Book Review: Rogue Angel

Rogue Angel: Destiny by Alex Archer

I first saw Rogue Angel on an endcap at Barnes & Noble and thought it looked interesting (good cover: hot chick with a sword), and the back cover made it sound interesting. I went home and looked it up, and found it was part of an ongoing series. I picked up the first volume off of PaperBackSwap, and I will get the other volumes soon!

The main character, Annja Creed (pronounced Anya?), is one of those Dirk Pitt-type characters that can, and has, done it all. She's a young, attractive, somewhat experienced archaeologist - has studied martial arts and can hold her own in a brawl, can free-climb a rock face, knows how to use guns, etc.

She also has an unusually strong fear of fire, which hints at some history of the character.

If you combined Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series and Sara Pezzini from WitchBlade, you'd get Annja Creed. Great combination of action, the supernatural (or at least some hints of it), and a little history.

This is purely fluff reading - and I give it a high rating because it's just so enjoyable.

The "author" has a blog for the series, but it hasn't been updated in months. Alex Archer is apparently a pseudonym used by two guys co-authoring the series.

From the Publisher
An ancient order tied to the Vatican . . . A blood fortune buried in the caves of France . . . A conspiracy of power, greed and darkest evil . . .

Archaeologist and explorer Annja Creed's fascination with the myths and mysteries of the past leads her to a crypt in the caves of France, where the terrifying legend of the Beast of Gevaudin hints at the unimaginable. What she discovers is shattering: an artifact that will seal her destiny: a brotherhood of monks willing to murder to
protect their secret; and a powerful black-market occultist desperate to put his
own claim to centuries-old blood money. Annja embarks on a high-tension race
across Europe and history itself, intent on linking the unholy treachery of the
ages with the staggering revelations of the present. But she must survive the
shadow figures determined to silence her threat to their existence.

Book Review: Tonopah

Tonopah by Christopher A. Lane

I first read Eden's Gate by this author a few years ago and thought it was pretty good. I saw Tonopah on the bookshelf at my local Christian book store and thought about purchasing it several times over the years, but never got to it. Recently, it came up on PaperbackSwap, and I grabbed it.

In the book, a high school teacher with delusions of being an archaeologist takes some of her students on a day-long dig in the Tonopah Range in the Nevada desert - Precariously close to an old nuclear test site, which just happens to be being used currently for.... well now, that would give away the ending wouldn't it.

The teacher and her students find things buried they shouldn't and a small group of military men stationed on the range become involved with her and the chase is on. Throw in some bungling thugs, car bombs, the FBI, conspiracy theories, and creation science vs. evolution and you've got an interesting read.

I was a little disappointed with the outcome of the story. I was hoping for something more involving the creation/evolution part of the story - but that was really just a plot device to kick start the action of a pretty normal action story.

From the Publisher
She found the fossils out in the
sun-baked Tonopah desert, along with more trouble than she'd ever dreamed of . .
. . If Melissa Lewis had known that she and her three high school students were
trespassing in a restricted military zone, they'd have left before they ever
stumbled across the fossilized bones. As a creationist in paleontology, Melissa
suspects she's onto something incredible. What she doesn't know is that she's
under surveillance by U.S. Marines. And that's just for openers. Her discovery
has also placed her in the cross-hairs of hired killers. And it's about to sweep
her into a deadly vortex of top-level government scandal, FBI investigations,
high-tech military maneuvers, and nuclear testing. Through it all, one thing
becomes abundantly clear. Someone will do anything to gain possession of
Melissa's fossils. Between Melissa and a hit man's bullet stands only her faith
. . . and one courageous marine. But can he protect her from circumstances
deadlier than the brutal Nevada desert? From the best-selling author of
Appearance of Evil and Eden's Gate comes Tonopah: gut-twisting action woven with
insights into the origins of the world and the relationship between personal
choice and eternal destiny.

Author Biography:
Christopher A. Lane is the author of Eden's Gate and the best-selling Appearance
of Evil, as well as several children's books, one of which was awarded the Gold
Medallion. He and his wife own Alpha-Omega Productions, which provides media
reviews to subscribers. They live in Colorado Springs with their
children.

Book Review: Odyssey

Odyssey by Jack McDevitt.

I've liked just about everything I've read by Jack McDevitt.
His SF stories have action, suspense, mystery, intrigue, and most definitely character and heart. His characters are real, and we come to car about what happens to them.

This is one of the "Priscilla Hutchins" books, set relatively early in the exploration of the galaxy. Hutch is basically the main character of these stories, or at least the driving force behind the stories. In the "Hutchverse" the galaxy isn't teeming with life, but there is evidence of other civilizations. Man hasn't met a contemporary space-faring civilization yet. There have been hints - abandoned spaceships, monuments, etc. Odyssey features what may be the first evidence of another co-existent spacefaring race - and they don't like our science experiments!

The "Hutch" story line is apparently set to wrap up in a forthcoming novel called Cauldron.

Book Review: Dragon Avenger

Dragon Avenger: The Age of Fire, Book Two by E. E. Knight.

This is the sequel to the most excellent Dragon Champion, Book One of the Age of Fire Trilogy.
Dragon Avenger follows Wistala, the sister of Auron the main dragon character from the first book and her adventures as she grows up in man's world. Where Auron became a fighter and tries to make a place for himself in the world of dragons, Tala wants to avenge her father, but eventually makes a place for herself in man's world.

This book is at least as good as the first book and I'm tempted to say it's even better. But I liked the first one so much I can't really bring myself to say that. The books are definitely equals.

The author is at work on the 3rd book in the Age of Fire trilogy which will follow the life of the 3rd dragon-sibling.

I can't wait!