The Athena Project by Brad Thor - Book Review

It’s hard to not like a book if you’re into four hot female ops agents who get the job done as well as Scott Harvath. In The Athena Project, Athena Team members -Gretchen Casey, Julie Ericsson, Megan Rhodes, and Alex Cooper - go after an arms dealer who is about to give weapons to someone that could destroy the world. 

Unlike other books by Brad Thor, The Athena Project has some science fiction added to this story as well. I thought it was neat when he mentioned the old Star Trek series and how they communicated by flip phones and ear pieces during their missions. The teleportation plot in the story made the Athena Project even more intriguing and fun for me to read. 

The suspense in the book moves along as the point of view shifts between characters from the Athena team to other characters in the book who are trying to gain access to weapons and blueprints to a secret tunnel that was once used by the Nazi’s. There is plenty of action as the Athena team fights to make sure that these weapons don’t end up in the wrong hands. 

While there were point of view shifts in the story, there was a subplot in the book as well. I know that Brad Thor has used subplots in other Scott Harvath novels but in this case, I thought that this subplot took away from the story. I would have liked to have read more about the Athena Team as well but between that and all the point of view shifts, that just seemed to make the story tougher to follow at times. 

The Athena Project was much shorter than Thor’s other books, barely over 300 pages. I guess that it’s not easy to go over 400 pages in every book that Thor has written but this made the plot and action seem too quick before it was over with. That, and Thor’s attempt at keeping the Athena Team under close guard of Scott Harvath, just seemed to bring the book down in this case for me. 

I usually enjoy Brad Thor books but I didn’t enjoy The Athena Project as much as his other books. I would like to see the Athena Team continue and I think that could be done if Thor were to separate them from Harvath and his characters entirely. Focusing that and making a better plot would help me in giving books like this a better rating than four stars. 

Sons Of Anarchy - TV Review

         It came to my attention last night that this is the last season of Son’s of Anarchy.  I realize that there are a lot fans that are disappointed.  I am not one of those fans.  

         At one time, I thought this was a great show.  To me, it was one of the best shows on FX.   The most memorable part of the show for me will be when the Son’s of Anarchy battled the Neo Nazi’s and won.  

         Of course, the plot only got better when you saw Jax and Clay vying for leadership in the gang, although Jax was only doing it to get rid of Clay since he was a bad influence on the club to say the least.  They were the anti-heroes that you rooted for when the cops seemed to close in on them yet somehow they got away.  

          Unfortunately,  the producer of this show thought that he could do anything and that was why he had a season opener where we saw one gang member urinating on other people.  Then there was the scene where one of the Sons dumped someone in a tub of urine.  I asked myself why I was continuing to even watch this garbage now.  

            Then there was the big scene.   We didn’t actually see it but there it was.  A child going into a church and shooting people.  Beyond irresponsible especially after all the tragic shootings we had in this country.  Yet here was FX, putting all these appalling scenes on their season premier.  I couldn’t take it anymore so I turned off the show, vowing never to watch it again.  

              What was worse was seeing Brent Bozell and his group criticizing the show over this.  Of course he was right, and the last thing we need on television is to have TV shows censored by people like Brent Bozell but when the director of Son’s of Anarchy puts out appalling and irresponsible ideas on his show, then it does bring us one step closer to censorship.  

              I hope that a lot of people stopped watching this show like I did.  Most of all, I hope that the director of Son’s of Anarchy does not get the opportunity to do another show again.  I would not watch it if he did.  

              Goodbye Sons Of Anarchy.  And good riddance.  

Ron Hummer 

The Panther By Nelson DeMille - Book Review

          John Corey is back, along with his wife, on his next mission to Yemen to stop The Panther, a vicious terrorist who in the opening scene killed tourists.  He was also responsible blowing up the Cole.  In any case, it’s up to Corey to put a stop to him.   

           One thing you can say about Corey is that he is full of jokes and wise cracks throughout this long 642 page book.  I think it takes a certain talent to keep up the laughs for over 600 pages but DeMile does a great job.  It doesn’t matter if Corey is speaking with someone, or when he is thinking about something, there is always a good laugh to come. 

             In one part for example, when Corey’s wife is forced to wear a balto, Corey says why don’t you wrap it around your eyes when you go shopping.   Her reply was why don’t I wrap it around your throat.   There is constant banter like this throughout the book and there are times when you see other characters join Corey in his brand of jokes and wisecracks.  

