Damage Time by Colin Harvey
597502
Colin Harvey's Damage Time is an intriguing look at a dystopian future, skillfully crossing genres between SF and mystery.  In Harvey's vision of mid-21st century America, California has seceded, the calorie has replaced the dollar, and  the oil-fueled economy has collapsed leaving  the depopulated citizenry to eke out basic needs on an urban subsistence level.  Crime, both organized and violent, still abounds and police procedure now includes accessing memories, both of victims and suspects, with often graphic, but always compelling, results.  The unlikely hero, cyber detective Pete Shah, earns reader sympathy, after an attack leaves him irrevocably changed, by  bulldogged persistence in tracking a vicious killer.  Damage Time draws you relentlessly into its dark world, but leaves you with a promise of hopeful humanity even after privacy and personal achievement are just ripped memories and the American dream leans toward nightmare.  I would rank Harvey's achievement with this novel in the SF field with Robert Sawyer  and in the police procedural arena with  Colin Dexter and Swedish author Henning Mankell.  Damage Time is a must-read for fans of both genres.
1499114
This book was received in damaged condition although the outside packaging seemed fine.  The sender advised me not to return it and so I decided to look at the content of the book.  I am so very pleased that I started reading it.  The material within is awesome, so I gave it a five star rating.  I would recommend this book to others
2604931
I wrote a review of this excellent book on my blog. I invite you to check it out when you get a chance. http://johndobbs.com/2013/06/08/review-a-grief-unveiled-fifteen-years-later/
3757517
Just finished reading it (little hard to find copy) and once again Colin Wilson doesn't disappoint. I'm truly amazed at the amount of research the author put in. Recommended to readers who like true crime.
There are others who have said the same thing but Wilson's perspective makes all the difference.
2258311
This book is very well written and worth the time to read to see how the scientific process worked in the mind of the author.  Since the book was written it seems that the search for Nemisis has gone from looking for a red dwarf star to looking for a brown dwarf as a source of cosmic castastrophe (ie. what kill the dinosaurs was multiple cometary strikes).  No the less it is an interesting book that at time moves fast if you are not acquainted to physics, geology and other specialties listed in the book.  Another avenue to this theory is that the ouiji board conscious channel source the Cassiopaeans have also said that a brown dwarf star is a 'dark companion' of the sun that is or has smashed through the Oort cloud throwing comets our way.  [...]  Laura Knight Jadczyk's book 'The Secret History of the World' has a section detailing some of the evidence behind past cosmic catastrophes.  A couple of good books to read along the lines of comic catastrophe are 'New Light on the Black Death' and 'Exodus to Arthur: : Catastrophic Encounters with Comets' by Mike Baillie.  Both go into detail that the earth was hit by either meteorites or cometary fragments.  Another good book to read is 'The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: How a Stone-Age Comet Changed the Course of World Culture' that details how a comet hit the earth around 13,000 years ago, which is interesting and packed full of information on how they determined that the comet hit and what it did to the world.  Next on my list to read on the topic is 'The Diluvian Impact' by Heinrich P. Koch.
786142
The Broken Places by Ace Atkins (keeper of the Spenser flame)is his latest Quinn Colson novel. It is jammed packed with emotion, feelings and sweat. Not his so much but yours as you agonize with the plight of the Army Ranger elected Sheriff of his home county and trying to make sure the bad guys stay away, and the ones already there stay in their place. The images he evokes are mind blowing and his description of a tornado strike had me feeling I should read the rest of the book in the bathtub in the center of my little abode. There is no book you can read after this that will excise the taste of this hard fought journey to entertainment.

That is all I look for in a book this day. This is his finest Quinn Colson novel and among all of his work, one of his best. Ace Atkins, for the lack of a better analogy, is the champagne of bottled beers for mystery writers. As he now shifts his attention back to Spenser, we can only hope he writes faster.

Worth your money, worth your time, your loss if you don't partake.
622396
Love the Michael Talbot series. Love Mark Tufo's fiction in general. Check out his zombie fallout and related series (Riley, Timothy, Whistlers) but be prepared to spend some serious discretionary reading time!
4071700
I stumbled on Colin Harrison and Afterburn just this week (April 2009).  I'm an avid reader of this genre - how did I miss this?

I read the reviews and was startled by how out of sync I felt.  I thought the book was a) incredibly well written and nuanced and 2) powerful and meaningful to me.  Then I thought, hey I'm an old guy from the Vietnam era (tho not a POW thx u God) just like the "hero" (?). I'm "looking backwards more than forward" now myself.  I don't think you get it until you fully embrace the idea of your own mortality, which I certainly did not until I reached my mid fifties.
428293
Its amazing the time that is covered. A very good book and I hope the rest in this series is as good.
4577966
This is very compelling reading. The author describes the events of Black Saturday, February 7th 2009, that resulted in Australia's highest loss of life from bushfire. The bushfire of Black Saturday wasn't like any bushfire ever experienced before. Twelve years of drought and a three day heat wave of temperatures the week before had left the country in southern Victoria dry and ready to burn. On 7th February extreme conditions were predicted and with a total fire ban in place, everyone in fire prone areas was told to have their fire plans ready. A combination of a tropical low over WA and a monsoon trough in the NT pushing hot air south and a high pressure system sitting in the Tasman sea to the south of Victoria made for a lethal combination with hot air trapped over the south of the continent. The temperature in Melbourne that day reached 46.4C, the highest ever recorded and hot, dry NW winds gusted at over 100kph. When a fire started by fallen powerlines in Kilmore East it quickly spread and later combined with a second fire started at Murrindindi, to become the deadliest firestorm ever seen in post-European Australian history, killing 173 people and destroying 2000 homes.

