The Alexander Cipher

I finished The Alexander Cipher, by Will Adams, a few days ago. I'm of two minds on the book. It was not a bad book at all. The story is fun, simple, and moves along at a decent pace. The characters and their connections are buttoned up nicely in the end. I suppose I'm undecided because nothing really stands out. There aren't any poor loose ends or unfinished side stories however there isn't anything that sets the story apart from others in the same genre. I do have a question as to references of disease made by the main character about a deceased character with influence over two people in the book. But that's more curiosity than anything. Overall it's a good read for a summer vacation or a rainy day. It just doesn't deliver the impact of a David Hewson or Steve Berry.

Cross Border Commerce

I just finished a course on international business. The required reading,.... Cross Border Commerce by Brian Satterlee. I don't think I have ever read a textbook cover to cover. I read each chapter diligently. Lets be honest, I read it because I had to read the book. Although I did learn some from the content I found the book to be non-reinforcing. Is that a word? It is now. The primary concepts and facts the author wanted the reader to take way were not reinforced or given depth in the chapter. At the end of each chapter there were helpful review exercises however with no answer key the reader could never quite be sure they answered everything correctly. Overall, the book is a success in that it the chapters and sections are parsed well with the right coursework, thereby making complete reading a possibility. I recommend more in chapter reinforcement points, perhaps definitions in the margins of each page and insert stories that help define concepts.

Codex by Lev Grossman

I finished Codex yesterday. I kept reading because the concept of finding a book from the past had to lead to some kind of decent story, right? Wrong. Even the pseudo-romantic concept that the whole mystery was a ploy to get the main character out of his workaholic world and into a romantic relationship would have worked better than this story-line. In the end the whole plot went no where and the ending wrapped nothing and everything up. It was in a word uneventful, much like the whole book. The story essentially was meaningless and in that sense the ending justified the means. I don't recommend Codex, unfortunately, despite it's promise it simply isn't worth the time to read.

The Tiger's Wife

Recently, I finished the Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. The author certainly has a way with words, that I for lack of a better way to say it, consider flowery. At times the stories within the book are addictive and her descriptions keep you coming back to see the end of the piece however at other times the descriptive nature of things were distracting. I found the concept of the Deathless Man interesting, and the mute at her grandfather's village an interesting tale. But overall I felt disappointed at the end of the book. It felt I was being lead on a journey and in the end I wasn't brought anywhere. Overall I do recommend reading the book as it is certainly a nice change from the ordinary however if your looking for a fast paced adventure or an otherworldly mystery you may be a little let down. Just my opinion.

The Lost Throne

I recently finished The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski. It was pretty good, in fact I prefer this book to the Paul Christopher Templar series by far. Although I don't believe it's quite up to Steve Berry, in my opinion, it's still a worthwhile read and I am sure to look for more in the Payne and Jones series. Despite the contrived convergence of the characters and events the story kept moving and didn't dwell on needless detail or side story. The main characters were likable and mostly believable. The book inspires more interest in Greek islands, Turkey, and the Orthodox monasteries. Overall I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable, historical, fast paced book as a great escape from reality.

A Song of Ice and Fire

I have a 120 mile round trip commute to work most days and some weekends. During the ride I recently completed books 1 - 5 in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R.R. Martin. I downloaded them from Audible.com. I loved every minute and listening made the drive so much better. Roy Dotrice read all but the 4th, "A Feast for Crows" and was simply amazing throughout, not that John Lee's rendition was poor by any means however once you've listened to Mr Dotrice's voice and intonations you do become entranced. There are some unnecessary lengthy descriptions and some over the top sexual content throughout the series but the stories and characters are fantastic and I'm looking forward to the eventual release of the next book, "The Winds of Winter." And yes I realize its been about 7 months since the last post!

The Jefferson Key

I finished the Jefferson Key, again finding Cotton Malone and crew fun, entertaining and simply the best characters around. The Jefferson Key was fun and interesting but I felt it to be formulaic. It seemed almost rushed both to follow up The Emperor's Tomb and to get Cotton on American soil. It could be that I love the European settings and sorely miss Thorvaldsen. That being said this was still a good read and worth the money. Steve Berry is simply among the best story tellers today.