Book reviews added in the week of 5/25-5/31
Bill
Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books released in the US have been added to
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com in the last week:
"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason - At the center
of "The Rule of Four" are four Princeton roommates approaching
graduation and an ancient text called the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.
It's a 15th-century book written in several languages, and is full of
secrets, puzzles, and clues that are supposed to lead to a treasure
buried in a vault in Rome. One of the roommates, Paul, is doing his
senior thesis on the book and believes he's stumbled across a clue
that might solve the mysteries within the book. Another roommate,
Tom, is hoping to redeem his father's work on the Hypnerotomachia.
Not only is this a thriller as the students unravel secrets that
others are willing to kill for, it also highlights the internecine
rivalries of academic life and the friendships and bonding of the four
men on the cusp of adulthood. "The Rule of Four," often compared to
"The Da Vinci Code," has received mostly positive reviews with
BookPage saying, "Riveting, poignant and intensely intimate, 'The Rule
of Four' is a thinking person's thriller of the highest order."
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/rule_of_four
"Hidden Prey" by John Sandford - "Naked Prey" begins with the murder
of a Russian sailor by a teenage assassin and a homeless woman
escaping the murder scene with the $50,000 the Russian had on him.
Lucas Davenport is called in to investigate, and this time he's paired
with a woman claiming to be a Russian cop, although Davenport has his
suspicions that she's more than that. They uncover a Russian spy
ring, abandoned since the end of the Cold War in northern Minnesota.
Davenport and his Russian counterpart try to uncover why these
Russians, so long in Minnesota that they're now pillars of their
community, are suddenly thrust into violent action. John Sandford's
15th Lucas Davenport mystery has received mostly positive reviews.
The Washington Post calls "Naked Prey" "good, dark, perverse, bloody
fun."
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/hidden_prey
"Transmission" by Hari Kunzru - In "Transmission," Arjun Mehta is an
Indian programmer who comes to Silicon Valley in search of the
American dream at the same time American jobs are being outsourced to
his country. Naive and unprepared for the realities of American high
technology jobs, Arjun goes from job to job until he eventually works
for an antivirus company. Hoping to keep his job, he launches a
computer virus through the internet, expecting to become the hero when
he stops it later. Unfortunately, he can't and events spiral out of
control. The effects are felt world-wide, including affecting his
favorite Bollywood actress back in India. Hari Kunzru (author of "The
Impressionist") unleashes a story both comical and scary in its
depiction of the global economy. "Transmission" has received mostly
positive reviews with The San Jose Mercury News saying,
"'Transmission' is a dazzle of wit and color and snark."
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/transmission
"The Body of Jonah Boyd" by David Leavitt - "The Body of Jonah Boyd"
centers around Judith "Denny" Denham and her strange relationship with
the Wright family. She's the secretary to a successful psychoanalyst
and professor, Ernest Wright, and also his lover. She's the friend
and piano partner with his wife, Nancy. Their children treat her like
a confidant or rival for their parents' attention. When Nancy's best
friend from her past comes to visit, along with her husband, the
novelist Jonah Boyd, for a Thanksgiving weekend, all of their lives
are changed forever. Jonah's breakthrough novel, written longhand in
notebooks, disappears and can't be found anywhere. Denny recounts the
story of all these characters for the next 30 years, from Jonah's
death in an alcoholic haze, to murder and inheritances, and the
unraveling of the secrets of what really happened that weekend. David
Leavitt's novel has received mostly positive reviews with the San Jose
Mercury News saying, "'The Body of Jonah Boyd' is artful in its
leisurely withholding of information, its surprise undercutting of
expectations, and its determined understatement of tone. It's a small,
smart novel from a writer of abundant talents."
Excerpt and reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/body_of_jonah_boyd
Happy reading!
Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com