Invasive

Invasive by Chuck Wendig
8/16/2016;384 pages
HarperCollins

Invasive by Chuck Wendig is a highly recommended thriller featuring killer ants.

Hannah Stander is a futurist and consultant for the FBI who assists with cases that feature advanced technological and scientific advances. She identifies unseen threats, whatever they are, and determines the cause. When FBI Agent Hollis Copper has to investigate a dead body with no skin surrounded by the bodies of over a thousand ants found in a cabin in rural New York he calls Hannah in to assist with the case. The investigations leads Hannah to visit entomologist Ez Choi, who determines that the ants were engineered, and have genetic markers from the biotech lab run by biotech billionaire Einar Geirsson. Hannah is invited by Einar to visit the island lab off the coast of Hawaii.

The plot is fast paced, science -based, and suspenseful. It will grab your attention from the start, especially if you like Michael Crichton's novels, and not let go until you have finished. The threat looms large in the plot and Wendig makes sure you will feel all of it. He thoughtfully provides the word for one of these sensations, formication, which is the feeling of insects crawling across or under your skin. This sensation will haunt you, as it does Hannah, throughout the novel. Still, Hannah is a tough, intelligent, determined, and complex protagonist. Raised by parents who were survivalists, she uses the skills (and the distrust she was taught) to her advantage as she interprets the information and the people she meets during the investigation.

Because Invasive is a science fiction thriller, I can set aside disbelief easily, however there were two things that bothered me. I did greatly doubt Hannah would be stupid enough to sleep with Einar, part of the group she is investigating. Also, since I was reading this several years after it was published, I noticed several political statements that dated the novel. This was a perfect example of why you leave the opinions out so the novel has more longevity and because we can't all be futurists. These are trivial though in comparison to the enjoyment found in reading Invasive.

The Best of Me

The Best of Me by David Sedaris
11/30/2020; 400 pages
Little, Brown and Company

The Best of Me by David Sedaris is a very highly recommended collection of 46 essays spanning his career. All of these previously published essays were personally chosen by Sedaris as representing the best of his writing. This is a collection for fans who will appreciate seeing what he has selected as the best and this would be an excellent introduction for those new to Sedaris.

David Sedaris is one of the few humorists who can keep me laughing even if I have read the essay before. As with any collection, not every single piece would have been chosen by me (I believe there were 2 I didn't care for as much) but that is simply quibbling over what is a masterful presentation of many of his memorable pieces. His writing can leave me laughing so hard I'm crying and then continuing to chuckle long afterwards. There are other essays that are serious and heartbreaking as events from his life and family are the subject. Now, I believe it is that time of year to reread Holidays on Ice.

Malorie

Malorie by Josh Malerman
7/21/2020; 320 pages
Random House
Bird Box series #2

Malorie by Josh Malerman is a very highly recommended sequel to Bird Box (2014).

Malorie and her children had to flee the school of the blind after living there for 2 years. It is now 10 years later and Tom and Olympia are 16 years-old. The three still live blind folded to avoid even a glimpse of the creatures that will result in madness and violence. The three have made an isolated camp in the woods their home and follow procedures set by Malorie for their safety. When a stranger shows up claiming to be a census working trying to document survivors, Malorie insists he leave, which he does but he also leaves behind a stack of papers that may change their lives. The information they read sends them on a trip away from safety and out into the world again.

Bird Box is a classic novel of suspense and horror. Any sequel is following it would have a tough act to follow. Malorie manages to do this and in an exceptional way. Malorie seems a bit more brittle and strident now, but It has been 10 years. Think about that. It has been 10 years of living blindfolded and in a constant state of fear and vigilance while always trying to protect her children. She has seen and heard the results of seeing the creatures. With good reason she does not trust people. What she does in this novel is leave behind a place where she has kept her children safe for years and sets out on another journey. She is allowing herself a sliver of hope and that in itself is amazing.

In Malorie we meet Tom and Olympia as teenagers and are given indications of the adults they will become. They are more developed as characters. Tom is clashing more and more with Malorie, as any teenager would, even in the harshest of survival circumstances. They both have secrets they are keeping.

The writing is excellent and Malerman does not waste a word while telling it. The pacing is fast, which is good because the tension will be high throughout the book until the very end. These are people fighting for their survival and their lives while blindfolded. It is also a story of teens coming into their own as they approach adulthood. There are a few heart stopping moments and surprises.

Hidden Valley Road

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family  by Robert Kolker
4/7/2020; 400 pages
Knopf Doubleday

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker is a very highly recommended true family drama and medical detective story following the Galvin family.

Between 1945 and 1965 Don and Mimi Galvin had 12 children, 10 sons first and then 2 daughters. Later 6 of the boys were diagnosed with schizophrenia. This is the inside true story of their family, including the violent wrestling matches between the older brothers, the seemingly perfect father, the control Mimi exercised over them, the hidden sexual abuse, and the feelings of abandonment by younger siblings. Once their first born, Donald, began exhibiting mental issues and was later diagnosed as schizophrenic, they tried to keep the truth hidden as long as possible. By the 1970's six of their sons who were diagnosed as schizophrenic and the families secret could no longer be hidden. Soon Mimi was spending all her time and energy trying to help the "sick" boys while basically leaving the "healthy" children to their own devices.

