Moonraker, the third James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1955.
SUMMARY: M is fascinated by the man named Hugo Drax, a millionaire and idol of Britain. Hugo Drax has dedicated his money and life to the construction of an atomic defensive weapon, called the Moonraker. For M, the most fascinating and peculiar thing about this “man of the year” type fellow, is that he cheats at cards. M calls on Bond to take a closer look at Drax, to find out what hidden motives the man may have. Does the millionaire cheat for thrills or is there something a tad more sinister going on?
The SIS is also investigating a murder/suicide at Drax’s Moonraker facility. Typically this wouldn’t be a job for the SIS, but because they cleared the man that did the killing to enter the county, they have to take a closer look. Especially when such violence breaks out around the Moonraker site, with just four days remaining until its first test launch.
As expected in a James Bond spy thriller, things get crazy and the plot gets wild! Bond can feel the dark intentions lingering in the air around the incredible presence of powerful Moonraker. The clock is ticking, and the countdown has begun – for millions of lives.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Moonraker is such a good book! The story unfolds nicely, it’s full of surprises, drama, and action! I really enjoyed how the book starts, with James Bond doing petty office work. Little details Fleming throws in are fantastic, such as Bond attempting to open a door, but it’s locked, so he has to make the inconvenient walk around to another door.
The story progression has excellent pacing. I thought the way things unraveled to expose the villain was fascinating. There are bits and pieces dropped along the story that keep you guessing and theorizing who certain people are.
In this story, we get insight on what James Bond’s job is like most of the time. It’s just mundane office work, looking at files and reading over reports. Usually he has only one major assignment a year, the rest of the time is boring office work. Bond makes good money, he loves women, has no family, and he likes to drive fast.
Gala Brand is an under cover agent for the special police force, Vallance. She’s been working as a secretary for Hugo Drax, keeping an eye out on the mysterious man and the whole Moonraker operation. She knows that Bond is an SIS agent and is very annoyed that he was sent in – why would he be able to find something that she couldn’t? She can’t stand Bond, however, as usual, Bond mages to break the ice, cooling her bitterness towards him.
There’s this wonderful moment between Bond and Brand. after some intense action, Fleming places the perfect human reaction between the two. Each character was a bit sick, they left each other alone with privacy, they came back together and sat in silence for a moment. Then Bond lights a cigarette. They soak in the remaining sunlight on a beach, then they spoke of business.
Hugo Drax seems to have a clean record, a man of the year type of personality. His past is shrouded in mystery, he came out of World War II with severe wounds to his face, which resulted in plastic surgery and altered his face. He later invested in a metal, called Columbite, and got rich off of it. He gave his entire holding of the mineral to Britain, to build the super atomic rocket, Moonraker. Turns out, behind closed doors, he’s a pretty bad dude.
Do I recommend Moonraker? Yes! The book is fantastic, a must read for the spy/thriller fan.
Live And Let Die, the second James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1954.
SUMMARY: Gold coins from the lost treasure of Bloody Morgan, are being shipped from a secret location in Jamaica, to New York. These coins are being sold on the streets to fund the Russian organization, Smersh. James Bond has a heavy burden on his shoulders in this big city and tropical adventure. He must find the source of the secret of the treasure to uncover a communist spy ring in New York, run by a voodoo criminal mastermind; and continue his personal mission to cripple Smersh.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed the second James Bond story just as much, if not more so than the first book. Live & Let Die was thrilling from start to finish. The threats James Bond faces were dire and sometimes horrifying. Ian Fleming did great work with the second installment of James Bond, expanding the spy adventure to the streets of New York City, and to the tropics of Jamaica.
There are many characters in this book that were written extremely well. Some characters from Casino Royale come back for the second book, such as Felix Leiter and M. Some of my favorite characters from this book would have to be ‘The Robber’ and Quarrel. The Robber was an excellent henchmen, he was hard edged, not easily pushed around and was full of surprises. Quarrel, was a helpful friend to Bond.
It appears that James Bond has evolved a bit since Casio Royale. In the previous book, he viewed women as a burden, especially on the job. In this book, his attraction for Solitaire was immediate, and felt a connection with her as soon as they made eye contact. Who is Solitaire? She’s a voodoo psychic medium, who was taken by the villain of the story, Mr. Big. She was to marry him against her will. Bond also has a solid friendship with Felix Leiter, an agent of the CIA. Something happens to Leiter in this novel that enrages Bond further into his hatred of the Russian organization, Smersh.
