William

Dodger is a scrappy young boy who lives the better part of his life in the London sewers. A girl is severely beaten and needs attention so Dodger battles it out with two other gentlemen in how to save her.

This is the story of a young boy who's street smarts and ability to think fast allow him to escape death, learn the secrets of the injured girl and use the politics of public opinion to get what he wants.

I really enjoyed this story. Dodger is a great character and most of it is really about him and his growth from sewer rat to private investigator and. The book is very funny and even the real dark moments still keep things light -- just as you would expect form Terry Pratchett. This is not a masterpiece but it is most definitely worth a listen.

Neal Stephenson has a wild imagination and my only fear is his vision of the future becomes a reality.

Snow Crash jumps in and out of a virtual reality world and a not-so-distant future where there are no laws, neighborhoods are protected by a grandfatherly mobster named Uncle Enzo. The primary plot of the book surrounds a virus called Snow Crash.

I will not get into what makes Snow Crash so special but will say the ramifications of this virus to change humankind is great, but not necessarily for the better. As with most Stephenson books, you will be taking a history lesson, enjoy some good sword fighting and enjoy characters that are clearly a result of their surroundings, rather than their upbringing.

In a world where there are no real rules, it is very difficult to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. I personally enjoyed this aspect of the book ad felt Jonathan Davis did an excellent job in voicing the characters to drive home this unique aspect of the book.

While I thought Jonathan Davis did a good job as the narrator, there were too many times where he had to pause and come back, with his voice clearly showing it. This was a bit distracting but did not ruin the book in any way.

Get ready to learn a whole lot of out there terms and character names and get sucked into this new world. Be prepared to pay a lot of attention when listening or you won't even notice when someone is in the virtual world or in the 'real' world. There is just enough fun in the book to keep things from getting too dark.

Another great novel by Neal Stephenson.

There is nothing like a great Pendergast story but his deep fall into the abyss of shame and self loathing makes for a heavy listen. I did like this story and there are some very interesting twists that I will obviously not give away.

There are many plots in this book. We have Pendergast re-united with a very special person that sets off a series of catastrophic events, Vincent is dealing with some very strange crimes in the city, Corrie Swanson is on her own solving with a family problem, and Dr. Felder is on a mission to uncover the mysteries of Constance's past.

While there is a lot going on here, each of the plots are well played out and helps take the heavy load off Pendergast's dark troubles.

In listening to this book, I realized one of my favorite characters is his mansion, The Dakota. Every story seems to introduce a new room, route, or special feature of the home that plays to my childhood memories of pretending there might be a secret room somewhere in my own home. If you have felt the same about the other Pendergast outings, you will enjoy Two Graves quite a bit.

With everything I liked about the story, I couldn't stop laughing that Nazi's were in it. Perhaps I am jaded from too many bad Indiana Jones movies.

Alex Cross has a lot on his plate in this latest outing. You will find him dealing with a mad man, then another re-occurring character who has some very nasty plans with the people of Washington DC.

What to say? I really enjoyed this book. Since the second book is already out as I write this, be aware this is a 'to be continued' storyline.

Enjoy it!

Nathan McBride is back and this time there is a girl involved. She is so involved, in fact, that Nathan takes her on a wild journey with gunfights and murderous enemies.

The story begins with Nathan receiving a text with a mysterious message. A girl texts him to let him know she has been kidnapped. Nathan tracks this girl down and then the plot thickens as they dart around San Diego, then various cities throughout California.

Harv and Holly are basically minor supporting roles in this outing so it is just Nathan and the girl. The girl is surrounded in mystery (how does she know Nathan's code name and private number?) and the murderous men who kidnapped her are running a very strange operation.

Actually, I liked the story, enjoyed the plot and Dick Hill once again did a great narration. Here is where the book lost me. The girl is very smart and her need to stay close to Nathan and be protected is what allows the story to have Nathan taking her to gunfight after deadly gunfight.

No matter what this girl went through, Nathan's taking her on this journey of destruction was completely implausible. Harv and Holly certainly would not approve and I just couldn't get it out of my head either.

This is actually an interesting story and I do like the Nathan McBride series but I was really bothered by how unrealistic it would be to put this girl into the situations they did.

Animals are suddenly attacking humans and there is only one person who has dedicated his career trying to convince others bad things are happening. This is an entertaining book with some thought provoking ideas but it is just that.. entertaining. I enjoyed it well enough. Jay Snider played the characters quite well.

Here is a Stone book with a very different start and a unique plot. Most Stone books start at a restaurant over drinks, then the plot unfolds by way of a beautiful woman walking into the bar.

Severe Clear is almost a project management book for the rich and powerful. Stone and his team must open a swanky new hotel in LA while dealing with a potential terrorist threat. The fun here is in the motions and planing meetings that go into making sure everything goes right.

There is a significant side story with Herbert (no longer Herbie) as he helps his new startup deal with potential espionage and employment clauses. This whole bit seems boring and it would be if it weren't for a unique aspect that drives this side story.

Of course Stone's son and his friends are all still absolutely perfect in every way, which bothers me because I think their flawlessness just comes off as fake.

This was a great book and I really enjoyed it but if there is one person I really missed, it was Dino. Sure, Dino is in the book and makes appearances but his is there as a bit player rather than someone right there next to Stone.

As always, Tony Roberts plays the characters extremely well. I wonder if I would like this Audiobook series if Tony did not do the voices?

As far as short stories go, this was a good one. It is basically a tale of a mysterious man considered by young kids to be a very evil tooth fairy. The whole story takes place as Pendergast and his friends enjoy themselves before dinner. The story is short but it sheds some new light on Diogenes and perhaps Pendergast's future life choices.

Get through the first few chapters of The Twelve and you will start back on the journey where The Passage left off. It was those first few chapters that really made me question whether I wanted to continue reading. Either Justin Cronin just meant to write the books this way or his head is getting too big.

The first part of The Twelve is downright difficult to read with scripture-like text getting all high and mighty about God's creation of Zero and how Amy will be the light, etc, etc. It is all very over the top.

That said, this is a very good and very dark outing. There is little to be happy about but you do get to learn a whole lot about the back story of the world being overrun by the virals. All the characters are treated incredibly well so you never feel like there is some 'side character'.. they are all very well developed.

If you read The Passage and want to get on with it, I suggest you do. If you are wondering whether this story is good for you, realize it can get very preachy.

Michael Bennett is asked to lead the capture of a drug lord who is in New York for a very special event. The plans to capture him quickly change. Michael Bennett is in a bad place with this drug lord's very unique forms of terror that he unleashes on the police.

Some very interesting things happen in this book that will surprise and certainly not delight. While Michael Bennett always keeps the book from going 'too dark', this is a very dark book and I believe the best Michael Bennett so far.

The narration is perfect, the characters are well developed and the family is still front and center, each playing a unique role in the plot.

I have no idea why the book's tagline is "Move Over Alex Cross" but will ignore that since it was so well done.