Another great read from Victor T. Foia
585798
This book is the second installment in Victor Foia's series "Dracula Chronicles". Set in the 15th Century Ottoman Empire, it picks up the trail of Vlad, the story's hero, where he left off at the end of the first volume, "Son of the Dragon".

Vlad's father, King Dracul of Wallachia, is on a diplomatic mission to Edirne to meet Murad, the vastly more powerful Sultan of the vastly bigger Ottoman Empire. Vlad is determined to contribute and, against his father's will, follows Dracul's caravan across the Danube and into Turkey - eventually catching up and joining it by stowing away in one of the caravan's wagons.

The action heats up when Vlad is found out. From then on, you accompany him on a physical and emotional roller coaster ride, with Mr. Foia masterfully dispensing alternate doses of adrenaline and dopamine to you all the way to the book's cliffhanger ending.

Since I hate spoilers, I'm not going to tell you any more than that - other than to note that the story is replete with harsh, medieval scenes of stealth, pursuit, evasion, capture, torture, escape, robbery, slavery, treachery, espionage, tyranny both petty and great, people getting impaled with swords, and some decent spicy bits as well. All with Vlad at the center, as he, ahem, comes of age (with an older woman), and otherwise moves to fulfil his destiny against all odds. Vlad is a proper hero in the making, surviving, often just barely, through travails and traumas that would destroy a weaker character. This in spite of him being an impetuous, testosterone driven teenage male with zero planning skills, who really should have listened to Dad and stayed home. Parents of teenagers will relate.

I really enjoyed this book. This is only the author's second novel, and Mr. Foia has already shown a powerful talent for spinning a tale, and building intriguing and sophisticated characters. He deserves wide exposure: this is the stuff of bestsellers and epic movies. I'd love to see Vlad and company up on the screen at some point.

(Vlad, by the way, is none other than Dracula. THE Dracula. But if your only exposure to that character is via horror stories, you're in for a surprise. This book attempts to paint a picture of the real-life Vlad the Impaler ... pretty different from Bram Stoker's interpretation).
1184760
Once again we meet up with Garth Ryland, editor of the Oakalla Reporter and sheriff's deputy.  This time he faced with a task of finding a killer of a man who was found dead in his own elevator.  The victim was a 400  pound man with a knack for collecting rare items from flea markets.
Once  Garth realizes a painting is missing he assumes that this murder was a  robbery gone wrong.  And as he starts his investigation he quickly finds  evidence of a hidden past and violence.
Another great read from a  terrific author.  You will not be let down from this novel or the series.
95793
I stumbled onto an older book that Rollins wrote called Amazonia. I have been hooked on his blend of espionage, science, archaeology, military tech, with just a hint of the supernatural thrown in, ever since then. This guy truly has a gift for weaving complex characters and narratives into one coherent story that is always hard to put down. So I bought this in a 3 book set, great deal.
717770
I really enjoyed this one. I've read quite a few V.I. Warshawski books now, but this one - I especially enjoyed the back story setting, And the pieces fit together nicely without feeling like it took until the very end to find out how they connected.
1837968
SFTD IS A FAST-PACED TECHNO-THRILLER THAT DREW ME IN WITH A QUICK-PACED PLOT THAT, WHILE SOMEWHAT PREDICTABLE WAS VERY INVOLVING -- LEAVING ME WANTING TO KNOW MORE. VERY EDUCATIONAL AS FAR AS LOGICALLY EXTRAPOLATING FROM WHAT MOST OF US ALREADY KNOW ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY. MACAULEY KEEPS THE EMOTION TIGHTLY UNDER WRAPS DUE TO THE URGENCY OF THE PLOT, BUT HANDLES IT CONVINCINGLY WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT VOLUME IN THIS SERIES (WELL PREPARED FOR IN THE CONCLUSION OF SFTD)
896919
I love this author and this is another great story.  It keeps moving and keeps you wondering.  I really like that he references characters from his other novels as well as from the Pendergast series.  In this case, he references Frock from the Relic and his Calisto effect theory to explain what is happening at Fear Base.  The character of Logan in this novel also goes on to two other novels.  Using characters across stories gives the reader some continuity and makes it seems like they are one story, but just different scenes in the character's life.  The ending was left kind of open for interpretation by the reader about what happened to the monster and how it came to be.
1236023
This third installment in the Dracula Chronicles series is Victor T. Foia's best story yetand I loved the first two (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dracula-Chronicles-Son-of-the-Dragon-Volume-1/dp/1475192339/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dracula Chronicles: Son of the Dragon (Volume 1)</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dracula-Chronicles-Empire-of-the-Crescent-Moon-Volume-2/dp/1491296402/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dracula Chronicles: Empire of the Crescent Moon (Volume 2)</a>). If you haven't yet read them, I'd heartily recommend that you do just that before picking up this one.

As House of War opens we join Prince Vlad (aka Dracula) in captive exile in 15th century Ottoman Turkeythe time of the Crusades and a high watermark in the Ottoman Empire's power. He's a personal "guest" of none other than Sultan Murad, whose soldiers have rudely interrupted Vlad's secret mission deep in Ottoman territory and hauled him on in. Luckily for Vlad, instead of executing or jailing and torturing him, which is the fate he should rightly expect, the Sultan takes a shine to himconsigning Vlad to a gilded cage: the mission to accompany the Sultan's immature sons in their training to one day take over the reins of power. Murad figures Vlad can show the lads a thing or two in the Royal department. Being a major dude with legendary fighting skills, Vlad fast finds the favor of the two young princes as well, who soon come to trust him and look up to him as they would a big brother.

