Interesting how author intertwines characters to find solution of life preservation
580423
It is interesting to note how the author intertwines the novel's main characters as they interact and become linked to finding the solution of life preservation.  Each of the 17 main characters in this book has their own story within the overall story.  Each story is told through dramatic events.  This book is an excellent read  Enjoy!

The Crocodile and The Crane by Arthur Rosenfeld is packed with exciting events throughout the development and expansion of the plot. Gao, a widower, along with his two young children, Zetian and Sanfeng, practice a mental and physical martial arts that keep them ageless, healthy, and physically strong along with some mystical behaviors.  Anything but the head and the heart could be regenerated.  Because of this ageless oddity, they only stayed in one area for short periods of time.  The daughter is headstrong, intimidating, manipulative, and ruthless.  The son is just the opposite, kind, compassionate, and a seeker of truth.  While at one village, their father is judged to be responsible for a killing disease and is beheaded.  His children are now on their own.  Their life styles and exploits dramatically affect anyone with whom they interact. Their "secret" practice has kept the alive for over 3500 years.

Dalton Day is promoting his book, The Boxer Within, and draws large crowds at his book signings where he speaks and demonstrates the martial arts described in his book.  His publisher sends him to China to promote his book.  He has a harrowing experience on the plane.  When the plane experiences mechanical problems and is on the verge of being decimated, a young Chinese man steps into the cockpit and corrects the problems in an astonished manner. His attempt to erase Dalton Day's memory fails. Dalton's mission becomes to find the young Chinese man and learn of his skills.

Leili Musi worked for Yuen, a top executive of Crocodile and Crane in Jarkarta who maintained a residence for Leili and her son.  Leili observes Zetian's bedroom antics with Yuen and he "secret" exercises afterward.  She started practicing the exercises and noticed a marvelous change, immunity to illness and tremendous strength.  Shortly thereafter Leili's son becomes ill and succumbs to a strange disease.  Yuen would also die within a short time.

Sanfeng is trouble when hearing of this illness.  He remembers the illness that struck the village where his father was beheaded.  Zetian does not share this concern.  She has married the CEO of Crocodile and Crane, killed him, and gains control.  Sanfeng is given an executive position in the company.

After the Banpo Smile destroys the population of Indonesia, it starts popping up around the world.  The only survivors seemed to be those who knew a special martial arts routine.

Sanfeng, who has been withdrawing from the exercises that promote immortality, has taken on more of the mortal aspects of human nature.  His primary goal now has been to be a "normal" and leave descendents when he dies.  This he has accomplished.  He now finds himself in his secret hideaway with Dalton Day where he is explaining the surrounding evironment while teaching Dalton the exercises that will keep the Banpo Smile illness at bay. Here he has the latest technology as well as items he has preserved from the past 3500 years.

Zetian confronts her brother who tries to convince her to change her ways and be more humankind.  Although they promised their father they would continue their practice, Sanfeng said their father would not have exacted such a promise had he known the kind of suffering and destruction it would cause.  Zetian would not relent and a huge battle began.  Ironically,her need for greed and her tactics to achieve such would lead to her demise.
4711409
In the future, the population has risen so that people are placed through a draft in hibernation periodically. There are few people that have actually seen the whole process.

The population has not been told certain parts of the procedure and a few people are questioning the process. Jennifer Logan works in the Duality department that enforces the hibernation selection. She and a coworker find out that during hibernation minds and memories are being manipulated. Their curiosity as they question what is actually happening of course leads to trouble. Jennifer has learned too much and is being hunted. As you can guess, many high profile, powerful people are involved and life gets interesting.

One plot twist is the black market selling or renting of bodies to extend their lives.