           While the laughs are there throughout the book, the suspense seems to have disappeared.  Yes, of the 642 pages, the action and the suspense never really begins until the last 100 pages of the book.  I was also surprised that I read so little of The Panther’s character since Corey’s character took up over 90% of the book. 

            I enjoyed the Lion’s Game and The Lion and the biggest reason was that not only did you have Corey but you also had a terrorist who was killing people throughout the book, making it more suspenseful since the point of view switched between Corey and the terrorist.   The balance was great and the suspense was top notch.  

            In looking at some of the reviews on Kindle, many of the people said that the book was too long and should have been shorter.  That’s an excellent way to sum this up.  The other part is Corey’s character.  I happen to think he is funny but not everyone has the same sense of humor as I do so there will be people who won’t like his jokes or feel that he is getting worn out.   That’s the risk that DeMille takes when he writes this book.  

             Books like The Lion’s Game and The Lion had a tremendous amount of suspense and both of those books deserve more than five stars.   I enjoyed The Panther but not enough to give it five stars.   Four stars is more than fair for this one. 

Ron Hummer  

Laser Mission - DVD Review

         As a fan of Brandon Lee, I only managed to see his last three movies.  Of the three, I really enjoyed Rapid Fire and Little Showdown in Tokyo.  When I managed to find a bargain DVD box with had 10 movies for $4.99, I decided it to buy it, seeing that one of the movies was Laser Mission with Brandon Lee. 

         If there was a time to say that actors started off in movies that turned out to be a dud, I would give a giant dud to Laser Mission.  At the very least, I had hoped for some excellent martial arts scenes that Lee was famous for in Rapid Fire but that was a huge disappointment since many of the fight scenes were under two minutes.  

         The movie was about Lee playing Michael Gold, a CIA agent who has to track down a stole diamond that can be used in a laser cannon.  Ernest Borgnine plays a Russian Professor named Professor Braun, who has trouble speaking English.  Obviously, this was a really poor role for Borgnine and I had to wonder how he was even working after taking this movie in 1989.  

          Debi Monahan has a large role in this movie also as Alissa.  If you look at her credits, you would see that this was the only movie she was in and if you saw this movie, you would see why.  Her acting was beyond awkward for the role she was in, even when she had a few scenes when she was shooting people.  

           Beyond the two minute fight scenes and maybe one or two funny moments in this movie, I would say that since this was an action movie blended with comedy, the jokes were flat and the plot wasn’t believable.  

           A bigger surprise was the person who had a role in the soundtrack of this movie.  Yes, it was David Knopfler of Dire Straits.  The song, Mercenary Man, is not one of his best songs.  You might say that it was one of his worst.  You can play the track on You Tube and see some scenes from the movie as well. 

           After seeing the video on youtube, I’m sure that anyone would not waste their time renting this movie.  I can see why some movies never make it to HBO or Showtime or even Netflix instant.  It would be generous of me to give this movie one star

Ron Hummer 

          

The Bat By Joe Nesbo - Nordic Crime Review

           This is the first in a series of books by Joe Nesbo on his private detective Harry Hole, although there were times in the book when he was called Harry Holy or Hole or Holy.  I was expecting HH since a lot of characters like to refer to themselves by acronyms.  

            In this book, Hole is overseeing a murder investigation of a minor celebrity back home.  He is told just to observe and stay out of trouble.  He does offer some valuable assistance since he is playing the role of a brilliant detective that can solve this murder case.  

             The case seems to turn to the point that there may be a serial killer involved since there is a pattern of him raping and killing women.  The book moves along with Hole asking questions of people who he thinks are suspects.  The subplot of the book seems to move towards relationships he has had in the past and the present with Kristin and Birgitta.  

              During the book, you will see signs of Hole drinking a lot and having a drunken tirade.   If you’re a fan of Ken Bruen for example, this might appeal to you but to me, it’s more of a turnoff.   The grandfather of this type of detective, who is Mat Scudder from Lawrence Block does a much better job with this.  

              Harry’s personal life seems to play a big role in the story.  For me, it was too much of a role since much of it had little or no relation to the case. The relationship between Birgitta didn’t seem very strong to me and I was amazed that they had any kind of relationship at all after Hole’s drunken tirade. 