Vlad, though, has a deal with the Devil on his hands. He gets to keep his life, and an elite one befitting his regal station at that. He even gets to keep his manservants. And he gets to know the inner workings of his adversary in a way that he otherwise never could. But he can never leavenever go back to his beloved Wallachia where, in the future, he's supposed to take up a throne of his own. And that doesn't sit too well with him. Moreover, though Vlad is under the Sultan's protection, his safety is far from assured. There are treacherous, treasonous elements lurking in the Sultan's inner circle who badly want to see Vlad out of the picture.

The rest of the story is about Vlad's attempts to extricate himself from that diabolical deal. In so doing he compromises his religious faith and his private parts, and those out to get him are never far away. Whether he succeeds or not ... well, you'll have to read it to find out.

The author's storytelling craftespecially his talent for character development, plot interweaving, building cliffhangers and switching between the highbrow and lowbrowcombine to make for a terrific read. I had an unrelenting sense of unease from the first page to the last, just the way I like it. And, as a bonus, while barely noticing it because Foia practically sneaks it in as a backdrop to the story line, I got historically and culturally accurate education about a fascinating time and place that gets woefully little attention in the Westand which I've come to discover is key to our understanding of West-Middle East and Christian-Muslim relations, all the way up to today.
3145279
Parker Francis (aka Victor DiGenti) has created a new PI character that is sure to please mystery readers, especially those who enjoy stories set in Florida. This first book in the series takes place in St. Augustine, which is an important 'character' in the book. Action abounds, and points of interest in the city and its environs are accurately portrayed. Quint Mitchell, the protagonist, succeeds in solving the mystery and saving his eccentric friend, the city archaeologist, from a false charge of murder. All the while, the reader is getting to know Mitchell (who was actually introduced in Victor DiGenti's second Windrusher novel, The Cave of Tho-hoth), and developing a relationship with him. It's a fun read and a satisfying tale that will definitely whet one's appetite for future books in this series. I know I am looking forward to the next Quint Mitchell escapade!
872938
I enjoyed reading "Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws: My Infiltration by Charles Falco.  I first learned of Charles Falco while watching the History Channel "Gangland Undercover".  I knew there had to be more to Mr. Falco's extraordinary story than that portrayed in the hour long weekly series.  This is an amazing story and terrifying in the fact that it is nonfiction.  In the latter part of the story Mr. Falco discusses the possibility of one day infiltrating the Hell's Angels in Canada. Was this a cliff hanger?  I'm anxiously waiting for the sequel.
4146997
Victor has become one of my favorite characters. And what a character he is! He teaches us that paranoia can keep you alive. Really enjoyed this latest book.!
1563933
Another great read from a master storyteller! This book is not as long as some of Ken Follet's other books but the story is well written and keeps you hooked until the end.
4268158
Silver is the third Brian January book I've read (I guess I read them out of order, but that's O.K.), and I've found them all to be excellent and very fun and exciting to read. As usual, I couldn't put this one down. It's what they call a page turner. In this one, Park and April are searching for a hoard of ancient Minoan silver that has implications for modern technology. I really liked the locations (Crete, Cyprus) and as usual I always learn interesting tidbits of information. Obviously the author does an enormous amount of research about history and technology and weaves it into his plots. Clever plotting as usual, excellent writing style, with lots of danger, excitement, and twists and turns that seem to be the hallmark of all his books. One thing that I do appreciate is that these aren't the typical "the bad guys shoot and never hit anyone and the good guys can't miss" type of books. Park and April always get wounded (sometimes seriously), wind up in the hospital, etc. Anyone who likes action-adventure thrillers and likes to be transported away for a few hours should read his books!
4773760
I really like the Tom Clancy books of fictional circumstances but there are many "real world" realities with great detailed research that has a well told story for interest and current implications. Tom was a truly great writer who not only entertained us but provided us with living history.
1886425
Parker Francis (aka Vic DiGenti) practices what he preaches in his Florida Writers Association workshops. This an excellent example of his methoology to keep the reader in suspense at the end of every chapter. It is an entertaining story built around an appealing hero. David Forster Parker, author of Floria Land Grab and Beyond the Pyramids. available at davidfparker.com.
4419050
As stated previously Victor Methos is a favorite and after reading one of his books for the first time I went on to order more.  Fast moving and held my interest.  Great Mystery Writer
1002287
Tami Hoag has written a real pager turner here (no spoilers).  Some of her recent efforts (The Alibi Man Prior Bad Acts), in my opinion were not up to her earlier work but Deeper Than The Dead is good. The story is set in suburban California in 1985. Four elementary school children find a body on their way home from school. Their teacher, Ann Navarone, arrives on the scene to help the children with this horrific event. The murder is soon seen as the work of a serial killer. FBI profiler Vince Leone, a new and untested breed of law enforcement officer, arrives to help. Hoag presents the family life of each of the four children and we are introduced to dysfunctionality in each of these families. The children narrate the story and it is an effective method in revealing key facts in the murder investigation. The dysfunction extends to the local police department where small town politics and ignorance prevent the investigation from proceeding in an efficient fashion. All of the major characters (Ann, Vince, and most of the children's parents) have back stories that when revealed influence the investigation. Hoag is good at giving just enough clues to keep you thinking but not enough to give away the murderers identity.

One of the key plot elements is that in 1985 modern forensic techniques are not yet available. Not only does this set of circumstances limit the investigative options it also exquisitely slows the action as cell phones and internet searches are not available. All of this allows for the suspense to build. There is a love story but it is pretty thin in the telling. There were also a couple of loose ends that were not tied up, at least one unidentified skull and one untried child molester. Perhaps there is a sequel in the making that will answer some of these questions.

I enjoyed this book - read it in record time- but again am sure I will not remember the plot in two weeks time.
3297282
I love Erik Larson's writing, his combining fiction with fact, making it so interesting to learn history.  I know I will eventually read everything he writes.