains bacterial life that is impossible to define by earth standards.  However, thanks to the genius of ColU the species learn to live with each other, their only major problem the solar flares that could kill them if exposed.

Over a long period of time Mardina sets up a plan whereby she and Yuri will have children.  Mardina refuses to believe no one will ever come to rescue them but Yuri thinks differently. 

At the same time other subplots are happening that involve the battle over these super-kernels.  Who obtains them and controls them can rule not only the earth but also other planets in the cosmos and beyond. 

Eventually other settlers will join Yuri and Mardina and their lives will be irrevocably changed by a change coming to Proxima that will mandate their moving elsewhere.  The “Hatch” will take them where they never dreamed of going; this is the discovery of a lifetime that totally shifts the plot of this novel.

Proxima is brilliant science fiction, the best this reviewer has read in more years than will be admitted.  It’s hard science fiction with a complex plot interlaced with real scientific explanations that are intelligently delivered and best of all highly readable and comprehensible to the average non-scientist reader.  It depicts a world where inhabitants resemble nothing encountered in earth’s experience and yet doesn’t come across as silly but highly credible, exciting and intriguing reality.  For any reader who has the slightest interest in science fiction, this is your must read for the year; and for those who have never experienced the “other world vicissitudes of life on other planets,” this is the greatest introduction to the world of science fiction you will ever find!  Highly, highly recommended, a truly wonderful work of science fiction that ranks up there with the masters of the genre!

Singing to a Bulldog: From “Happy Days” to Hollywood Director, and the Unlikely Mentor Who Got Me There by Anson Williams

Singing to a Bulldog: From “Happy Days” to Hollywood Director, and the Unlikely Mentor Who Got Me There.  Anson Williams. The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. November 2014. 176 pp.  ISBN#: 9781621452256.

Anson Williams, better known as “Potsie” on the wildly popular show “Happy Days,” here tells a simple but compelling story about how he rose to success.  His mentor turns out to be an African-American janitor named Willie Turner who drank too much but who had a fount of wisdom in sayings that Anson sprinkles liberally throughout his story.  For these snippets alone, the story is worth the read, as well as the author’s ability to control his own actions, reactions, thoughts and feelings so as to allow these wise words to rule his life.  Simplistic? No, Anson comes across as sincere and humble about it all!

Anson Williams lacked direction and had taken low-paying jobs until certain opportunities came his way, combined with Willie’s words such as, “All good boy. Don’t gets in dey way of yerself. Go wit yer feelins.” Those moments of coincidence, miracles, or whatever one wishes to call them combined with his obvious talent, as he describes in an imitation of someone else that got him his first acting job.  Upwards he travels as he meets the fellow actors he came to respect and love, Henry Winkler, Don Most and Ron Howard.  Later he’ll be well on the way to stardom when he meets President Ford’s daughter, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bill Cosby and so many more famous actors and actresses.  It is noteworthy that he acknowledges those famous people as those who fit in with Willie’s humble sayings and those who were quite full of themselves and therefore not worthy of more than comment.

Further into his career, after years of Potsie and “Happy Days” fame, Anson goes on to be inspired to direct his own films and shows, and develop what is known as product development and promotion business which is just as fascinating on its own.

Singing to a Bulldog… is a light, pleasant read that spans the career of Anson Williams.  It’s a life free of the usual “love ‘em, hate ‘em” news reporting so rampant in the current media. It tells a straightforward, interesting, funny and inspiring story that readers will be sure to admire and enjoy!  Thanks for sharing, Mr. Williams – this one will go down as a terrific book about an important segment in the entertainment industry! Nicely crafted!

Finding the Dragon Lady: The Mystery of Vietnam's Madame Nhu by Monique Brinson Demery

Finding the Dragon Lady: The Mystery of Vietnam’s Madame Nhu.  Monique Brinson Demery. Public Affairs Publisher. October 2014. 280 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9781610392815.

The story of Madame Nhu begins with her life as an upcoming bride living in a Vietnam laced with French dominion and influence.  She is about to marry a man who will eventually become the Prime Minister of Vietnam, the man who will wield the real power behind President Ngo Dinh Diem as nations and revolutionary groups vie for power, prestige, and style in Vietnam.  For now Tran Le Xuan, Nhu’s name in her youth), is excited about her marriage and upcoming family status.  But intrigue is omnipresent and Nhu’s life seems like it is unraveling as she initially fails to beget children and her husband seems more entwined with his secret trips and missions than he is with his young bride. 

At the same time, we learn how North Vietnamese leaders are seeking to combine their rising power with French administration.  The French will fall eventually and Tran will learn how the poor and suffering live when she is forced to flee with her family as the Communists from the North approach South Vietnam.  From that point on, Madame Nhu reaches deep inside to let her immense strength confront all obstacles in her path.  The story continues with American advisers coming to court her husband and Diem will take over after a coup.  Madame Nhu’s notoriety grows as she declares her love of power and prestige and comes across as cold and heartless toward the people she is supposed to serve. Indeed the rule of her family and Diem is correctly labeled as repressive, though these rulers always claimed the treatment was to safeguard their people. Her callous remarks about the burning Buddhist monk serve as the vicious, cold benchmark of her future years.  Until her husband and Diem are assassinated, she will court power and use her sexy, slim body and charm to keep South Vietnam free. 

One aspect that is always clear in this account is how mixed the advice and help from the USA was.  American estimation of the rising threat of Ho Chi Minh always seems inaccurate and forthcoming help was the same; the replies of Madame Nhu and the South Vietnam government was partially responsible as they feared a foreign takeover by the Communists, French (again!) or even the Americans if the truth were to be admitted.

Madame Nhu goes into seclusion when she barely manages to escape to America and remains there for over 30 years before her story is told by the author of this account.  In order to gain all the information in this book, the author had to play a cat-and-mouse game with Madame Nhu in which the author would be fed bits and pieces of little known information but never wholesale openness and trust.  Madame Nhu, we learn, had reason to fear the vengeance of many who considered her responsible for thousands of deaths, losses and disasters that befell the Vietnamese people.

The story never loses the sense of intrigue, mystery, and exposure of truth and thus is a superb nonfiction account of a pivotal time in global history that affected the lives of millions to the present day.  Finely crafted account of this very famous lady’s journey through the vicissitudes of Vietnamese and American history!