Isolation

Isolation by Denise R. Stephenson

Mill City Press: 4/1/2014
Trade Paperback, 396 pages
ISBN-13: 9781626527607
www.denisestephenson.com

Isolation depicts a bleak but recognizable future in which the fear of contagion reaches a fever pitch as a bacterial epidemic catapults the US into an apocalyptic crisis.

Touch is outlawed. Mothers like Maggie bind their infants' hands, terrified they might slip fingers into mouths. Gary, a Sterilizer, uses robots to scour the infected, avoiding all contact with human flesh. Trevor, the Chief Enforcer, watches, eager to report any and all infractions.

One inadvertent touch will change all of their lives.

My Thoughts:

Isolation by Denise R. Stephenson is highly recommended, especially because this could conceivably happen.

Isolation opens with a woman cutting her finger, just a little nick, while slicing red onions. Within a day she is dead from a bacterial infection. We hear about these cases today, although death may not come quite that quickly.  Perhaps there is a bacterial infection, like E. coli O157:H7, running rampant, causing severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Maybe the bacterial infection is a salmonella outbreak linked back to tainted spinach. Or perhaps it is Listeria. Or Staph. The point is we all hear about these cases of bacterial infections that result in death today.

But what would happen if the bacteria became more lethal?

We need bacteria to live; it helps digestion for one thing. The problem is as we use more and more antibiotics, we are creating an environment where antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria develop. We nuke food for preservation, which kills bacteria, but does that create more resistant strains? We genetically alter crops to be resistant to diseases and bacteria, but what is the outcome, the end game, of those actions?

In Isolation, Denise R. Stephenson creates a future reality where bacteria seems to be declaring war on the human race and we are fighting back by creating government bureaucracies (through  Homeland Security, NSA, etc.) to control the population and the spread of bacteria. It begins with outlawing all facial touching - don't even think about wiping your eyes, scratching your nose, etc. in a public place because chances are an enforcer will find out and there will be consequences.

AB, anti-bacterial sprays and products are the norm and  liberally used. There is no chance to build up any resistance as all bacteria are deemed bad. If there is a bacterial outbreak, citizens may be required to stay isolated indoors. Eventually all touching/human contact becomes prohibited and everyone is required to stay indoors.

Isolation follows several different characters over the years as the government becomes more and more intrusive and controlling in the attempt to stop all bacteria. Interspersed through the first half of the novel are newspaper articles that provide more informative background on what is happening and on the science behind it. The news articles were a nice way to convey information as the story and the intrusiveness of the government increases. I would mention that today many people get their news online, so some of the articles could have reflected this - but they may in the final copy of the book. Either way, the news articles were effective in helping propel the story forward.

There is a huge buildup of information and over-reactions to the bacteria at the beginning of the book and then the novel focuses on individuals and how they are coping with their brave new hyper-controlled world.

A chilling scenario that could be played out today on several levels, I enjoyed Isolation enormously.


Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the author and Premier Virtual Author Book Tours for review purposes.  

Excerpt

Virtual Author Book Tour

But I Love You

But I Love You by Peter Rosch

Rosch, LLC: 5/31/2014
ebook, 282 pages
ISBN-13: 9780692210925
peterrosch.com

A successful dating service maven falls for a beautiful new client, forcing the hand of her sociopathic admirer.

On the well-intentioned dare of a friend, model and recovering addict Lisa Denton meets Alicia Lynn Wilde, Manhattan's hottest matchmaker to the city's elite and the mind behind an exclusive, very lucrative singles service built on a misguided ideal, lies, and Midwestern blue collar work ethic. Alicia's brief encounter with this new stranger quickly begins to unsettle her meticulously curated world, and throws Lisa unwittingly into a series of unsavory-possibly lethal-events already set in motion when one of Elite Two Meet's members claims to have been sexually assaulted by two high-profile clientele.

My Thoughts:

But I Love You by Peter Rosch is a highly recommended love/con story. You're just going to have to read it to figure out how that combination happens, but perhaps life is a con of some sort.

First, you know right at the start that somebody dies on August 7th in But I Love You, then the story jumps back to August 2nd and you will begin to figure out what is going to happen - or you will think you are figuring out what is going down. Yup, expect a twist or two in this wild ride of.... almost an anti-love story, but I digress.