The author, Adrian Hyland, lives in St Andrews, one of the towns affected by the bushfires and has carried out meticulous research on the events leading up this bushfire and the reasons so many lives and properties were lost. Even reading the horrific accounts of those who lived through and survived the day it's hard to imagine what it was really like. Rather than trying to encompass all the events of that day the author has centred the story around Roger Wood, an experienced Senior Constable at Kinglake police station and describes the events of his horrific day trying to save lives and properties. At one stage when the fire is at it's worst, he receives a call from his wife who manages to say to say that fire has arrived at their property just before the line drops out. Somehow despite worrying about whether his wife and kids have survived he manages to carry on doing his job. He and many others made a real difference that day, making heroic journeys through the fire zone to rescue people, saving many lives. The CFA volunteers were also true heroes. The fire moved to rapidly and ferociously there was little a few fire trucks could do to contain the blaze but they worked tirelessly saving homes and lives where they could.

There has been a Royal Commission into why so many people died that day and much criticism of the lack of information on the status of the fire and the breakdown of communications. However, a chilling finding is the fact that the majority of people did not have a fire plan and that many of them went against the advice 'leave early or stay and fight' and tried to do both, dying at their property or trying to flee down the mountain and into the fire. Due to the ferocity of the fire even the best prepared were caught out, even some with water pumps and roof sprinklers and well cleared land. As the author points out, if you decide to live in a fire prone zone, the only person you can rely on during an inferno, like the one that occurred on Black Saturday, is yourself as there can never be enough fire trucks to save everyone.

The author also talks about the aftermath of the fire, the huge economic impact on the area as well as the social consequences, the survivor guilt, the fear and loss of confidence felt by the children, the increase in suicides and domestic violence. He also warns us of the future impact of climate change and the expected increase in catastrophic fires not only affecting rural areas but also the outer suburbs of cities. A very thoughtful and well researched account that I would encourage all Australians to read.
4344681
While Nick Quinn is being interrogated by the police for the murder of his wife, he is visited by a gentleman bearing a watch and and envelope.  The gentleman tells Nick that the watch will take him back 12 hours an hour at a time in order for Nick to change his current situation.  Nick is not to open the envelope till he is out of the interrogation room.  At the end of his time life will move forward based on his actions.

Thus begins a fascinating and intense action story.  Going through each hour Nick realizes the consequences of his actions in each hour time period.

This is a great combination mystery/SciFi story.  It is nonstop action till the end and has plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Richard Doetsch has superbly executed his concept.  His telling of the story in reverse and moving thru time an hour at a time highlights how small actions have large impacts.

I could not put the book down because I wanted to see the next hour.  I highly recommend this book and will add this author to my list of preferred authors.
2442034
Having lived for a time in the bay area, I was so familiar with the locations of various events during the disaster.  The story begins 3
days prior to the earthquake with the political state of the city and it's corrupt government.  Although this is a work of fiction it is
very well researched and tells of all the events as they unfold.  The horror and devastation that occurs and the heroism is remarkable.
This story had me crying real tears as I imagined through the writing, the terror and sadness of this cities destruction.
3539010
This is the third incredible book I have listened to by Kevin Sullivan. I travel for work, so a good audio book makes the time fly. I did not know anything about Ted Bundy, but have begun to find true crime very educational and interesting. It sharpens my mind to help me protect my family and myself. The 18 hour audio version kept me company on planes, airports, and on the road. I was sad when it ended, like I often am with an excellent book.

The book was very well written. It draws you in, and doesn't let go. I did NOT like putting it down when I had to. The flow and language are smooth and descriptive. The author clearly spent years researching the material, and seems like one of the detectives on the case. The depth and details of the information are amazing considering the destruction spanned a course of several years.  You will be astounded at the cunning deception that occurred. It feels as intense as if you were watching a movie. I would be pulling for each victim to make the right decision, even though I knew what would ultimately happen.  I just finished it, and am still mulling it over and over.

I highly recommend this book. You will be so glad you read it!
1636003
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.
I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Time to die.
2783186
The cover looks very good, haven't had time to start listening to it yet. But it was recommended by Dan Piraro from Bizarrocomics.com, so it will probably be a very good cd-book.
3543636
This was the first book I read by this author.  I've got to say I was blown away by New Coastal Times.  It grabbed me from the beginning and kept my interest throughout.  I had a difficult time putting this book down.

I usually don't read post-apocalyptic stories, but this one was great.  In spite of the overall seriousness of the book, the author used humor very well in the voice of the main character.  The quirky group of people who traveled from Florida to New York after the devastating category 5 plus hurricane set in the not-to-distant-future was enough to crack anyone up.  Through the fun, though, serious issues of environment, climate change, natural disasters, and the government's inept ability to handle the devastation of these issues was frightening and disturbing.  I finished this book 2 days ago and still cannot let it go.  Not many books have that effect on me.

Formatting was generally good.  I only noticed one typo.  The writing was wonderful.  The characters were well-developed and interesting. I think that this author has a wonderful future, and I strongly recommend this book.
2924798
I really enjoyed The Time Keeper. I lost my 18 year old daughter in an automobile accident on October 7, 2004, so, so much of what was happening with the grieving process I had or was experiencing. I was given much needed support from your book.  I look forward to many more books from Kevin Cropp.