Book Review: Congo

Book: Congo by Michael Crichton

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Deep in the African rain forest, near the legendary ruins of the Lost City of Zinj, an expedition of eight American geologists is mysteriously and brutally killed in a matter of minutes.

Ten thousand miles away, Karen Ross, the Congo Project Supervisor, watches a gruesome video transmission of the aftermath: a camp destroyed, tents crushed and torn, equipment scattered in the mud alongside dead bodies — all motionless except for one moving image — a grainy, dark, man-shaped blur.

In San Francisco, primatologist Peter Elliot works with Amy, a gorilla with an extraordinary vocabulary of 620 “signs,” the most ever learned by a primate, and she likes to fingerpaint. But recently, her behavior has been erratic and her drawings match, with stunning accuracy, the brittle pages of a Portuguese print dating back to 1642 . . . a drawing of an ancient lost city. A new expedition — along with Amy — is sent into the Congo where they enter a secret world, and the only way out may be through a horrifying death…

Book Review for Star Wars Book Club for September: Star Wars: Red Harvest

Book: Star Wars: Red Harvest by Joe Schreiber

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Unlike those other Jedi sidelined to the Agricultural Corps—those whose abilities have not proved up to snuff—Hestizo Trace possesses one extraordinary Force talent: a gift with plants. But suddenly her quiet existence among greenhouse and garden specimens is violently destroyed by the arrival of an emissary from Darth Scabrous, a Sith Lord with a fanatical dream poised to become nightmarish reality. For the rare black orchid that Hestizo has nurtured and bonded with is the final ingredient in an ancient Sith formula—crucial to the Dark Lord's obsession, but with consequences far worse than fatal. Now, spawned by a heretofore unknown virus, the rotting, ravenous dead are rising, driven by a bloodthirsty hunger for all things living—and commanded by a Sith Master who lusts for power and the ultimate prize: immortality...no matter the cost.

Book Review for Star Wars Book Club for January: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived

Book: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived (The Old Republic book #2) by Paul S. Kemp

Cover Art and Design by LucasArts

Edition: Paperback

Description:

“Our time has come. For three hundred years we prepared; we grew stronger while you rested in your cradle of power. . . . Now your Republic shall fall.”

A Sith warrior to rival the most sinister of the Order’s Dark Lords, Darth Malgus brought down the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in a brutal assault that shocked the galaxy. But if war crowned him the darkest of Sith heroes, peace will transform him into something far more heinous—something Malgus would never want to be but cannot stop becoming, any more than he can stop the rogue Jedi fast approaching. Her name is Aryn Leneer—and the lone Jedi Knight that Malgus cut down in the fierce battle for the Jedi Temple was her Master. Now she’s going to find out what happened to him, even if it means breaking every rule in the book.

Book Review: The Kill Order

Book: The Kill Order (The Maze Runner book #4) by James Dashner

Cover Art by Philip Straub
Typography by Joel Tippie

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth, killing most of the population.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened. They survived. But now a virus is spreading. A virus that fills humans with murderous rage.

They're convinced that there's a way to save those who are left—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some you're worth more dead than alive.

Book Review: The Death Cure

Book: The Death Cure (The Maze Runner book #3) by James Dashner

Cover Art by Philip Straub
Typography by Joel Tippie

Edition: Paperback

Description:

It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Book: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan (The Old Republic book #1) by Drew Karpyshyn

Cover Art and Design by LucasArts

Edition: Paperback

Description:

There’s something out there: a juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republic—unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it.

Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior—the man called Revan has been all of these. He left Coruscant a Jedi, on a mission to defeat the Mandalorians. He returned a Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was the loss of his memories. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear. What happened beyond the Outer Rim that Revan can’t quite remember or entirely forget? One thing he’s certain of: Something dark is plotting to destroy the very existence of the Republic. With no idea how to identify the threat, let alone stop it, Revan may be doomed to fail. For he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Lost Tribe of the Sith

Book: Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith by John Jackson Miller

Cover Art and Design by David Stevenson and Scott Biel

Edition: Paperback

Description:

At last in one volume, the eight original installments of the epic Lost Tribe of the Sith eBook series . . . along with the explosive, never-before-published finale, Pandemonium—more than one hundred pages of new material!

Five thousand years ago. After a Jedi ambush, the Sith mining ship Omen lies wrecked on a remote, unknown planet. Its commander, Yaru Korsin, battles the bloodshed of a mutinous faction led by his own brother. Marooned and facing death, the Sith crew have no choice but to venture into their desolate surroundings. They face any number of brutal challenges—vicious predators, lethal plagues, tribal people who worship vengeful gods—and like true Sith warriors, counter them with the dark side of the Force.