Alicia Lynn Wilde runs the Elite Two Meet dating/single's service. Elite Two Meet is exclusive and all the members are carefully vetted by a very controlling and tightly wound Alicia and her very controlled staff.  Chris, one of the members of her service who is obsessed with Alicia, is becoming a nuisance with her constant texting and calling. Alicia is interviewing prospective customer/client Lisa and is clearly smitten/obsessed with her. Add to this garbled jumble a lot of self-medicating, many varied sycophants, some simple-minded co-conspiritors, and Rosch self-confessed love of the run-on sentence and you'll begin to see that this is not a simple love story.

Despite the run-on sentence part, Rosch is a very good writer and carries But I Love You along on that strength and the twisty plot. This is a cast of unlikeable characters with a number of obsessions, be it people, success, appearance, or the previously mentioned self-medication. I'm glad I had the time to read it in one sitting. I like one reviewer who compared it to a Shakespearean tragedy where the characters are to blame for all the mishaps that befall them. It's a train wreck waiting to happen - and Rosch lets you know from the start that the train wreck is coming. You won't be able to predict how or why, though.


Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of the author for review purposes.

The Mockingbird Next Door

The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills

Penguin Group: 7/15/2014
ebook, 288 pages
ISBN-13: 978159420519

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the best loved novels of the twentieth century. But for the last fifty years, the novel’s celebrated author, Harper Lee, has said almost nothing on the record. Journalists have trekked to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee, known to her friends as Nelle, has lived with her sister, Alice, for decades, trying and failing to get an interview with the author. But in 2001, the Lee sisters opened their door to Chicago Tribune journalist Marja Mills. It was the beginning of a long conversation—and a great friendship.
In 2004, with the Lees’ blessing, Mills moved into the house next door to the sisters. She spent the next eighteen months there, sharing coffee at McDonalds and trips to the Laundromat with Nelle, feeding the ducks and going out for catfish supper with the sisters, and exploring all over lower Alabama with the Lees’ inner circle of friends.
Nelle shared her love of history, literature, and the Southern way of life with Mills, as well as her keen sense of how journalism should be practiced. As the sisters decided to let Mills tell their story, Nelle helped make sure she was getting the story—and the South—right. Alice, the keeper of the Lee family history, shared the stories of their family.
The Mockingbird Next Door is the story of Mills’s friendship with the Lee sisters. It is a testament to the great intelligence, sharp wit, and tremendous storytelling power of these two women, especially that of Nelle.
Mills was given a rare opportunity to know Nelle Harper Lee, to be part of the Lees’ life in Alabama, and to hear them reflect on their upbringing, their corner of the Deep South, how To Kill a Mockingbird affected their lives, and why Nelle Harper Lee chose to never write another novel.

My Thoughts:

The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee by Marja Mills is a highly recommended look at the life and friends of reclusive author Nelle Harper Lee.

In June, 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was the first book of 34 year old author Harper Lee. "Through the experiences of Scout, Jem, and their best friend, Dill, Lee paints a vivid picture of small-town childhood in the segregated South. She also explored complex themes in the lives of her characters, from mental illness to addiction, racism, and the limitations society imposed on women. The story of small-town childhood and racial injustice in Depression- era Alabama garnered mostly glowing reviews and stayed on the best-seller list for nearly two years. In 1961, Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The Academy Award–winning 1962 film version of the novel, starring Gregory Peck, became a classic in its own right."

After the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, (Nelle) Harper Lee never published another book. She jealously guarded her privacy and actively avoided all publicity or interviews for many, many years.

 In 2001 Mills was sent by the Chicago Tribune to Monroeville, Alabama to try to get some information about Nelle Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. The classic novel was chosen to be Chicago's first book in the new One Book, One Chicago program. Mills just expected to get some background information, write about the town, and set the tone for the city wide read. After gathering all the background information, she felt she should make at least one attempt to talk to Nelle or her (at that time) 89 year older sister Alice.

The sisters both knew from people around town that Mills was there gathering information and Mills herself had sent them information concerning the One Book, One Chicago program. Much to her surprise, Alice invited her in to talk and this started an unprecedented friendship. The sisters decided to trust Mills because they were intrigued by the One Book, One Chicago program and because, from Mills various inquiries around town, they were sure she wasn't a gossip. This insight proves to be true as Mills carefully shares only what Nelle deems safe. The tone of the book is all Southern charm and information about Nelle Harper Lee is carefully disclosed without a hint of gossip or scandal.

