Mar 31 2011

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Most people have probably never heard of Louis Zamperini.  But, prior to World War II, he was known across the country as the Olympic runner who was on pace to break the four-minute mile (an achievement at one time thought to be impossible to beat).  As with many other Americans at the time, Louis volunteered to join the Army Air Forces after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.  His story is not like most World War II veterans.  Laura Hillenbrand describes Louie’s phenomenal story in Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.

Briefly, the book follows Louie from his childhood (full all kinds of mischief) through his high school and college years as a track star.  It then chronicles his exploits in the Army Air Forces to the day his B-24 bomber crashed in the Pacific Ocean.  Forty-seven days later, he and the plane’s pilot (Russell Allen Phillips) were captured by the Japanese.  He then endured years of torture and slavery.  After the war, he tried to put his life back in order despite the experiences from the war that haunted him.

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By Jeff Grim • Featured, Reviews • 2 • Tags: , , ,

Mar 28 2011

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Sapphique is the sequel to the bestselling Incarceron and in many ways I found it a better read. A quicker pace and more action meant the story dragged less and I cared about the ending more.  The action sequences and suspense of inside the prison elevated this book above the first one in my mind. A creative and well done conclusion to the series.

Take it away publishers synopsis:

The only one who escaped . . . And the one who could destroy them all.

Incarceron, the living prison, has lost one of its inmates to the outside world: Finn’s escaped, only to find that Outside is not at all what he expected. Used to the technologically advanced, if violently harsh, conditions of the prison, Finn is now forced to obey the rules of Protocol, which require all people to live without technology. To Finn, Outside is just a prison of another kind, especially when Claudia, the daughter of the prison’s warden, declares Finn the lost heir to the throne. When another claimant emerges, both Finn’s and Claudia’s very lives hang on Finn convincing the Court of something that even he doesn’t fully believe.

Meanwhile, Finn’s oathbrother Keiro and his friend Attia are still trapped inside Incarceron. They are searching for a magical glove, which legend says Sapphique used to escape. To find it, they must battle the prison itself, because Incarceron wants the glove too.

Just like in the first book, there are two stories that ultimately connect: Finn and Claudia are trying to prove Finn is the Prince while still trying to find a way to reconnect with the prison to find the Warden and Keiro; Keiro and Attia are trying to survive, escape to reunite with Finn, and keep the prison from escaping itself.

Personally, I found the whole tension with Finn a bit much. But to be fair, the transition from prison to court would be a great shock psychologically and leaving your closest friend behind would make it doubly difficult. The angst and anger, however, just wore thin for me.

I much preferred the action inside the prison. The darker or more ambiguous characters were just better to my mind: the warden, the prison itself, Keiro, and Rix. The prison’s search for escape combined with the plotting or the warden, the naked desire of Keiro and the madness of Rix added up to a nice level of action and suspense.  And the setting of the Incarceron was just unique enough to make it that much better.

The outside action was bumped up a notch as well. The more detailed involvement of Claudia’s sapient tutor Jared was better than just the Finn-Claudia relationship. And the ultimate undoing of the false luxury of the realm was a nice touch.  The conclusion brought all this action and tension together, with a plot twist, in a satisfying and entertaining way.

All in all, I am glad I read this series.  While Steampunk is not really my thing, these two books are worth reading for the creativity and imagination they contain.

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Featured, Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Mar 27 2011

In the Mail: Afraid of the Dark

Afraid of the Dark (Jack Swyteck) by James Grippando

Publishers Weekly

In Grippando’s rousing ninth Jack Swyteck legal thriller (after Born to Run), Jack successfully defends a supposed Somali prisoner in his mid-20s held at Guantánamo. But then the prisoner is identified as an American, Jamal Wakefield, and is transferred to Miami, Fla., where he’s charged with the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend, McKenna Mays, three years earlier. In his defense, Jamal offers a wild story of kidnapping and covert interrogation. As witnesses who could confirm Jamal’s alibi are eliminated, Jack and his dwindling circle of friends, and not always trustworthy allies, must race to uncover a sadistic killer and his bosses before the conspirators can silence everyone who might speak against them. Working with a cast that includes depraved sexual deviants, corrupt private military contractors, and wannabe jihadis, Grippando transforms what might have been a conventional genre novel in lesser hands into an exciting tale of revenge.

 

By Kevin Holtsberry • In The Mail • 0 • Tags: , ,

Mar 26 2011

The All Americans in World War II: A Photographic History of the 82nd Airborne Division at War by Phil Nordyke

As I mentioned in my previous post, the 82nd Airborne, along with the 101st Airborne, were the elite American divisions in the European Theater of Operations.  These divisions were called upon countless times to take the hardest positions and defend against overwhelming odds.

Phil Nordyke has compiled hundreds of photographs about the 82nd in his photographic history of the Division in The All Americans in World War II: A Photographic History of the 82nd Airborne Division at War.

The photographs trace the 82nd from its formation to its many combat missions to the end of the war.  Many of the photographs have been published in other books (the gliders smashed to pieces in Normandy), but others have not been published as much (or never before).  Each photograph captures the the experiences of the troopers as they slogged through Western and Southern Europe and into Germany.

Nordyke also includes a short narrative of the Division’s actions during the war.  It is not too detailed, but it gives you a general idea of where the Division fought and against whom.  He includes many compelling stories, such as the fighting that occurred when the Americans took the offensive in the Battle of the Bulge (the Division suffered grievously with many companies taking fifty percent or more casualties).

By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

Mar 26 2011

In the Mail: Come and Find Me

Come and Find Me: A Novel of Suspense by Hallie Ephron

From the Publisher

Computer security expert and reformed hacker Diana Highsmith has not ventured beyond her home for more than a year—not since that fateful climbing vacation in Switzerland took Daniel’s life. Haunted by the sound of Daniel’s cries echoing across the gorge as he fell, Diana cannot stop thinking about the life they’ll never have—grief that has transformed her into a recluse.

Diana doesn’t have to shut herself off com­pletely from the world, though; she and Daniel’s best friend run a thriving Internet security company. From her home, in her pajamas, Diana assesses security breaches, both potential and real, and offers clients a way to protect themselves from hackers—the kind of disruptions Diana herself used to create. Once Diana has a game plan she is able to meet with clients in OtherWorld, an Internet-based platform, using Nadia, an avatar she created for herself. Diana knows she’ll have to rejoin the “real world” eventually, but right now a few steps from her door each morning is all she can handle.

When Diana’s sister goes missing, however, she is forced to do the impossible: brave both the outside world and her own personal demons to find her sister. As one step outside leads to another, Diana soon discovers that she is following a trail fraught with danger—and uncovering a web of deceit and betrayal, both online and real-life, that threatens not only her sister’s life, but her own.

 

By Kevin Holtsberry • In The Mail • 0 • Tags: , ,

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