Book Review - Son of Recent Reads

THE BELL, THE BOOK AND THE SPELLBINDER
By Brad Strickland

2001, 149 pages

This was the first book by Brad Strickland, who took over John Bellairs' characters after he died. I enjoyed it quite a lot, Strickland seemed to have a good grasp on the characters and locations, and the story was a typical over-the-top romp. Pretty Fun.

7/10

SHOCK WAVE
By Clive Cussler

1996, 567 pages

An international diamond company is using a revolutionary new mining procedure, in addition to slave labor to unearth massive amounts of of the hard stone, as part of an elaborate plan to destroy the diamond and gemstone industry and make the owner, Arthur Dorsett a very rich and powerful man. Unfortunately for him, his new technique is killing people and animals every time it's used and Dirk Pitt gets wind of it. Better watch out, Dorsett, cause we all know Dirk Pitt and Co. never fail.

Shock Wave was a typical Cussler book, that is, fun, kind of silly and exciting. He added himself into the story again for some annoying reason, but other than that, I liked it.

6/10

UNSPEAKABLE
By Sandra Brown

1998, 486 pages

Bleah. Overly dramatic and cheesy, I was very unimpressed with this book. Struggled to finish it.

2/10

SAMMY KEYES AND THE SKELETON MAN
By Wendelin Van Draanen

1998, 172 pages

How fun! A sassy, feisty little lady sleuth. Written from Sammy's POV and full of fun characters, I really enjoyed this book! Gonna have to find more of 'em, though the authors name is kind of difficult to remember...

8/10

THE BOOK OF LIES
By Brad Meltzer

2009, 464 pages

I dug this book. The ending seemed a little goofy, and I know some people had issues with the logic, but seriously, anyone that doesn't take a book with a conspiracy involving the creators of superman and the weapon that killed Abel with a grain of salt is far too stuffy.

7/10

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS BOOK 5 - THE AUSTERE ACADEMY
By Lemony Snickett

2000, 240 pages

Better than book 4, the Lowly Lumberjacks, or whatever, but still the kids foiling a transparent plot by Count Olaf. They did throw in a different set of orphans and started hinting a bit at a greater conspiracy, which would be nice. The overly aggressive and excessively strong-pinchered crabs annoy.

4/10

THE BEASTS OF CLAWSTONE CASTLE
By Eva Ibbotson

2007, 256 pages

Loved this kids book. A couple of kids recruit some ghosts to work in their castle, scaring tourists so that they can help their family support some rare white cattle that exist exclusively in their little field in England. It was a little simple, clearly focused more for a bit younger age than John Bellairs and the like, but a lot of fun. I dug that the kids just took for granted the existence of ghosts, and it was written with a very lighthearted and British style.

8/10

SHADOW OF POWER
By Steve Martini

2008, 464 pages

This was the first book I've read by Martini, a writer of legal thrillers. It seemed to flow pretty smoothly, and I liked the premise, though the later chapters got a little over the top with world reactions. Really to give much more of the plot than "Lawyer defends racist bellboy who may or may not have killed an author who just wrote an incendiary racially themed book" would give it away, but I thought the story was pretty engrossing and satisfactory.

7/10