The struggles are just beginning for the proud, uncompromising Sith, driven as they are to rule at all costs. They will vanquish the primitive natives, and they will find their way back to their true destiny as rulers of the galaxy. But as their legacy grows over thousands of years, the Sith ultimately find themselves tested by the most dangerous threat of all: the enemy within.

Book Review: Rebellion of Thieves

Book: Rebellion of Thieves (A Robyn Hoodlum Adventure book #2) by Kekla Magoon

Cover Illustrations by Brandon Dorman
Cover Design by John Candell

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Robyn Loxley can't rest now that she's the #1 Most Wanted Fugitive, Robyn Hoodlum. The harsh Nott City governor, Ignomus Crown, may have increased the reward for her capture, but this won't stop Robyn from masterminding her biggest mission yet: infiltrating the governor's mansion to rescue her parents.

The perfect opportunity arises when the Iron Teen contest comes to Sherwood. If Robyn scores high enough, she'll be invited to a dinner at the mansion. But performing well also puts her directly in Crown's sights. Can she and her crew of misfit friends pull off such a grand scheme?

Book Review for Star Wars Book Club for July: Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void

Book: Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void by Tim Lebbon

Cover Art by Torstein Nordstrand

Edition: Paperback

Description:

On the planet Tython, the ancient Je’daii order was founded. And at the feet of its wise Masters, Lanoree Brock learned the mysteries and methods of the Force—and found her calling as one of its most powerful disciples. But as strongly as the Force flowed within Lanoree and her parents, it remained absent in her brother, who grew to despise and shun the Je’daii, and whose training in its ancient ways ended in tragedy.

Now, from her solitary life as a Ranger keeping order across the galaxy, Lanoree has been summoned by the Je’daii Council on a matter of utmost urgency. The leader of a fanatical cult, obsessed with traveling beyond the reaches of known space, is bent on opening a cosmic gateway using dreaded dark matter as the key—risking a cataclysmic reaction that will consume the entire star system. But more shocking to Lanoree than even the prospect of total galactic annihilation, is the decision of her Je’daii Masters to task her with the mission of preventing it. Until a staggering revelation makes clear why she was chosen: The brilliant, dangerous madman she must track down and stop at any cost is the brother whose death she has long grieved—and whose life she must now fear.

Book Review: The Scorch Trials

Book: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner book #2) by James Dashner

Cover Art by Philip Straub
Typography by Joel Tippie

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn't done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has been sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers' destruction—and they're determined to survive.

Book Review for Star Wars Book Club for March: Star Wars: Catalyst

Book: Star Wars: Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno

Cover Design by Scott Biel

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Lauded Star Wars author James Luceno returns to pen an intense tale of ambition and betrayal that sets the stage for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

War is tearing the galaxy apart. For years the Republic and the Separatists have battled across the stars, each building more and more deadly technology in an attempt to win the war. As a member of Chancellor Palpatine’s top secret Death Star project, Orson Krennic is determined to develop a superweapon before the Republic’s enemies can. And an old friend of Krennic’s, the brilliant scientist Galen Erso, could be the key.

Galen’s energy-focused research has captured the attention of both Krennic and his foes, making the scientist a crucial pawn in the galactic conflict. But after Krennic rescues Galen, his wife, Lyra, and their young daughter, Jyn, from Separatist kidnappers, the Erso family is deeply in Krennic’s debt. Krennic then offers Galen an extraordinary opportunity: to continue his scientific studies with every resource put utterly at his disposal. While Galen and Lyra believe that his energy research will be used purely in altruistic ways, Krennic has other plans that will finally make the Death Star a reality. Trapped in their benefactor’s tightening grasp, the Ersos must untangle Krennic’s web of deception to save themselves and the galaxy itself.

Book Review for the Star Wars Book Club for February: Star Wars: Rebel Heist

Book: Star Wars: Rebel Heist (issues #1-4) by Matt Kindt with illustrations by Marco Castiello, ink by Dan Parsons, color by Gabe Eltaeb and letters by Michael Heisler

Cover art by Adam Hughes

Edition: Trade Paperback

Description:

The Rebel Alliance's newest recruits are teamed with its greatest heroes to hatch a plot and pull off a heist right under the noses of the Empire's finest. Can Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca live up to their legends, or will they be found to have feet of clay? Or, is it possible, that their most obvious weaknesses might also be their greatest strengths?

