Do the 2008 TBR challenge

Title: The Swarm
Author: Arthur Herzog
Date read: 8/3/2008
No. of pages: 271
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description:

“FAMILY ATTACKED BY BEES—TWO KILLEDMARYVILLE, N.Y. Sept. 26 (AP)—A family of five on an outing in an isolated spot by a stream were attacked by bees here.
Mr. and Mrs. William Peterson died as the result of bee bites. Their three children were also attacked, one, Karen, age 12, severely.
The local coroner, Dr. David P. Znac, speculated that both adults had allergies to bee bites, which can be fatal. About 30 deaths a year in the U.S. are attributed to bites from bees, wasps and hornets.
What caused the bees to attack is not known.

This was the beginning, barely noticed. Then the terror began to spread—terror that was to erupt into a national panic as the strange, seemingly purposeful murderous attacks of a new and vicious species of bees began to mount. Against this background, a band of scientists draw upon their knowledge to fight an enemy they only partly comprehend in a desperate race against time.

Built around one of man’s most haunting fears—that the forces of nature will overrun his defenses and exterminate the human race — The Swarm is a vividly imagined masterpiece of chilling adventure.”—from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good suspenseful book about killer bees and the efforts of a team of scientists to stop them.

Title: Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds
Author: Joy Adamson
Year: 1987
Date read: 7/26/2008
No. of pages: 220
Genre: Nonfiction
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description:

“There have been many tales of animals’ return to the wild, but since its first publication in 1960, when the New York Times hailed it as a ‘fascinating and remarkable book,’ one stands alone as the most original and perhaps best-loved animal story. Born Free is a classic which traces the extraordinary development of the lion cub Elsa in transition between two radically different worlds.”—from the back cover

My thoughts:

I remember I saw the movie years ago, but I had never read the full story of Elsa and her human family Joy and George Adamson until now. I liked reading about Elsa’s curiosity and how even as she gradually left the Adamson’s care, she never lost the bond she had with them.

Title: Conquistador
Author: S.M. Stirling
Year: 2003
Date read: 7/19/2008
No. of pages: 440
Genre: SF
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description:

“If you could re-create civilization, what would you do differently?

Oakland California, 1946. Ex-soldier John Rolfe, newly back from the Pacific is about to make a fabulous discovery. It happens with a flip of his shortwave radio switch, a thunder crack of sound, and a blinding light. He blinks his eyes to discover a portal to an alternate world where Europeans have never set foot on the land he knows as America. Able to return at will to the modern world, Rolfe summons the only people with whom he is willing to share his discovery: his war buddies. And tells them to bring their families…

What mistakes would you repeat?

Los Angeles, twenty-first century. Fish and Game warden Tom Christiansen is involved in the bust of a smuggling operation. What he turns up is something he never anticipated: a photo of authentic Aztec priests decked out in Grateful Dead T-shirts, and a live condor from a gene pool that doesn’t correspond to any known in captivity or the wild. These finds soon lead to a woman named Adrienne Rolfe—and a secret that’s been hidden for sixty years.

As danger brews on both sides, two realities are threatened, and so too are the live of everyone who crosses the boundary between them….”—from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This book was an interesting look at an alternate Earth, particularly western America. I liked the interactions between characters Tom, Adrienne and Tully and the ways Tom and Tully noticed the differences between New Virginia and First Side (current Earth).

Title: We Need to Talk About Kevin
Author: Lionel Shriver
Year: 2004
Date read: 5/24/2008
No. of pages: 400
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description:

“In this gripping novel of motherhood gone awry, Lionel Shriver approaches the tragedy of a high-school massacre from the point of view of the killer’s mother. In letters written to the boy’s father, mother Eva probes the upbringing of this more-than-difficult child and reveals herself to have been the reluctant mother of an unsavory son. As the schisms in her family unfold, we draw closer to an unexpected climax that holds breathtaking surprises and its own hard-won redemption. In Eva, Shriver has created a narrator who is touching, sad, funny, and reflective.”