The villain, Mr. Big, was written so well. His presence was overreaching, he was everywhere. He is an intimating force, even though he isn’t present through much of the story. The fear that he instills in the streets with tales of Voodoo magic, plays to his advantage. He has people/goons everywhere, eyes and ears that watch and listen to the happenings in the streets. He’s an extension of Smersh, though we don’t get into those connections too much at all. He appears to be his own man, his own boss, with his own goals.
The tension between Mr. Big and James Bond is great. Mr. Big, really lays down the law, telling Bond how things are going to be. Much of the conversation in the book is well written. The only dialogue that has potential to be a little cheesy, would be some of the conversations between Bond and Solitaire. Overall, the dialogue was good. Fleming did very well with descriptions of people and locations.
The Voodoo aspect of the story was very interesting and worked well. The book basically has two parts, the big city, and the tropics of Jamaica. I’m not much a fan of the tropics, but Fleming had me hooked with the oceanic climax of the story, full of sharks and barracuda. Live & Let Die is a fun James Bond adventure for sure.
Do I recommend Live And Let Die? Yes! However, if your sensitive to cultural differences and historical events, you’ll probably be offended.
Whisper Down the Lane was written by Clay McLeod Chapman. The book is published by Quirk Books (thanks for sending a copy for review).
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SUMMARY: It was the early 80’s, when a criminal case opened the floodgates of paranoia for both parents and children. A young boy, Sean, was pressured by his mother, police, and a physiatrist to spill his guts about the dark things that happened in his classroom. He draws disturbing images of the events and tells of satanic rituals that took place during class. The confession altered the lives of many individuals.
This novel will blow your socks off!
In 2013, a man named Richard believes his past is better off behind him and forgotten. Not a soul he comes in contact with knows of the horrible things he’d been a part of. However, history has a tendency to repeat itself. Events unravel in Richard’s small town; familiar, unwanted memories rise up to haunt him. These events, if they rise up out of the shadows and into the light, will alter Richards life in the worst possible fashion.
CHARACTERS: With this story, I’m only going to mention one character, Richard. Richard is an art teacher at an elementary school. It seems he’s living his best life now; newly married, soon to be an adoptive father, and he has a great job. Richard is a good guy, full of love and dreams. When distant memories swell up within him, his grasp on reality gets fuzzy, and his sanity starts to slip away.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book… is intense! While reading this book, I felt physically ill, I felt anger, I had goosebumps, I felt paranoia, and I felt joy! Chapman absolutely blew me away with this story from beginning to end. The story alternates between two timelines, 1983 & 2013. It’s extremely easy to follow.
The characters, setting, and descriptions are written so well. the author did a fantastic job with the characters thoughts, expressing the hopes, fears and everything else going on the characters head, was very clear; making the characters feel like real people. The dialogue is great, the actions and reactions of the characters are organic, nothing felt forced or cheesy.
The setting was described perfectly. I feel like I’ve been to the town described in the book. Now that I’m a father of three kids, the things that happen in this book are an all new layer of horror. The book raised my anxiety, I legitimately felt horrified by this story. The end of the book just about blew my socks off, it’s soooo good! I can’t wait to see what Chapman has in store for his next book.
The book does have some legitimate life lessons:
Tell the Truth
Don’t force a narrative
Don’t forget the past
Kindness goes a long way
Do I recommend you purchase Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman? I most certainly do!
RATING: I give this novel an A+, I was very pleased with this intense horror novel!
Star Wars: Victory’s Price was written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Alexander Freed. It was published by Del Rey.
Victory’s Price concludes the Alphabet Squadron trilogy.
SUMMARY: After the events that took place in the Cerberon System, the New Republic has the 204th Imperial Unit Shadow Wing mostly on the run playing defense. Between each run in, the 204th strikes its judgment on select Imperial holdouts in the galaxy. Operation Cinder phase II, has begun. The New Republic, specifically the group lead by General Syndulla, is to put an end to the 204th. The mission gets tricky, as it appears there is a mole within Syndulla’s New Republic ship, as well as one within the 204th!
Victory’s Price is a fast paced nail-biting conclusion to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy.