Book Review for the Star Wars Book Club for January: Star Wars Trilogy

Book: Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas, Donald F. Glut and James Kahn

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Luke Skywalker dreamed of adventures out among the stars and alien worlds. But when he intercepted a message from a beautiful captive princess, he got more than he had bargained for—and that was how the adventure of his life began. . . .

Book Review: Aliens/Vampirella

Book: Aliens/Vampirella (issues #1-6) by Corinna Bechko with illustrations and inks by Javier Garcia-Miranda, color by Inlight Studios and letters by Simon Bowland

Cover art by Gabriel Hardman and color by Jordan Boyd

Edition: Digital

Description:

Two iconic horror franchises collide, as Vampirella - the fan-favorite supernatural heroine - faces the most nightmarish creatures ever to appear in cinema: the Xenomorphs from Alien! As the first human colony on Mars digs deeper into the crimson soil, they discover the catacombs of a hibernating civilization, tens of thousands of years old. The evidence suggests that they are Nosferatu, an ancient and sinister species that Vampirella is all too familiar with. Called to the Red Planet to investigate, the monster hunter and her human allies find a chamber with hundreds of ellipsoidal, leathery eggs... and after they hatch, the true horror begins. In space, no one can hear Vampirella scream!

Book Review: The Maze Runner

Book: The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner book #1) by James Dashner

Cover Art by Philip Straub
Typography by Joel Tippie

Edition: Paperback

Description:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround them is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Book Review: Micro

Book: Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

Cover Design and Illustration by Will Staehle

Edition: Hardcover

Description:

In a locked Honolulu office building, three men are found dead with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye.

In the lush forest of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven graduate students at the forefront of their fields are recruited by a pioneering microbiology start-up. Nanigen MicroTechnologies dispatches the group to a mysterious lab in Hawaii, where they are promised access to tools that will open a whole new scientific frontier.

But once in the Oahu rain forest, the scientists are thrust into a hostile wilderness that reveals profound and surprising dangers at every turn. Armed only with their knowledge of the natural world, they find themselves prey to a technology of radical and unbridled power. To survive, the must harness the inherent forces of nature itself.

Book Review: Man of Steel Novelization

Book: Man of Steel Novelization by Greg Cox

Edition: Paperback

Description:

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers, and that he is not of this Earth. As he approaches adulthood, he journeys to discover where he came from, and what he was sent here to accomplish.

But then the world faces an unimaginable threat—an invading force the likes of which has never been encountered before. When this occurs, the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation, and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Book Review for the Comic Book Club for April: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil

Book: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil written and illustrated by Jeff Smith with color by Steve Hamaker

Cover by Jeff Smith and Steve Hamaker

Edition: Trade Paperback

Description:

When Billy Batson follows a mysterious stranger onto the subway, he never imagines he's entering a strange world of powerful wizards, talking tigers, kid eating monsters, political intrigue and mysterious villains. But Billy encounters all that and more when the wizard gives him a magic word that transforms him into the world's mightiest mortal. Now, he must use his extraordinary new abilities to face an incoming invasion of alien creatures and to stop mad scientist Dr. Sivana and his Monster Society of Evil from taking over the world!

Book Review: It's Superman!

Book: It's Superman! by Tom De Haven

Cover Design by Phil Balsman
Cover Art by H. J. Ward

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Coming of age in rural 1930s America with X-ray vision, the power to stop bullets, and the ability to fly isn't exactly every boy's story. So just how did Clark Kent, a shy farmer's son, grow up to be the Man of Steel?

Follow young Clark's whirlwind journey from Kansas to New York City's Daily Planet. This ace reporter is not the only person leading a double life in a teeming metropolis, just the only one able to leap tall buildings in a single bound — a skill that comes in handy when battling powerful criminal masterminds like scheming Lex Luthor and fascist robots. But can Clark's midwestern charm save the day and win the heart of stunning, seen-it-all newspaperwoman Lois Lane? Or is that a job for Superman?

Book Review for the Book Girl's Book Club for March: Captain Marvel vol #1

Book: Captain Marvel volume #1: Higher, Further, Faster, More (issues #1-6) by Kelly Sue DeConnick with illustrations by David Lopez, color by Lee Loughridge and letters by VC's Joe Caramagna

Cover by David Lopez

Edition: Trade Paperback

Description:

One of Marvel's most beloved Avengers launches into her own ongoing series! Carol Danvers has played many roles in her life; hero, pilot, Avenger, and now, deep-space adventurer! Join Captain Marvel as she attempts to return an alien girl to her home world, and defend the rights of aliens revolting against the Galactic Alliance. Guest-starring Guardians of the Galaxy!