Mills was given permission to write this book from Nelle and Alice, and that seems obvious after reading it, although there was plenty of buzz around before its publication that it was going to be another unauthorized biography. Mills slowly and gently tells the story of their developing friendship and shares many of their recollections and stories, along with those of their friends. She covers daily life with the sisters (both are now in assisted living) in Monroeville, as well as with Nelle in New York City. Some things remain off the record. She does cover Nelle's longtime friendship with Truman Capote and why she never wrote another book.

Mills struggles with lupus are as evident as Nelle's feisty personality in this charming but careful account of Nelle Harper Lee. It is not, by any measure, a full biography of Nelle Harper Lee. Mills did not get an extensive on-the-record interview. It is, however, a portrait of her life during the time Mills interviewed her and lived next door to her along with whatever stories or information Nelle chose to share.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book for my Kindle from the Penguin Group for review purposes. 

The Forever Man

The Forever Man by Pierre Ouellette

Random House: 7/8/2014
ebook, 340 pages
ISBN-13: 9780804177191

Portland, Oregon, was once a beacon of promise and prosperity. Now it’s the epicenter of a world gone wrong, its streets overrun by victims and hustlers, drifters and gangsters. Lowly contract cop Lane Anslow struggles to keep afloat—and to watch out for his brilliant but bipolar brother, Johnny, a medical researcher. Lane soon discovers that Johnny is part of an experiment veiled in extraordinary secrecy. But he has no idea who’s behind it, how astronomical the stakes are, or how many lives might be destroyed to make it a reality.
 
Now Johnny’s gone missing. To find him, Lane follows a twisting trail into a billionaire’s hilltop urban fortress, a politician’s inner circle, a prison set in an aircraft graveyard, and a highly guarded community where people appear to be half their biological age. Hunted by dueling enemies, Lane meets a beautiful and enigmatic woman at the center of a vast web of political and criminal intrigue. And behind it all is a sinister, desperate race to claim the biggest scientific prize of all: eternal life.

My Thoughts:

The Forever Man by Pierre Ouellette is a very highly recommended dystopian science fiction crime novel.

Set in the near future in Portland, Oregon, society has eroded into the haves and have-nots. Corruption, amoral behavior and greed have taken over. The land has broken down to sections ruled by various crime lords and the government/law enforcement is likely just as corrupt as the rogue leaders. If you have the money, you will be living in privately guarded enclaves and constantly seeking a way to extend your life through various medical procedures. If you don't have money you will be scrambling hard to find some way to get by, avoid confrontations with local bad-boy enforcers, and likely with some self-medication to try to make it all tolerable.

Lane Anslow is a contract cop in his 40's who is at the low end of the pay scale and on the verge of being considered too old for the job. Lane's brother, Johnny, is a brilliant medical researcher who has just made the break-through discovery to reverse aging that everyone seeks - but especially Thomas Zed, a man wealthy beyond imagination who wants nothing more than to live forever. Now Johnny has disappeared and it is up to Lane to save him, again. Lane must untangle what Johnny has discovered and who would be trying to kill both of them.

The Forever Man worked as a noir crime fiction novel for me, one that just happened to be set in the future. The sci-fi elements are there and believable, but it's the search and digging up information in a bleak world that really propelled the novel along and compelled me to read faster. The sci-fi elements of the world are just a given, they are just background and there as Lane tries to stay alive and figure out what has happened to Johnny and why. Lane is a great character, he has his standards, but he also knows that he may have to revise them in order to survive. His search takes him through all levels of society.

The back story of characters is developed through flashbacks, a technique that works for this novel, and I thought the character development was good. Ouellette raises some interesting questions about seeking to live forever - or beyond the Gompertz Curve - and what questions might arise with living an extremely long life. This is done embedded in the story rather than in a pushy, glaringly obvious lecturing way, something I appreciate.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Random House for TLC review purposes.  

TLC Tour

The Panopticon

The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan

Crown Publishing Group: 4/22/2014
Trade Paperback, 320 pages
ISBN-13: 9780385347952
Random House

Anais Hendricks, fifteen, is in the back of a police car. She is headed for the Panopticon, a home for chronic young offenders. She can't remember what’s happened, but across town a policewoman lies in a coma and Anais’s school uniform is covered in blood.
 