Many twists and turns entangle the opposing sides, all the way up to the epic, final battle of the Republic and the Empire – over the sands of Jakku.
CHARACTERS: The cast of characters is great, I’m only picking two to discuss.
Wyl Lark: He’s been commanding the squadron, and he’s still homesick. He doesn’t have the fight in him anymore. He want’s the war to end and just go home already. His relationship with his unit is on the rocks, but they still have a bond that holds them together, even by the weakest thread. Whyl is the one character that actually made me feel anger and bitter. Alexander Freed’s writing is just too good.
Kairos: She’s always been the odd one, the mysterious female with something going on internally. She’s unique, the mystery continues with Kairos. She’s a hunter, which makes her an excellent tracker.
The desperation for victory or death drives the plot!
Yrica Quell: All I’ll say in this review, is that she surprised me.
Chass Na Chadic: She’s a wild one, after her wild adventure in the Cerberon system, she’s left scarred and emotionally on edge. She’s a bad A, with an attitude, and shows no fear of anyone or anything. She’s my favorite character in this trilogy.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I liked this book. It was mostly everything I was hoping it would be. The last time we saw these characters, they were all put in really tough and surprising situations. That element continues as many of the cast goes through extreme changes and adjustments. By the time the story concludes, I found some of the character arcs satisfying, while some were left open or just a tad too awkward.
Alexander Freed’s writing is outstanding. The novel feels more than just sci-fi/fantasy – it feels real. From the dialogue to the descriptions, every moment was fleshed out nicely. The way Freed creates characters and what he puts them through is just incredible. The war has changed people, there’s no easy walk in the park for anyone, the hero’s suffer. The desperation for victory or death drives the plot!
The book read quickly, not one moment did I feel I was wasting my precious time or drift off from boredom. I was glued to the pages all the way to end! The only negative I have to say, is there is one moment in the end that feels like a “check the box, gotta include that thing” in the story, it came across unnatural and as an afterthought. However, Overall – Victory’s Price is a fast paced nail-biting conclusion to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy. Freed’s brilliance and storytelling ability is just, next level.
The Remaking is a novel by Clay McLeod Chapman and published by Quirk Books. Thank you, for sending a copy for me to review!
The Remaking is a 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist.
SUMMARY: Only the old trees know the true tale of mother Ella Louise & her daughter Jessica Ford, alleged witches. On October 16th, 1931, Ella and Jessica were burned alive in the woods of Pilot’s Creek Virginia. What was left of the bodies were buried, in separate locations. Ella Louise Ford’s gravesite is unknown to this day, but Jessica’s body is buried in the Pilot’s Creek Cemetery. The story of Ella and Jessica is passed on through ghost stories. That is until 1971, when the story was adapted into a film, Don’t Tread On Jessica’s Grave. Amber Pendleton, a young girl scores the roll to play the preteen witch, Jessica Ford. The film is made, but not without trouble, lots of trouble. A supernatural event happened on set, pushing the film to cult statues immediately.
Years go by, it’s 1995, Amber Pendleton’s acting career is stagnant. She makes the rounds at all the horror conventions, forcing a smile across her face. She hate’s the circuit, all the fans are all the same. However, she needs the money. So she’ll autograph items and take the photos with the fans, with a little help from pills and alcohol. One day, she gets an unexpected call from her agent. I Know What You Did On Jessica’s Grave is in the works, a remake of the 71 cult classic, Don’t Tread On Jessica’s Grave. The director wants Amber in the film, this time… to play the mother, Ella Louise Ford. The film enters production, but too much trouble, familiar trouble disrupts the movie.
Years go by, it’s 2016. The truth still isn’t clear about what happened on the production of I Know What You Did On Jessica’s Grave. Amber is sought out by podcaster, to pull the truth from her. Is Amber Pendleton crazy? Did Ella Louise come back from the grave to take the young Amber in 1971? Did Amber fall to heavily into her roll as Ella Louise in 1995 and commit murder? learn the truth, read The Remaking.
CHARACTERS: I’m only going to pick one character to mention.
