Mutation by K.A. Applegate

Remnants Series #5)

Synopsis
Caught in the depths of their strange new world, Mo' Steel and Billy Weir encounter a lost Remnant, Kubric DiSalvo. Unfortunately, the ship has transformed him, replacing his skin with a transparent plastic coating. Scared and awed by the ship's vicious power, the group tries to rejoin heir friends. Meanwhile, the other Remnants are in danger in another stratum of the ship: Yago and Jobs are stuck in a computer-generated sea battle. When the groups meet, Billy finds he can communicate with the ship's core. Will his strange past help him to understand ­ or even control ­ the ship in time to save everyone?

My Opinion
Another wonderful chapter in the life of the Remnants. Billy and Mo are separated from the rest of the group when Billy goes overboard and Mo jumps in to save him. With his special abilities Billy is able to save himself and Mo long enough for the ship to suck them into what appears to be another part of the ship. Here they meet another Remnant and his father.

While this newly formed group becomes acquainted the others are stuck in a node where they are in a battle for their lives. A losing battle. Lucky for them, Billy and Mo discover a way for Billy to interact with Mother, the computer controlling the ship that they are on. But Mother does not like Billy trying to take over and starts a battle of her own with him.

When we leave this book, Billy and Mother have agreed upon a form of cease fire while they take stock of each other. We are left with a ton of questions and I can not wait to read the next book in the series. Sadly I do not have it and will have to try to get my hands on it sooner rather than later.

Love this series!!!

The Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson

Synopsis
A dark mystery has been buried beneath the sands of the Sahara desert since the beginning of time. In a basement in New Mexico, four poker buddies find reason to believe that a startling secret is out there. . .

These four amateur adventurers are about to uncover the key that could unlock the vast reaches of the universe.

A sudden burst of curiosity propels mild-mannered English professor Will and his three friends to the Sahara to excavate a site where radar has evidently detected trilithic stones hidden beneath the sand. There they stumble upon an ancient artifact that will change their lives, and the world, forever...a gateway between planets, linking Earth to distant worlds where they will discover wonders and terrors beyond imagining.

Jack Williamson, the dean of science fiction writers, weaves an exciting tale that takes the friends to the far corners of the universe. One leads an oppressed people to freedom. Another uncovers clues that could identify a long-dormant civilization of immortal beings. Now each traveler must play a crucial role in unraveling an ancient mystery, the solution to which may reveal the true origins of the human race.

If they can just survive their journeys back to Earth . . .

My Opinon
This book was just okay. I loved the idea behind the book, but unfortunately the author seemed to get distracted and did not follow through with the plot.

The characters are poorly developed so you never make any real connection with them. The beginning of the story is interesting, but instead of taking us on the wonderful journey that could have been the author comes up short. Instead of our explorers traveling through to the many possible worlds that should be accessible through the 'gate' system they get bogged down on one and get involved in the politics of the world. That is where the story moves from a good science fiction tale to politics that have been done before and are not too terribly interesting.

The ending was a huge let down and the book all around wasn't really worth the effort for me. Maybe because I am such a huge Stargate fan and I know what could have potentially been done with this plot, I was left feeling cheated.

A Terrible Beauty by Graham Masterton

SYNOPSIS
There are things I need to know...

On a farm in southern Ireland, the dismembered bones of eleven women are found in a common grave, buried eight decades ago. Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire is used to bloodshed, but this ivory litter of human remains is unimaginable butchery.

Of other worlds apart from this...

In isolated darkness not far away, an American tourist is at the mercy of a serial killer. His tools are a boning knife, twine, and a doll fashioned from nails and fishhooks. The murder of his victims is second only to the pleasure of their pain.

Darker places inhabited by evil monstrosities...

As an eighty-year-old mystery unfolds, so does a modern-day ritual that's marked Katie Maguire as its next victim. For what happened once in this small picturesque village is happening again. It's more than a series of horrifying crimes. It's tradition.

Take me there.


My Opinion
Absolutely loved this book. The main character was well developed and multi-faceted. The story line was excellent and the sick shit was truly sick!

Katie is a detective in an Irish police force. She is in fact the first woman detective and therefore in the spotlight and working hard to prove her worth. She is married to a man who has lost his way and dabbles in the not so legal side of things. On top of this she is dealing with the grief of having lost her only child. Her character is well developed and she is very likeable.

When she gets a call to investigate the discovery of 11 sets of human remains buried on a farm she begins on a journey that has many twists and turns along the way. It is discovered that the bones are over 80 years old, and therefore not of immediate consequence, but when a young girls remains are found in the same condition as the unearthed skeletons, Katie tackles the case with determination. This storyline is fantastic! I totally enjoyed this book and the ending was as good as the journey!!

Legend of the Jade Dragon by Yasmine Galenorn

A Chintz 'n China Mystery #2

Synopsis
The second Chintz 'n China mystery—charm recipe included.

When a client gives seer Emerald O'Brien a statue of a jade dragon as payment, bad luck follows. To thwart its evil spell, she'll have to follow a trail of heartache to China's Ming Dynasty.