Raised in foster care from birth and moved through twenty-three placements before she even turned seven, Anais has been let down by just about every adult she has ever met. Now a counter-culture outlaw, she knows that she can only rely on herself. And yet despite the parade of horrors visited upon her early life, she greets the world with the witty, fierce insight of a survivor.
 
Anais finds a sense of belonging among the residents of the Panopticon – they form intense bonds, and she soon becomes part of an ad hoc family. Together, they struggle against the adults that keep them confined. When she looks up at the watchtower that looms over the residents though, Anais knows her fate: she is an anonymous part of an experiment, and she always was. Now it seems that the experiment is closing in.

Named one of the best books of the year by the Times Literary Supplement and the Scotsman, The Panopticon is an astonishingly haunting, remarkable debut novel. In language dazzling, energetic and pure, it introduces us to a heartbreaking young heroine and an incredibly assured and outstanding new voice in fiction.

My Thoughts:

The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan is highly recommended but with a cautionary note that this book is not for everyone.

In The Panopticon we meet Anais Hendricks, a 15 year old who has been in the care system her entire life. She's a chronic offender and being taken to the Panopticon in Midlothian, Scotland. The Panopticon was a former psychiatric hospital and prison that has been turned into an experimental home for chronic young offenders, based on the prison designs of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. In the Panopticon the buildings are crescent shaped with all rooms visible to a central watch tower that looms large in Anais's mind. Anais has been sent here for putting an officer into a coma.

The world Anais inhabits is awash with drug abuse, physical abuse and violence, but most certainly non-stop f***ing swearing.  Once she is in the Panopticon, she forms a sort of rag-tag very dysfunctional family-like bond with the other troubled teens who are there. Fagan does not mince words or paint a pretty picture with these young displaced disturbed teens. They are all dealing with some horrific issues and problems.

The Scottish dialect Fagan uses didn't bother me and was easy to understand.  And while the chronic drug abuse is disturbing, what really did bother me was what felt like non-stop swearing. The F word is liberally used with abandon, and while that may reflect a certain segment of society and certainly a certain culture, it is decidedly not mine. I managed to struggle and overlook  the profanity simply because the novel is so intriguing and I wanted to try to decode what had happened to Anais.

This is not a YA novel. This is a dark and disturbing, atmospheric novel that will be memorable for those who read it, but the real question is more if they will remember the fierce drug-taking heroine, Anais, or if it will be for the liberal use of the "f" word, along with more British/Scottish slang than I ever knew existed for various body parts and actions. 

While the accolades are huge for this novel, I'm afraid I can only highly recommend it for those who feel they can take on all the baggage that comes along with reading it. While it is a good novel it is not for everyone. (I also would not compare it to Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale.)

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for review purposes.

Hurricane Fever

Hurricane Fever by Tobias S. Buckell

Tom Doherty Associates: 7/1/2014
ebook, 272 pages
ISBN-13: 9780765319227
www.tobiasbuckell.com

Prudence “Roo” Jones never thought he’d have a family to look after—until suddenly he found himself taking care of his orphaned teenage nephew. Roo, a former Caribbean Intelligence operative, spends his downtime on his catamaran dodging the punishing hurricanes that are the new norm in the Caribbean. Roo enjoys the simple calm of his new life—until an unexpected package from a murdered fellow spy shows up. Suddenly Roo is thrown into the center of the biggest storm of all.

Using his wits—and some of the more violent tricks of his former trade—Roo begins to unravel the mystery that got his friend killed. When a polished and cunning woman claiming to be murdered spy’s sister appears, the two find themselves caught up in a global conspiracy with a weapon that could change the face of the world forever.

In Hurricane Fever, New York Times bestselling author Tobias Buckell (Arctic Rising, Halo: The Cole Protocol) has crafted a kinetic technothriller perfect for fans of action-packed espionage within a smartly drawn geo-political landscape. Roo is an anti–James Bond for a new generation.

My Thoughts: 
Hurricane Fever by Tobias S. Buckell is a very highly recommended, fast paced thriller that will leave you feeling like you have been through a hurricane of action.
 
Dreadlocked Prudence “Roo” Jones, a retired operative from the Caribbean Intelligence Group, is trying to live a quiet, retiring life on his catamaran, Spitfire II, while caring for his teenage nephew and watching out for hurricanes. Roo is tracking an approaching hurricane and preparing to sail to a safe harbor when he gets a message from Zee, a former colleague and friend. Zee simply says if Roo gets his message, Zee is dead and Roo needs to extract revenge. Zee's message sends Roo out on a dangerous mission where the approaching storm may not be a destructive as the people now after him. And is the woman, Kit, who claims to be Zee's sister really his sister or could she have other motives for reaching out to Roo?
 