I found this book creative, interesting, and well thought out. Since this is a series not everything is wrapped up completely at the end but Im sure you learn more in further books.
4223650
Jason's latest book is an interesting story about honor/cowardice, sin/redemption, and ultimately, personal responsibility for our choices.  While it is touted as a horror story, I see it more as a psychological and philosophical journey for the main character.  Although some people might find it a little heavy handed, I think the author makes a good point in that the distinction between what is good and what is evil depends a great deal on the circumstances.  And sometimes doing nothing at all is the greatest evil of all.  The character, James, is a tortured soul, but quite interesting and pretty likable.  It helps that the story is written in the first person so we get a very clear idea of what is driving James to make the decisions he does.  I have read all of Jason's books, and this one is the best written.  There are still a few editing issues, most notably spelling, but very few compared to the other books.  The writing itself is improving as well.  I get the impression that the author is most comfortable writing in the first person and it makes for a better flow.  The only caution I would have for the author is to watch the tendency to go off on a tangent, or get too carried away with philosophical expounding.  Otherwise, a very good read with a satisfying ending.
2813137
This Author gives his character an interesting back ground for he is a biologist looking for a new medical theory which he can use in order to help countless people. the main character Jon Anderson is a bio chemist that decided to work with Jari Pharmaceuticals in order to help his research. very early in the book the author shows his readers how cool Jon really is. although he is a biologist he can still put up a fight which he demonstrates to Ganika. he later meets a woman named Toni who you find out also majors in biology and is suppose to serve as a guide for Jon. we find the motivation for his work which was hos mother dieing wish to keep living and finding the woman right for him. he later finds himself in trouble to find the solution to a so called curse that stops the villagers from being able to reproduce (biologically unsuccessful) through his adventure Jon does find the women he is meant to be with as well as solves the mystery to the so called curse.
i have never personally ever read a book in which the main character is a biologist, but i have to say this story really made this character come to life. this author describes every person and thing to a degree that makes the story pop out. its true that this is not my type of book for i like books with Gods or knights, but i must give credit where credit is due. it had me the since the start. this was a great book to read and would recommend this to anyone that like adventure but also likes book that give explanation to why specific things happen which this book does. again great book 5/5.
4266958
A great sci-fi story line. It deals with the type of experimentation science fiction enthusiasts probably dream about. In reality, I sure hope ethical considerations will win out. In theory, everything is possible on paper. In their quests to genetically produce "super" humans who have at least a lifespan of 200+ years, a group of unscrupulous scientists recruited from various research specialties by a 'mastermind', genetically manipulate human IVF embryos, and implant them in their biological mother. When the fetus is near term, something goes 'wrong', the doctor performs  a C-section, and the mother is informed the baby did not survive. Luckily, there are some good folks who win out in the long run, but at the very end, like any great story.
2884378
A sixteen year old gets pregnant in 1974. She faces a number of difficult choices, a divided family, and a small town that judges her. The author tells her story with sensitivity, bringing the characters to life in a realistic way. I found that it was difficult to put the book down after I was engaged. I cared about the characters, and I wanted to know what happened to them.

The second half of the story takes place thirty years later, and it is better than the first half. Most of the characters continue to play an important role. The action picks up speed, and I became more reluctant to put this book down. It became a genuine page-turner.

Robert Whitlow writes as a Christian. His message is unapologetically pro-life. This novel was refreshing and enjoyable like few novels that I have read recently. The writing is professional, although not as good as very finest writing being published today. Some of the dialogue, description and plot construction seemed awkward to my reading. None of those shortcomings was enough to make me change my mind about this great story. I recommend it without reservation.
4017821
When Earth is destroyed, who can restore the animals and plants?  Adam is a scientist with a conscience and he will live forever.  In the first book of this series Adam, a geneticist and doctor, experimented on himself to find a cancer cure (for his wife).  The result was good for him, virtual immortality.  What would he do after he lost all the people he knew?

He would save the world.  Developing an interest in preserving plants and animals if the world was hit by a planet-wide catastrophe, Adam and a small group of scientists stockpiled enough embryos, seeds, and spores to repopulate the earth.  They stored everything in a secret New Mexico cavern.  When the worst happens, we see the long process of restoring life.

This author seems to know a lot about science and gives the reader a plausible scenario.  It's long and involved, but fascinating.  The struggle to survive plays out on two fronts--in the cavern and with another group who flee to the Antarctic.  We watch relationships fray and rebuild as the two small groups of people become the nucleus for a new world.  Would it be better for earth to start over without humans?  Will smart apes develop into an alternative sentient species?  It's amazing to think that a small group of people could restore life to a barren planet but the author manages to make us believe.  There is more to come.  Adam has a very long life and may see a whole new world to come.
1204796
I enjoyed the story.  It was interesting to be brought along through the evolution and emotional process of a civilized man, essentially previously living a life unchallenged, who is wrongly accused and sentenced to a situation that can be described best as survival of the fittest, devoid of any hope for a normal life for the rest of his days.  Hope DOES appear in an unexpected way, and I felt the author did a great job of bringing the reader along with the main character as he processes and faces that too.
3958574
This novel is a quick-read and the world its set in is an intriguing one. Memories are preserved for future generations through a purchasable extraction process. Why would someone want to preserve their memories? Its a question that the story touches upon multiple times, but never seems to dive completely into, and Im left wishing that it did.
Fortunately the protagonist, Alex, is in the thick of it, with a job as a detective at an agency that has just been assigned to look into the murder of a woman who works at a Memory Facility and Bank. Alexs dad, to her chagrin, works for the company that first discovered the memory-extracting technology. The government in this world, referred to as the State, has vested interest in the memory technology, though the reason why is not made fully clear. The choice to make the protagonist a woman is appreciated, as is the modest rumination on credibility of witnesses after an experience with a witness who is a sex worker.
If there were more characters and more backstory to each of the existing characters, the mystery may not feel so tidily resolved. However, there is one unexpected and well executed twist that introduces a fun character. Hopefully the next books in the series will expand the world a bit and dive deeper into the characters weve met in Book One.
4573335
I particularly appreciate the personal aspect brought by the author to the story-line.  Joe's wife has been fighting cancer since the first book.  This scenario combined with the who-done-it mystery aspect, which is crafted by the author into the story-line makes for an exciting and interesting read.