My Opinion
I totally enjoyed this second book in the Chintz and China series. I really like the main character and her family. All the characters are well developed and I enjoyed this particular storyline better than the first book. There was a lot in thisbook that carried over from the first book and I can not wait to read the next one in the series. I have a feeling that the books are just going to keep getting better.

Ghost Of A Chance by Yasmine Galenorn

Chintz'n China #1

From the Publisher
Emerald O'Brien is the owner of the Chintz 'n China Tea Room where guests are served the perfect blend of tea and tarot reading. She never set out to be a detective, but once word gets out that she can communicate with the dead, there's no turning back... When the ghost of Susan Mitchell asks for Emerald's help in convicting her own murderer, Emerald can't refuse. Along with her friends-an ex-supermodel and a cop-and her new love interest, Emerald must search for clues to solve the mystery

My Opinion
This was an okay read.

The idea behind the story is interesting and the main character is believable.

Emerald is a divorcee, raising two kids on her own, trying to support her family with her business which is a tea/china shop where she also does the occasional tarot card reading. She is known as the town witch, so it is no surprise when a ghost appears at the foot of her bed one night asking for help. The story takes on a bit of a mystery and I did not figure out the twist, so that is something. I had a little trouble with the added subplot of the Mr. B & U. It seemed almost like an unnecessary part of the story and it seemed to me that the author was attempting to put more of a horror twist on the story than I could read into it. (If that makes any sense) I did enjoy the interaction between the other characters, although I don't really care for Andrew much. I almost feel like he is going to be a problem. I suppose we will see in the other books in the series.

Anyway, I have the second in the series as well and will read it as well as the rest as I come across them.

Nowhere Land by K.A. Applegate

Remnants #4

Synopsis
There's a reason for the strange environment of the world the Remnants have landed on. It's not a real world at all. It's a ship and the ship's landscape is computer generated. Technically enhanced. And when the group finds a power node, a green-glowing cone that's racing with electricity, they realize that they too can be in control of their bizarre surroundings.

My Opinion
Well this was another interesting chapter in the Remnants series. The survivors are exploring the ship that they have found themselves on. They encounter a nightmare world full of horrors that only a sick mind could create. They befriend one of the Blue Meanies and get more of an understanding of what is happening in the battle between these aliens and the Riders who are trying to kill the survivors.

I am sad that this is the last book in the series that I currently have. I am going to go on a hunt for the rest of the series and I have really enjoyed it so far.

Them by Katherine Applegate

Remnants #3

Synopsis
Of the Eighty people chosen to escape Earth's destruction, only a handful survived. And those that made the five-hundred-year trip through time have not emerged unscathed. They've landed among the truly bizarre, and it is now time to confront their strange new reality. Despite the enemies they know are out there, Jobs's and Mo'Steel's group venture out to explore, and soon discover what looks like a recreation of the Tower of Babel. Within the tower, they find an alien creature – wounded, but a potential threat nonetheless. Still, they decide to follow it deeper into the tower in an effort to unlock its secrets.

My Opinion
In this third book of the series the group of survivors sets out to explore the new world they have landed on. Soon after the set out they discover that this is not a planet, but a ship. A ship large enough to hold worlds, that seems to be controlled by a super computer who is using their own data stores from Earth to create an environment for the survivors, based on artwork. But the artwork it chooses is a combination of artists who created paintings of atrocities that only a crazed mind could create.

What was one group of survivors becomes two separate factions. The normal group and the misfits. Who fits where is slowly determined by emerging mutations and each individuals desire or resistance to follow the self appointed leaders. Jobs, Mo-Steel, Olga (Mo-Steel's mom), Violet and Billy Weir form one group. The others form another, although some do not fit in as well as others. Tamara, who was pregnant when the shuttle took off from Earth, and her 'baby' that was born while the others were in hibernation, seem to be an entity of their own. 2Face who is taking care of Jobs younger brother Edward, finds herself fighting for her very life when the baby demands a human sacrifice. And Edward seems to have developed a mutation to camouflage himself that is becoming evident to the rest of the group.

While these two separate groups battle demons straight from the crazed mind of a long dead artist from Earth, as well as the every present Riders, they make startling discoveries about the ship that they are on and wonder if they can indeed survive.

Destination Unknown K.A. Applegate

Remnants #2

My Opinion
In this second book of the Remnant series the survivors of the destruction of Earth wake up from what they discover is a 500 year hibernation only to discover that while the new hibernation technology worked for some, others were not so lucky. Out of the 80 survivors less than 1/3 of them wake up from their long journey to discover that the world they have landed on, while able to support human life, is not very friendly towards it.

Jobs and his younger brother wake up to find that both of their parents have failed to survive the journey. Mo-Steel and his mother wake up but his father does not. As the survivors come to grips with the fact that there are very few of the remaining humans left alive they begin to explore the world they have landed on. Thanks to one survivor, Violet, they discover that the environment that they find themselves in is a mishmash of artwork that was added to the memory banks of the shuttle when it left Earth. It seems that someone has attempted to make the survivors feel at home, while not understanding the data that they have discovered. On top of the strange environment the survivors encounter Riders, a strange alien life form who attack and kill one of the survivors without provocation. As the survivors struggle for their survival they explore this strange new world that they now have to call home.