Set in the Caribbean in the near future, this is a fast paced thrilled that moves with lightning speed from one action packed encounter to another. I love what Publisher's Weekly said in their review rating the climax as "one white cat shy of a Bond movie" - a very apt description. This is a perfect summer read since the plot moves along so swiftly it holds your attention and there are no little niggling details to remember as you race to the dramatic climax. (And, not to spoil any plot points, but it showcases two of my favorite subjects: weather and bio-warfare.)
 
Buckell knows how to write an engrossing thriller in an unequivocal style: clear, concise and captivating while still managing to insert a whole lot of action and interesting plot developments.
 
There is violence (just like in a Bond movie) but Buckell doesn't revel in showcasing the gore or making it excessive. This is a fun, entertaining read that shouldn't disappoint readers.


Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Tom Doherty Associates via Netgalley for review purposes.

The Infinity Program

The Infinity Program by Richard H. Hardy

Coffeetown Enterprises, Inc.: 4/1/2014
ebook, 250 pages
ISBN-13: 9781603819336

Jon Graeme and Harry Sale are unlikely friends. Harry is a world-class programmer, but his abrasive personality alienates co-workers. In contrast, Jon is a handsome and easy-going technical writer, the low man on the IT totem pole. Sharing a love of nature, the men set out together, planning to go their separate ways--Jon on a hike and Harry, fly fishing. Three days later, Jon arrives at the rendezvous point, but his friend is nowhere in sight. When Jon finds Harry unconscious on the floor of a cave, Harry claims to have been lying there the entire time. But he is neither cold nor hungry. What Jon doesn't know is that Harry fell into an underground cavern, where he came into contact with an alien quantum computer. Back at work, Harry jettisons his regular tasks and concentrates exclusively on inventing new operating language to access the alien system. In the process he crashes his office's Super Computer and is fired. Jon convinces the company to give Harry a second chance, arguing that the system he has invented will make them millions. Jon has no idea what havoc Harry is about to unleash.

My Thoughts:

The Infinity Program by Richard H. Hardy is a recommended light science fiction novel with a major focus on office politics.

Jon Graeme is a newly hired technical writer whose boss sends him to get information from eccentric, curmudgeon-like programmer Harry Sale. His boss was under the assumption that Jon would fail to acquire what he needed, but instead Jon ends up befriending Harry. After a brief friendship the two go off on a fishing/hiking adventure together. While Jon hikes up the mountain, Harry stays behind to fish. Harry ends up falling into a mysterious hole in a cave. When Jon returns three days later, he finds Harry unconscious on the cave floor. When they get back to work, Harry begins programming 24/7 like a man possessed. In the cave Harry encountered an alien technology and he suddenly has an idea for a new programming language.

Rather than being a focused science fiction novel, it really is quite light on the sci-fi and heavy on the office politics. In fact, the whole scheme of office politics seemed a bit dated by today's standards. Currently, there are many avenues of recourse through Human Resources in place at large companies to handle cases of sexual harassment at work, an unreasonable request from a boss, etc. While it succeeded in creating tension and a protagonist, the office politics part of the novel felt like it was written 20 years ago.  Even the set up of the company seemed old school.

Also it was odd to only have one female character, even in the world of programmers. The female character we get is Lettie, who seems more a fantasy than a real woman. It seems that some men retire and know they have a book to write. Then they make their female characters that stuff of dreams/porn rather than a real person. It would be refreshing to see some strong, confident women as characters involved in the actual plot rather than simply as a love interest.

This is a simple, predictable plot, told in a simple, uncomplicated style. There is not a whole lot of character development. The world of programming is not presented in an intricate, detailed manner so anyone should be able to follow the plot without confusion or extra knowledge. There are some grammatical errors and other problems with the writing that you should be forewarned about before you read The Infinity Program.

For all its faults, I have to say that there was something charming about the uncomplicated quaint feel to the writing. Once my expectations were lowered, as far as any major plot twists or character development,  I actually enjoyed the book.


Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the author and Premier Virtual Author Book Tours for review purposes.    http://www.virtualauthorbooktours.com/