My thoughts:

This was a powerfully moving book about the ambiguousness of family relationships. At times, I wished to hear Kevin’s point of view, but Eva’s honest and searing account held my interest throughout.

Title: Killing Floor
Author: Lee Child
Year: 1997
Date read: 4/13/2008
No. of pages: 407
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description:

“Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter, just passing through. He is in Margrave, Georgia, for less than a half hour when four policemen arrive, shotguns in hand to arrest him for murder.

All Jack knows is he didn’t kill anybody. Not in their town, and not for a long time. . .”—from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good mystery featuring Jack Reacher who finds himself in the middle of an ongoing plot that threatens a small town. I liked how Jack and his new friends figure out the mystery and eventually outwit the criminals and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Die Trying.

Title: The Naked Sun
Author: Isaac Asimov
Year: 1957
Date read: 1/19/2008
No. of pages: 208
Genre: SF/Mystery
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description (from back of the book):

“Solaria was a beautiful planet, but a sparsely settled one, The Solarians had so isolated themselves that direct contact with others was almost unbearable, and all interpersonal dealings were conducted by solid-seeming trimensional projections.

Now there had been a murder. The victim had been so neurotic that even the presence of his wife was barely endurable, But someone had been close enough to beat him to death while he was attended by his robots. Naturally, the robots couldn’t have done it-the first law of robotics would not let them harm a human being. No weapon had been found.

It seemed a paradox. So the authorities sent for Lije Baley, who was delighted to find that his old partner, the human-seeming robot R. Daneel Olivaw, would join him. The partnership was back in business – a strange business, indeed.”

My thoughts:

This book was a good mix of science fiction and mystery. There was a theme of overcoming fears throughout the book, whether it was Lije’s fear of the outdoors or the Solarian’s fear of personal presence. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, The Caves of Steel.

Title: The Red Room
Author: Nicci French
Year: 2001
Date read: 1/12/2008
No. of Pages: 340
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 3/5 = good

Description (from inside flap):

“Kit Quinn is a young woman who inhabits dangerous worlds: crime scenes, interrogation scenes, hospitals for the criminally insane. Horribly wounded in a brutal attack, she must return to the site of her worst fears. She is asked by the police to advise them on a simple murder inquiry. A young runaway has been found killed by a London canal and the chief suspect is the man who wounded her.

But it isn’t a simple case. Kit refuses to accept appearances, against opposition from the police and her own fears; she finds other crimes, other victims. Her obsessive search for the truth draws her into an underworld of abandoned and exploited young people, and puts her at terrible risk.”

My thoughts:

This was an interesting mystery. I liked how the clues were revealed bit by bit as Kit tried to discover the truth about the canal killings.

I just realized that I forgot to post my list, so here it is (in no particular order):

1. Nicci French. The Red Room—finished 1/12/2008
2. Isaac Asimov. The Naked Sun—finished 1/19/2008
3. John Nance. Pandora’s Clock
4. S.M. Stirlling. Conquistador
5. Jincey Willett. Winner of the National Book Award
6. Jesse Hunter. Blood Music
7. Joy Adamson. Born Free
8. Stephen Spruill. Lords of Light
9. Michael Palmer. Natural Causes
10. Arthur Herzog. The Swarm
11. Karin Slaughter. A Faint Cold Fear
12. Lee Child. Killing Floor

Alternates/Extra Credit:

1. James Lowder. Knight of the Black Rose
2. Iris Johanson. Final Target
3. David Wise. The Children’s Game
4. David G. Hartwell, ed. Year’s Best Fantasy
5. Whitley Streiber. The Forbidden Zone
6. Robert Tine. Desperate Measures
7. Iain Banks. Excession
8. Eoin Colfer. The Wish List
9. Ana Castillo. Peel My Love Like an Onion
10. Douglas Clegg. Dark of the Eye
11. Lionel Shriver. We Need to Talk About Kevin
12. Ann Rule. The Stranger Beside Me