August 18, 2013

Deadly Passage - Lawrence W. Gold

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Title: Deadly Passage
Author: Lawrence W. Gold
Publisher: Grass Valley Publishing
Release date: June 2013
Pages: 334

 

* Andy released the dock lines from Adios, and stepped back onto Prophecy. As the boats drifted apart, Andy thought, two youngsters at sea and, Carlos Mendoza missing; blood in the cockpit and on the lifelines—what in hell happened aboard Adios? *
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Deadly Passage is a multi-layered, high seas, adventure-thriller novel of bioterrorism in a post 9/11 world. The novel operates on several levels not commonly encountered in a high-octane thriller, including insights into the terrorists, their backgrounds, rationale, and subtle conflicts within the communities from which they have been drawn that ultimately condition their decisions and actions. The responses of US governmental agencies mirror these diverse perspectives.
Andy Reiss, a physician, Jesse his registered-nurse wife, and Rachel, their barely teenage daughter, head home on their sailboat, Prophecy, after five years at sea touring the world. They thought they'd dealt with every imaginable experience at sea. When Prophecy comes upon a sailboat adrift, they discover two young Americans, a brother and his sister. After bringing them aboard, both break out with a rash that Andy identifies as a deadly virus. Soon it becomes clear that they've inadvertently rescued two homegrown terrorists intent on bringing a deadly virus to the Miami area. Soon the disease is full-blown, sealing the fates of the terrorists and all those they encounter. Andy, Jesse, and Rachel must deal with the unwanted guests, their disease, the Cuban Navy, an approaching hurricane, and the U.S. Coast Guard turning them away from safety, operating under the influence of conflicting political and operational motivations in the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and the oval office. The shocking and unexpected denouements leave us twisting in uncertain winds reminiscent of On the Beach.



After having spent five years living on their sailboat discovering new places, the Reiss family – Andy, Jesse, their daughter Rachel and the dog Reggie – decides it is time for the adventure to end. What was supposed to be a quiet and straightforward return to Florida is however troubled when they rescue two Americans who are not as innocent as they appear. They have to discover their secret... and there is no time for thought as the risk of a hurricane in the area increases every hour.
In Deadly Passage, Lawrence Gold takes us to a terrifying world full of terrorism, politics and natural catastrophes at high sea. Between reality and science-fiction, this thrilling novel will make the readers hold their breath until the last pages.
The story starts slowly as we get to know the Reiss family and their unusual life at sea on the Prophecy. The vocabulary used is specific, but general concepts can be understood easily, even by people who – like me – do not know anything about sailing. The descriptions of the places they visit and their activities are vivid and full of details. We also obtain a good overview of the characters’ nature and background, not only in the case of Andy, Jesse and Rachel, but also of every other person we meet in the book.
This first part offers a strong contrast with the rest of the plot. As soon as the Americans, Ryan and Nicole, arrive on Prophecy, the pace of the action quickens and everything seems to go wrong. Events take a bad turn not only for Andy, Jesse and Rachel, but also for the US, Cuba, and several other nations. As the tension builds up, we hope with the characters that a ‘happy ending’ will be possible, but everything seems hounded by misfortune. The last chapter is a masterstroke; not too cheesy, not too appalling, rather open... A perfect ending!
The plot itself is rather simple, playing with bioterrorism and including several story lines which finally come together. There are however several groups of people included and it is not always easy to understand each one’s interests, especially because many abbreviations are used to make the reading easier. It can therefore be useful to have basic knowledge about History, mainly about the relationship between Cuba and the United Stated of America, the political system of the USA, Al-Qaeda and the Middle-East.
At that point, I must admit I feared that the plot would become too political. Fortunately, it was not the case; although the CIA, the American and Cuban Presidents and several other important organisations are involved in the whole affair, we do not go into too much detail. It does not always appear to be very realistic, but I actually enjoyed this simplification, as it made the main elements clearer and easier to understand and, after all, it is a work of fiction. I also appreciated the fact that the book was no propaganda, as is often the case with such controversial themes. Yes, there are ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’, but we are offered various point of view and understand easily that nothing is as simple as black or white.
Deadly Passage is a very good thriller dealing with matters that could well happen in the current world. The pleasant writing style, the captivating plot and Lawrence Gold’s obvious knowledge of sailing, ships and medicine make Deadly Passage an amazing read which I recommend to anybody interested in good crime books. I would like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this book, thus enabling me to discover a great literary world in which I will undoubtedly travel again in the future.

 
Partnership with author Lawrence W. Gold
Organised by Bostick Communication



August 05, 2013

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>>> To join in, visit this page <<<
>>> To post a review, visit this page <<<
>>> To see the list of travellers, the levels they reached and the badges they obtained, visit this page <<<
>>> This is the page of rules and explanations for the challenge <<<

New blog, new posts and more... 

To celebrate Once upon a Book's creation and Aux 1001 Histoire's first birthday, we have decided to organise our first challenge using an idea we had for several months... So here is the Travelling the World in Books Challenge.