  Martin Johnson
2493926
When I read books for pleasure, I want them to include an interesting story line, and something unexpected that I may not find in other books. This book contains both.

The story line, of a departed doctor who finds himself in purgatory after a selfish life, develops as the doctor is taken to a spirit "hospital" for rehabilitation, and learns about this new spirit world which operates on principles far different than those generally lived on earth. As the doctor gains in humility and understanding, he is permitted to participate more fully in the service undertaken in this spiritual colony. He joins the rehabilitative balancing of souls just leaving the earth plane's violence and inequalities.

I appreciated the spiritual wisdom shared through the medium of the story. It's also interesting comparing earthly society with this next level up in vibration, and realizing how the simplest process of simply choosing to change one's thoughts from negative to postitive can make an immense difference to one's experience of life on earth. Reading this book is good preparation for that time which is to come.
1734905
Eugenics are afoot in The Genome. At the request of a parent, the fetus genotype is altered to adapt the person to specific positions - that child becomes a specialist, or "spec" as opposed to an unaltered genotype, a "natural." Of course, specs and naturals are not particularly fond of one another. The spec becomes genetically imprinted on the ability during metamorphosis, which occurs during puberty. As humankind emerged out into the worlds, mass cloning was also required. This is the world where readers meet Alex, a spaceship pilot spec. He is emerging back into the world after a lengthy hospital stay, and meets Kim, a young run-away who is clearly harboring a secret. As he helps her, he gets back to flying, needing to assemble his crew

There were some shades of Malcolm Reynolds in Alex, and the crew assembly was also reminiscent of Firefly. In addition to crew members, there are some paying passengers. One of them ends up murdered...and along comes Sherlock Holmes and Watson. There are definite homages to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Peter Falk (Columbo), and 42.

There are some sex scenes between an adult man and a fourteen year old girl (some may argue that she had achieved adult status through metamorphosis), which might be disturbing to some readers. However, the overall read was pleasant and it was an enjoyable sci-fi/murder mystery mashup.
920219
This author is developing nicely. I enjoyed her first novel, but there was one chapter where I nearly sickened by a scene in a morgue. It was written to establish the lead character's novel experience and illness but whoa! It was a bit much. The theme of death and her connection to it has been toned down somewhat in this second book but the search and solution aspect is still nicely done.
1248479
The book does a nice job of blending known ecological issues to create a scenario where the humans are no longer in control.  Basically, man's eternal struggle to avoid externination at the hands of his own species.
2828367
This is a book about friends and how they want to ends of their lives because of their infirmities.  If you don't agree with euthanasia, you probably would not like this book, but it is presented in a well written mystery format.  This author makes me want to read other books by him to see if he tackles other real life discussions and decisions concerning ethical and/or moral issues.
2327442
Biogeneticist, Brian Matterosi is on trial for murder, but not the murder of just one person, the murder of billions, billions that will never be born.  Hes engineered and dispersed a virus that will render the overpopulated nations of the world infertile; his version of population control that he feels will save the planet.

The story is told from two PoVs; the trial at the International Criminal Court in third person, and Brians first person account of his life via a diary. The author touches on all the hot-button issues of our current time: overpopulation, starvation, climate change, world politics, and sciencethe combination results in an intricate tale of a mad-scientists desire to mold the future of the world into his version of survival of the fittest. While you feel bad for Brians difficult life and upbringing, you also hate him for playing God.

The issues brought up in this novel are complicated enough, but the author manages to complicate things even more with an intriguing, fast paced tale that will leave you with the thought-provoking issues of our time spinning through your head. An enjoyable if not disturbing read!

This book was provided to me for free for an honest and unbiased review (see all our reviews at http://www.bookexplosions.com/ or on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/131875-book-explosions )
430168
The story of Kate's lifelong string of tragedies involving men, a voice in her head that might or might not be her own conscience, and her seeming inability to face reality and act appropriately, is intriguing and mysterious. One mystery for me was why she did not involve the police when clearly those close to her were being murdered. An older woman with serious heart problems, the thing she seems best at is denial. I liked the premise of the story, which was unique, especially with a female protagonist later in life. The ending is a real cliff hanger, and thankfully there is a sequel. While the writing is good, some of the dialogue seemed stiff, and the book needs serious editing to correct missing words and other problems that can easily be corrected.