Amber Pendleton: She’s had a rough life. Her mother pushed hard for Amber to be an actress. When Amber scored her first real acting job for a movie, her mother was so happy, Amber was just a nervous child. The event that took place during her first film job left her scared, emotionally and mentally. She absolutely hated the convention life, but because her acting days were pretty much not a reality, she had to do the signings and photos. Her life turns out to be pretty sad. Since that first job, people have always associated her with that one roll as Jessica Ford, the little witch girl. She feels in her heart, that her life is forever tied to the Ford witches.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I enjoyed the book. The author takes a unique approach at writing this story, The novel is a story, about a story remaking a story, based on origin story, followed up by a new type of storytelling. It sound’s complicated, but it really isn’t. I didn’t find the book to be scary, (I can’t recall a book ever really freaking me out) but it has all the elements a spooky story would have. Clay Chapman did a wonderful job structuring the story.
The writing style wasn’t my favorite. The way some things were written I just got plain annoyed with. Some elements felt rushed. Some moments lacked detail, while others went into excellent detail. I’m not quite sure how to explain this next thing, but some of the writing felt like the author was in a mode, writing immediately what came to mind and ran with it, leaving in the hesitations and mind stutters. Here’s an example of what I’m trying to say, this isn’t from the book, I don’t want to put copy what’s in the book, but this is the flow in some areas:
I’m writing so fast because thoughts are coming into my brain! My brain… My brain… Brain hurts… If I slow down the writing will stop and I’ll be so far behind on my schedule. Schedule schedule schedule… I think about the schedule so much my brain hurts… hurts..
That’s my only issue with it. Again, I think the author did a good job with the structure, it’s a cool way to tell a story and how it evolves over time with both the storytellers and the form of story telling. The story is more than a horror, it’s a tragedy.
Do I recommend you pick up The Remaking? Yes, Chapman wrote a spooky story in a unique way.
Lokte was written by self published Author KJ Bryen. Lokte made the list of top selling books in Oklahoma City, where the author is from.
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SUMMARY: Its a tale of light versus the dark. The spiritual realm is more physical than we ever expected in this supernatural thriller. Agents of the devil roam the earth with demons on their back, fulfilling dark deeds to please their master. Logan Lokte is such an agent, set with a task of finding those down on their luck and tempting their poor souls to make a deal with the devil.
Marianne Garcia is on her own, living the big city life, trying hard to fulfill her dream of being a successful actress. One day a charming man crosses her path and the two find attraction for each other. She confesses her dreams and he promises her the world, after a little paperwork of course, to close the deal.
Will Marianne make the deal with devils agent and live the life she’s wanted? Or will she remain faithful to Christ and accept God’s will in her life? You’re going to need to pick up the book and find out the outcome for yourself!
CHARACTERS: As usual, I’m going to mention only two characters. Logan Lokte and Marianne Garcia.
Lokte: When he was at his lowest, he struck a deal with the devil. The bad end of the deal leaves Lokte as an agent of Satan. To wonder the streets and lure more souls to the devils will. He’s a fighter, his will begins to conflict with that of Satans, which is pretty terrifying.
Marianne: She’s a go getter, trying to live out her dream in the big city. She wants to be an actress so bad. She tries hard, doing what she can to make her dreams come true. In the meantime, she works at a daycare. When a strange man reveals to her how she can have all her dreams come true, her faith is shaken.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I enjoyed this novel, I thought it was pretty good! It’s almost a retelling of sorts, yet, completely different, of the of the legends of Robert Johnson. back in the 1930’s Robert Johnson was a horrible guitarist, being thrown from bars for his lousy playing. It’s been said, and referenced in a few of his songs, that he went down to the crossroads, and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for a guitar lesson that would change his life. The devil collected his soul when Johnson was 27 years old. You’ve heard of the 27 club, famous musicians dying at age 27, interesting stuff. Maybe the members of the 27 club, truly did sell their soul to the devil.
Bryen did an excellent job with character descriptions, explaining in great detail what the characters looked like and what they were feeling. The story is really about the test of someone’s faith. Just like in real life, people are weak, and yet some are strong. I was shocked by the outcome of the story, and that’s what I really like! The story really reiterates that old saying, if something is too good to be true… it is.
At the end of the book there is a short story that serves as a prequel to the book, and that was excellent as well. I would have preferred the short story to actually be part of the novel and not separate. I truly believe it would have served best as a prologue before taking us into chapter one. It has some pretty creepy moments that play into the overall novel and set up little things that pay off later in the book.
So, do I recommend that you read Lokte? Yes, it’s a wild supernatural spirtual fantasy that’ll keep you on edge.
