State of Fear (2004, Conspiracy Techno-Thriller Book) – 7/10 review

Writer: Michael Crichton

State of Fear (2004) A wealthy environmental investor is killed when his Ferrari plunges off a cliff. With his funding up in the air, his lawyer finds himself at the centre of a ideological storm wherein his understanding of global warming will be irrevocably challenged. 7/10 Interesting global warming-themed thriller whose thought-provoking core resonates rather more successfully than the thriller part entertains. In fact, the thriller part seems quite poorly written with the breathless pace of those sections allowing important story details to be too easily skipped and sequences ending abruptly. This Michael Crichton book contains sexual swear words, adult dialogue and violence, an extremely unpleasant scene of cannibalism.

Decoding the Heavens (2008, Archaeology Epic Book) – 7/10 review

Author: Jo Marchant

Decoding the Heavens (2008) "In 1900 a group of sponge divers blown off course in the Meditteranean discovered an Ancient Greek shipwreck dating from around 70 BC. Lying unnoticed for months amongst their hard-won haul was what appeared to be a formless lump of corroded rock. It turned out to be the most stunning scientific artefact we have from antiquity. For more than a century this ‘Antikythera mechanism‘ puzzled academics. It was ancient clockwork, unmatched in complexity for a thousand years – but what was it for? Now, more than 2,000 years after the device was lost at sea, scientists have pieced together its intricate works and revealed its secrets." (from flyleaf) 7/10 This archaeological history looking at the discovery and understanding of a technology that wasn’t thought to exist is written more like a novel or movie biography than a textbook and is remarkably readable. Marchant goes through each key person chronologically as they come under the irresistible spell of the Antikythera mechanism and each dedicate their resources to revealing and adding their name to it’s history. By the end of the book, the stunning, out-of-time nature of the Antikythera mechanism will stir the intellect (had mankind really made no technological progress in the 2,000 years before the 20th century?) and it’s near-magic hold over those directly involved will be entirely understandable.

The Teeth of the Tiger (2003, Book) – 7/10 review

Writer: Tom Clancy

Teeth of the Tiger, The (2003) 7/10 A little less in the way of how-to-build-your-own submarine / nuclear bomb / capitalist economy (delete as appropriate) and more in the way of preparation for and execution of field work makes this entertaining skilful book simpler than some of Clancy’s other country-juggling Jack Ryan thrillers. The baton is passed to Jack, Jr., who closes the book by, essentially, thumbing his nose, wiggling his fingers and saying nah-nah-ne-nah-nah SPOILER to an enemy of America as he watches him die. It feels a little inappropriate given the navel-gazing done during the remainder but provides a fittingly American climax. This book contains sexual swear words and graphic violence, unpleasant scenes and references to sexuality.

A Question of Blood (2003, Book) – 7/10

Writer: Ian Rankin

Question of Blood (2003) Three dead, including the ex-military gunman, and one injured is the horrific toll at a shooting at a private school. Rebus is requested to assist the investigation due to his own military and personal background but he’s having trouble with a pair of badly burned hands. He says he scalded them but the man who has been stalking and hassling his partner, D.S. Siobhan Clarke, has just been found burned to death. 7/10 Entertaining and quality detective drama starring Ian Rankin’s D.I. John Rebus. Rebus continues to come across as a charismatic, big-mouthed but generally righteous hero but Rankin also gives enough care to his other characters. This means that you always know who is who and that is probably where Rankin’s real skill in writing comes. The story is fine but it suffers from a bit from everything being connected to everything else and from the nearly-glib explanation of a Dunblane-style school shooting. This Ian Rankin book contains sexual swear words, adult dialogue and references to illegal substances and violence.

The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988, Book) – 6/10

Writer: Tom Clancy

Cardinal of the Kremlin, The (1988) CIA’s top-placed source in the Kremlin, codenamed CARDINAL, informs America of a successful test firing of a new Star Wars anti-ballistic laser system. The CIA realise that the Russians are ahead of their own efforts in the field and attempt to use CARDINAL to help them catch up but CARDINAL is about to be compromised and, with it, current peace talks about reducing nuclear arsenals. 6/10 Clancy delivers a lot of good trademark detail in international espionage, ever-changing loyalties, and ‘Star Wars’ systems but has larger problems with an unconvincing Afghanistani warrior parallel storyline. At least, we haven’t got to endure Cathy and Jack Ryan’s marriage and Clancy’s endlessly useless married people dialogue. However, it all builds to a surprisingly flat climax that has a last minute hitch for Jack. Once you’ve got to that point, you notice that there’s only a handful of pages left and you just know that Clancy won’t conclude the tale satisfactorily. And he doesn’t. This Tom Clancy book contains sexual swear words and violence. Available on Paperback.

Watchman (1988, Book) – 6/10

Writer: Ian Rankin

Watchman (1988) MI5 Surveillance man Miles Flint, in yet another excuse not to go home after work, joins a watchman team trailing a suspected assassin. When the assassin gives them the slip and fulfils his contract against an Israeli guns supplier, Miles’ experience, and a knowing smile from the assassin, tells him that he and his team were set up to fail. 6/10 Modest and entirely readable spy thriller. The endless parallels drawn with the world of beetles feels like something an English teacher would tell you is a good idea. It’s not. Rankin’s strength clearly lies in dialogue interaction not in pontifications and technicalities. His occasional thriller sequences are not very thrilling and his story is pretty unconvincing. However, as I intimated, when the characters are just talking to each other, especially men with women, things start to come alive and hint at the talent that would bring Ian Rankin major success. This Ian Rankin book contains mild swear words, mild adult dialogue and brief violence.

Red Rabbit (2002, Book) – 7/10

Red Rabbit (2002) A thirty-two-year-old Jack Ryan joins the CIA full-time and is sent to England to work as an analyst. Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II’s proposed actions have lead to concern for the future of the Soviet Union and the Politburo will employ the KGB to take whatever means necessary to stop the Union collapsing. Only one man can stop the well-planned fast-track assassination… and that man is not Jack Ryan. 7/10 While certainly Tom Clancy-lite (you won’t know how to build and operate your own nuclear submarine after reading this), this is still a well-written and entertaining espionage novel. You could criticise it for a lack of action or tension but it provides a convincing look into the defection of a Russian to the United States of America, apparently a land flowing with milk and honey whose streets are paved with gold. It also integrates nicely with the real-life assassination attempt of John Paul II (Wikipedia) and the fictional life of hero Jack Ryan. This book contains sexual swear words, adult dialogue and extremely unpleasant scenes.

Hard Frost mini book review – 9/10

 Buy from Amazon.co.uk

★★★★★ ★★★★

Highly entertaining with a memorably cunning misdirection in the main child kidnapping case but the other cases swirling around are also infused with imagination and character. Jack Frost’s mind operates only on crime and his groin but his crudeness is skilfully balanced with his persistence and humanity.

This book formed the basis for Season 5 Episode 1 of the ITV David Jason series “A Touch of Frost.”

People credits

• Copyright Holder: R.D. Wingfield
• Writer: R.D. Wingfield