It is also the story of the history of schizophrenia and the medical advancements made during this time. Kolker follows the background information about the history of schizophrenia and the psychiatric, chemical, and biological advancements in treatment were interesting. The various treatments the brothers endured are shared and the struggles they had taking their medication as the professionals searched to find a treatment that worked for the brothers. Because so many siblings in one family were diagnosed with schizophrenia, the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health is the search for a genetic marker for the disease. Samples of their DNA are still being used in genetic research today. This research continues to influence treatment, prediction of the disease occurring and hopefully a way to prevent the disease in the future.

This is in turn a heart breaking and fascinating well-written and researched account. It is truly an honest portrait of a family in crisis. Kolker follows each family member, their place in the family, and their story with empathy and honesty. It is easy to judge Mimi's actions, but at the same time impossible to do so unless you were in her situation. She really seemed to handle the mental breakdowns of her sons as most people from her generation would and her own background also influenced this. The recounting of the family's history and suffering is handled with compassion. This is not always an easy read, but it is an eye opening and engrossing narrative.

Breaking the News

Breaking the News by Alex Marlow
5/18/21; 368 pages
Threshold Editions/Simon & Schuster

Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media's Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption by Alex Marlow is a very highly recommended examination of the weaponized fake news.

As the Editor-in-Chief of Breitbart News, Marlow is well acquainted with the tactics used by establishment media publications and their content creators who may insist they are neutral, but their reporting reveals obvious agendas and biases that favor the political left. The sheer volume of fake news generated coupled with new censorship tactics by the social media giants, or Masters of the Universe, during 2016-2020 is horrendous and continues on today. Numerous documented examples are given in Breaking the News to highlight the facts as Marlow presents them in a well organized fashion.

Marlo focuses on Bloomberg, CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times as well as the tech elite in Silicon Valley. He covers some of the numerous connections that exist between individuals in the journalism and media establishment and the government. They all form an elite group that will say what it wants to and spin stories to serve their agenda or that of their owners. You can clearly see the collusion between them when every content creator (they are not journalists) is repeating the exact same phase across all the mainstream media outlets. Their censorship tactics and strategies clearly emerged as they are telling people what to think rather than reporting the news.

The handling and coverage of the pandemic is also covered. The power these people have taken is overwhelming. It is still absurd that during all the riots, looting, and burning of cities that they wanted to spin it as peaceful. It is a well known and documented fact that social media has suppressed and controlled content and stories that do not follow the agenda the left wants to push. Their censorship and manipulation of the news, especially before the election, is frightening but keep in mind it is still ongoing today.

As Marlow points out, the time to be silent is over. Now is the time to start calling for holding Big Tech accountable for their anti-conservative bias, favoritism toward major corporations, and monopolistic tendencies. It’s time to speak out for your values and your country. The Left do not want compromise, they want compliance. Become one of them or they will come for you. It’s only a matter of time.

 

When Christmas Comes

When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan
11/2/21; 244 pages
Penzler Publishers

When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan is a very highly recommended mystery.

In the town of Sweet Haven ex-Army Ranger Travis Blake has murdered his girlfriend, elementary school librarian Jennifer Dean. He has confessed. Public defender Victoria Grossburger recruits English professor Cameron Winter to look into the case. Winter has a gift of sorts. His self-described "strange habit of mind" allows him to acquaint himself with a situation, observe it, think about the facts, and come to a sudden realization about what really happened. Grossburger wants him to put his gift to use on Blake's situation. As the story unfolds, sessions between Winter and his therapist Margaret Whitaker are slowly revealed and provide insight into Winter.

The writing is excellent in this short mystery that takes place before Christmas and has a tie in to the holiday. Keep in mind that this is not a cozy mystery. It can be a rather dark, bleak story with a horrific crime at its center. Winter is a fully realized character and displays an inner strength of character and intelligence. As he looks into the murder, he also examines his troubled childhood. The plot seems simple and straightforward, after all Blake confess so what additional information could Winter possibly uncover, but the ending surprised me. I wasn't able to predict it at all. In spite of his inner turmoil and the bleakness of the days, the novel ends on a surprising, but hopeful note.

Pandemia

Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives by Alex Berenson
11/30/21; 464 pages
Regnery Publishing

Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives by Alex Berenson is a very highly recommended, excellent, documented, detailed, and substantiated report exposing the hysteria and manipulation behind the coronavirus pandemic and the overreaction to it in the name of safety and science. This is the true story of the pandemia: one part pandemic, five parts hysteria.

Berenson follows along the timeline of developments and social/political reactions related to the pandemic and details information and facts from each new development. He acknowledges that at the very beginning the lockdowns seemed to make sense, before we had more information. Once information started being compiled and collected, however, it was clear that this reaction was causing more harm than good, but at this point those welding the power and control didn't want to let go. It is made clear that our response to the coronavirus is the worst public policy mistake worldwide in at least a century.

Finally someone has written a book full of facts documenting and exposing the truth behind the lockdowns and everything that has followed rather than simply repeating political ideology. Reading the facts and presenting them without an agenda stands in sharp contrast to the current content creators who used to be journalists but currently are beholden to writing what the corporations who own and finance them. Berenson points out the facts, based on collected data, and concludes that we need to put the dangers of the coronavirus in to a reasonable perspective by treating it as a medical problem, not a societal crisis. We need to demand the truth, the facts, and the data rather than forcing new biotechnology on everyone based on vague scare tactics and incomplete data.

This is a well researched and detailed overview and perfect for those of us who have been collecting facts and documents for two years now. Berenson has compiled these facts plus more into one volume. This is a book I very highly recommend that everyone read.