Books enable us to escape reality and discover places that we have never visited before, some of them real, others imaginary. The idea of the challenge is to travel the whole world through books. During the summer, many have holiday and it is therefore the opportunity to start this big trip. Don't wait, join in!



  • Everybody can take part to the challenge. People who do not have a blog can send me their reviews and I will publish them on this blog under a specific label. To join in, you just have to post a comment with your name and your blog address on that post (for bloggers, please include the link to your sign-up post). To see the list of travellers who are taking part in the challenge and the level they reached, visit this page).
  • The idea of Travelling the world in books is to discover as many countries and cultures as possible through books. For a book to be valid, the plot has to take place in the country. (That means that the author's nationality is not a criteria.) If there are several places in one book, you have to choose ONE country.
  •  For a read to be counted, you have to post a comment with the link of your review on this page. I will list the countries we have already visited in this post in case you need ideas.
  • As this is an international challenge, reading and reviewing is allowed in any language.
  • Given the size of the challenge, there is no deadline ; it is therefore a permanent challenge.
  • Rereads count, any format (audiobooks and ebooks as well), any genre and any number of pages count. Books read for other challenges are allowed as well.
  • When you sign up, include the level you are aiming to reach (one of the basic levels ; special levels and badges are optional). Depending on how you are getting on, you can of course change your aim later.

- Tourist – Visit 25 pays and at least three different continents.
- Guide – Visit 50 countries and at least four different continents.
- Globe-Trotter – Visit 75 countries and at least one on each continent.
- Geographer Visit 100 countries and at least one on each continent.
- Cartographer Visit 125 countries and at least one on each continent.
- Adventurer Visit 150 countries and at least one on each continent.
- Explorer – Visit all 194 countries in the world as well as Antarcti


- Astronaut – Travel at least 5 times into space (real or imaginary places)
- Robinson Crusoe – Visit at least 15 islands belonging to different countries. The country can be an island (Ireland, for example) or can have islands on its territory (Sardinia for example, but in that case, the plot hat to take place on the mentioned island)


(To divide America between South and North, we will be using this list: http://www.worldatlas.com/cntycont.htm#.UfuA_G3ODfd) 

- Lions Specialist : Visit 20 African countries
- Rhinos Specialist : Visit all African countries
- Caribous Specialist : Visit 10 North American countries
- Grizzlies Specialist : Visit all North American countries
- Llamas Specialist : Visit 5 South American countries
- Anacondas Specialist : Visit all South American countries
- Tigers Specialist : Visit 20 Asian countries
- Panda Bears Specialist : Visit all Asian countries
- Fox Specialist : Visit 25 European countries
- Lynx Specialist : Visit all European countries
- Koalas Specialist : Visit 10 Oceanian countries
- Kangaroos Specialist : Visit all Oceanian countries



August 01, 2013

In My Mailbox *1*

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In My Mailbox was invented by  The Story Siren.

_____________________________

A few weeks after my blog was created, time has come for serious matters... As I am on holiday at the moment, I am not very active, but I have prepared a first In My Mailbox which is a little special...

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I have spent a whole year full of advntures abroad. Changing addresses as often as I did is not very convenient when we are used to receiving books. To make sure that my post was not going to be lost, I had it sent to my mother's... And on Saturday, after a whole semester, I have finally discovered what was expecting me !


To start with, a parcel sent by Tari for the swap organised by the A&M forum... As well as raspberry chocolate, various tea-bags and a lovely bookmark, I have received:

Jesse Kellerman ❖ Les Visages
Mary Ann Schaffer & Annie Barrows ❖ Le Cercle Littéraire des amateurs d'épluchures de patates
Arni Thorarinsson ❖ Le Temps de la sorcière 
Anne B. Ragde ❖ La Tour d'Arsenic
Arnaldur Indridason ❖ Bettý 

Thank you very much Tari!

 
 


After that, a book I was waiting for impatiently, senty by Entrée Livres for Jeudis Critiques, with a nice magnetic bookmark...

Tatiana de Rosnay Amsterdamnation et autres nouvelles
Find me review here (French)



 
 
Another one received for the Masse Critiques organised by Babelio. I have only just started reading it and it is surprising but interesting. The review will come soon. 

Hallgrímur Helgason La Femme à 1000°






 

A historical crime book won in a contest organised by the French publisher Pocket

Giacometti Ravenne Le Temple Noir






 
Three books from a series of thrillers received thanks to  Bostick Communications.

Douglas E. Sipple and Charles T. Wolstenholme Code Name Rustler
Douglas E. Sipple and Charles T. Wolstenholme Rustler's Vengeance
Douglas E. Sipple and Charles T. Wolstenholme Forced Intervention
 





And digital books...
Although I am not yet convinced, I am trying to slowly get used to reading digital books. This month, I have received an ebook, once again thanks to Bostick Communications.

Lawrence W. Gold Deadly Passage





 
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