               The bigger problem for me in the story was when Birgitta was willing to let herself be bait for this serial killer.  I find that hard to believe no matter what her feelings are for Hole.  I mean, there must be at least one woman on the police force that can do this.  

               That whole scene would have worked for me if Birgitta was kidnapped.  If that happened, it would have made the book seem more believable to me.  I felt that this flaw really brought the book down for me as a result of this. 

               I am willing to give credit where credit is due and say that the last 60 or so pages of this book was superb and intense.  At that point, the book was extremely hard to put down and I can’t think of any kind of mystery that was intense as this was.  

              With all that said, I would say that I would have given this book more than five stars if it weren’t for the flaw.  In any case, I’ll give this book 4 stars.  

Ron Hummer 

In The Blood - DVD Review

          Gina Carano is back in In The Blood, playing Ava, a woman that is marrying a rich business man named Derek Grant.   During their honeymoon, Grant disappears after taking a huge fall and breaking his leg.  It’s up to Ava to find out what happened to him since she is a suspect in his disappearance because she can inherit his money since he may have been killed. 

          Carano, the former kickboxing star, brings plenty of action and suspense from start to finish from the moment she is on the island with her husband.  She seems unstoppable in the beginning when she is hit on by Big Biz, who is played by Danny Trejo.  Trejo, who would not leave her alone, gets himself a few bruises from Carano when she attacks him and several people in the bar when they go after her. 

          The movie has a lot of suspense as we wonder if Derek is alive or dead throughout the movie.  Ava has to go into some dangerous parts of the Caribbean in order to find her husband and you had to wonder if she was going to survive.  It’s not a predictable movie like you would see with Sly Stallone since the police seemed to be just as corrupt as the rest of the people are on the island as well.  

           There are a lot of surprises in the movie which make it unpredictable from start to finish.  Carano is kicking ass and asking questions, trying to find the answers to her husband’s disappearance with each clue leading nowhere until she gets all the answers in the end.  

            By the time we have the answers, the movie continues to keep going somehow with more non-stop action as Ava has to do whatever she can to get out of the problems that she is in and get home safely.  By the time the movie is over, I only wondered how she managed to resolve all her problems.  

            If you’re into action and suspense and lots of martial arts scenes, then I would have to say that Carano is at her best, making this movie much better than Haywire.  I have to say that this is worth more than five stars. 

You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz - Psychological Thriller Book Review

          At the very least, the opening of You’re Next starts off in a terrifying way.   Here is Mike Wingate, 4 years old, who is about to abandoned by his father.  In the readers mind, you have to say to yourself that there is no excuse for a parent to do this yet this is the opening scene and you’re left to wonder what is going to happen to Mike as a result of this. 

          From there, the point of view shifts from Mike being a family man with a wife and daughter to his days in an orphanage where his only friend was Shep.  The story moves along with Mike having problems with his job as head of a construction company that could put him out of business. 

           If that isn’t bad enough, he is starting to run into shady characters who seem as broken as he is along with his friend, Shep.  The mystery is where these characters came from and why are they after Mike and his family.  The answers aren’t easy and the threats seem not only violent but chilling at times with text messages of You’re Next to his cell phone.

   

           As far as the characters are concerned, they were memorable.  They weren’t ordinary characters.  You could say that they were broken people who dealt with some physical problems.   I thought that brought the characters out further and made this story even more unique.  

            This was a very hard book to put down.   The main reason was the characters, especially the shady characters who were after Mike.   Being that they were evil also since they wanted to kill him and his family, that just brought out the suspense even more, making me wonder what he could have possibly done to have these people come after him. 

            I was surprised by the reason once it came out.  Some people who reviewed this book on Amazon didn’t seem to think that it was believable.  I would say that it was not only believable but it seemed like the author had done some research on this as well.  The story kept moving for me and it was even harder for me to put the book down since all this lead to a very unpredictable and fascinating ending.  

            It was a long time since I read Gregg Hurwitz.  I really enjoyed They’re Watching.  While that was a great psychological thriller, I have to say that You’re Next was just as good if not better.  Happy to say that this was one of the best books I read this year and I would give it more than five stars.   Can’t wait to read more of Gregg’s books.  

Ron Hummer