The First Commandment - Brad Thor (Possible Spoilers)

As promised, Brad Thor's The First Commandment.

    

     Once again I chose a book in this series that was out of order as I didn't know any better, really.  This book could stand alone if I didn't know that it was part of a series.  So, instead of getting into the fact that as a reader, I am somewhat lame with regards to reading books in order, I will simply give my opinions on the book itself.  (I have since read Lions of Lucerne, the first book in the series, and it is a MUST read book.  It was THAT good!)  We also know that I suck for plot summaries, but I'll do my best.

     Plot:  Five terrorists are released from Guantánamo Bay .  Four go on their merry way and one is left to his own devices to seek his revenge on Agent Scot Harvath by targeting his family and friends.  It is up to Scot to track down this mysterious killer and forces the help of The Troll, a nemesis from previous novels.  (I can't wait to read the book where he is introduced!)  

     The First Commandment has all the elements of a really great novel.  Action, suspense, great characters (a lot of which were from previous books that I haven't read yet), revenge, and loads of great description.  I really felt like I was there, at the island or in the hospital room or on the plane with the terrorists who were being released.

     Knowing that there are more books to come has given me a predisposed fear of a cliffhanger, which Thor, thankfully, has not used as of yet.  The story definitely has elements from previous books, but as with The Last Patriot, he manages to be descriptive enough without dragging out fodder from former stories.  If that makes sense to you, you are doing really good!

     There is nothing really bad that I have to say about The First Commandment.  I can't wait to read the rest of the books, then reread these last two books in the order that they were supposed to be read in.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again... READ THESE BOOKS!

Badlands by Richard Montanari

I know I was going to do something weekly, but my schedule has simply gotten too busy.  I am planning on changing the theme of this blog and the title, so be aware that if you suddenly see "Onyx's Library Excursions" or something like that, just know that you haven't gotten to a different place.  I've just switched it up a bit.  But, for now, I will relate my very average opinions about the last book that I found at the library a few weeks ago.  Yes, it does take me that long to read a book.

Title: Badlands: A Novel of Suspense
Author: Richard Montanari
Publish Date: August 27, 2008
Genre: Suspense/Crime

The plot:  Joseph Swann, or Mr. Ludo to his victims, prey on the runaways of Philly and leave clues to their identities and whereabouts for detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano to find.  It's a race against time as they attempt to track down the mysterious Swann before another victim is found dead.



Okay, okay.  So, I'm not very good at plot summaries yet, but I didn't just want to use someone else's words.

This book is awesome.  Frankly, it reads like an episode of Law and Order, and I really enjoy that show.  I will admit to this book being just a bit confusing at first.  I don't have the memory of some and probably would have done well to have a pen and paper handy for writing things down as there were many victims and such in this book.  Eventually, he tied it altogether nicely.

I enjoyed this book also because it portrayed old-time illusionist, or magicians, if you will. Raven's biodad Vile is a magician and I couldn't help but think of him as I read this book.

Montanari does a very good job of telling the story from both sides of the fence.. the killer and the detectives.  A somewhat supernatural type visions come from Kevin Byrne as he touches some things, yet they give a plausible reason for his talents.

The one downer about this book is that even though Montanari does do a great job explaining things to the reader, I was still confused about tangram puzzles.  I will have to look them up, and probably should have looked them up while I was reading, but I only read before bed time and don't feel like getting up to do anything on the computer.

Would I recommend this book?  YES!  Read it.  Go to the library and check it out now, today.  It was a great read.

My rating:

My First Book "Review" : "Wicked" by Gregory McGuire

I hear the broadway musical adaptation of this book is phenomenal.  In fact, I hear it is coming to Boise for more than two weeks.  I hear that it may sell out most evenings.  Local radio stations are giving away VIP packages and such.

I have to wonder ............

Actually, I am curious as to how they managed to adapt this book to broadway.  

As most people know, it is the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, before she became such.  That part of the story was really great.  The tales during her childhood and school days were great.  They gave the Witch such depth and the fact that she was born green gave her enough tragedy to deal with.  What I had a hard time grasping was the political concepts throughout the book.  Not that I don't grasp politics, but mostly I read to be entertained and it took me forever to get through this book because at most points I was thinking to myself, "So what?"  

There were lots of religious points to the book, too.  I could dig that.  McGuire did a great job of creating religious aspects that never really got fully explained.  OR perhaps I had fallen asleep through those parts.  I guess all of the elements combined were intended to give a super sense of depth to an otherwise green character.

I have never read the original book "Wizard of Oz" so perhaps I am missing some key elements here, but there were many points during this novel that I thought they skewed many of the characters out of the realm of what they should have been.  

I believe that this book could have been more entertaining than it was.  Perhaps the Broadway Musical is more so.  I'm not counting on it, though.  I suppose I should make a point to go see it, so that I can write a review of that, too.  

There was a lot of NO closure with many of the characters, and other times the author jumps around.  Actually, he jumped around A LOT. Very irritating.

This is a book that I will never read again.  It had come HIGHLY recommended from many friends, and I have to wonder why.  Why was this book so recommended?  Perhaps it was not to my liking because I am way more into fantasy books that don't take as long to read.  (Don't judge!)  

I will more than likely try to pick up a copy of the original Wizard of Oz to see if I am misjudging this story or not.  I will at least give it that chance and adjust my thoughts accordingly.  

Until then, I'll wait for the DVD release of Wicked.

Rating: 

Upon further searching the internet for one who thinks as I do, I did find a 1 star review of Wicked, but the reviewer has this to say about the musical:

"SEE THE SHOW: The broadway show is wonderful and amazing. It is everything that this book is not. However, don't go thinking that they have much in common, because they don't. The plot in the show makes sense, is interesting (far more interesting than the plot in the book), creates characters with whom you really become involved AND gives you a GREAT payoff in the end, explaining things in a MUCH better way and giving you a WONDERFUL and different point of view of the whole story of Oz. The show is one of the best that I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few. Don't miss Julie Murney as Elphaba, if you get a chance. 

THE SHOW: 2 THUMBS UP, 4 STARS, DON'T MISS IT!

THE BOOK: 2 thumbs down, 0 stars, skip it."

Perhaps I will take that very good advice.....