ofclumsywords's Reviews (486)

Going to try listening to this instead of reading. 

The Egyptology/archeology themes were really interesting in this and I liked the change of pace. There was also a strong theme of what a mother would do to protect her daughter and I'm glad that the author decided to write this once Jane was a mother herself so she could really understand what Madea was willing to do to protect her daughter. Maura's bits weren't as exciting as they had been in the past. I feel like the author has just repeated the same things for Maura in the last two or three books where she is lonley and wants that companionship in a romantic partner but always choses the wrong one. Which so happens to be a priest in the last two books. Not to forget continuously being asked to join the Mephisto Club who just keep popping up in every single book and each one has at least one chapter repeating why Maura does not want to join the club. Its like these recent books are trying to over-philosophize right versus wrong and what it means to be a murderer. I get it, these books are phycological thrillers that have very dark themes, but I don't need to be reminded of it in basically the same words each time it happens. I am ready for some new and greater character development in Maura's character; she is a great character and I hate to see the direction she is being taken in.  

This book was so well written that at times I found myself wondering if this was a simple murder mystery or something supernatual. Once again the history lesson was well done and it was spooky enough to have me on the edge of my seat. The ending was a bit predictable when it is revealed who the bad guy is, but I didn't put two and two together until the final chapters. There wasn't a lot of further character development for Maura or Jane during this book, instead the plot specifically focused on the murders and the mysterious club that believed in angels and demons and ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses.

I had high hopes at the beginning when reading synopsis of aliens making a video game that would help them fight a war. But I was sadly disappointed. 

The writing was terrible and there were just too many plot holes. The end of the book didn’t even tie up the loose ends or explain what the war was about. It just got to the point where the Doctor saved Rose and the Quevvils who made up the video game disappeared. Rose had a small encounter with the Mantodeans, only to say she wasn’t associated with the Quevvils and then went on her merry way, waiting for the Doctor to pick her up. I can’t believe this book topped off at 245 pages with how useless all the content was. The author just made cringey characters like Robert who fell instantly in love with whatever blond he made eye contact with or the “bad guy” who was something out of a 1950’s movie beating up helpless old ladies and stealing lunch money. 

The only reason this gets a star is because of the quirkiness. Alien Porcupines and giant Praying Mantis’ at war with each other and a video game that really takes the player into the war must have been the idea of someone other than the author since it was so unique when everything else was not. I wish there was a way to give that person the star and all the credit because otherwise this was terrible. I didn’t even like the way the Doctor or Rose were written. At least the TARDIS was written fine, but its a machine so all you have to do is get the appearance of it right. 

Lost interest, will come back to this later when in more of a romancy mood.

The adventures of Rose and the Doctor continue. This time we find our favorite duo arriving on a strange planet after the TARDIS takes a detour. Mischief quickly follows them (as it always does) and Rose and the Doctor end up separated almost immediately and find themselves on a prison planet where they are each taken to a prison for aliens and a prison for humans respectively.  It was really interesting to see Rose go at it alone and figure out what was going on without the Doctor's constant smarts and figuring it out quickly. Not to say Rose isn't smart, because she quickly finds out things are going hinky and has to get to the bottom of the mysterious governor who is running the human prison. At the alien prison with the Doctor, we are reintroduced to a very familiar aliens, the Raxacoricafallapatorians (no I am not making that up, if you know you know). We get to see where the Slitheen family ends up 500 years in the future after the first run-in with them in London all those years before and even introduced to another family, the Blathereen, as the story progresses. The rivalry between the families was a great addition, to see the Raxacoricafallapatorians dislike each other and work against each other when one would assume because they were from the same planet that they would band together. It is family loyalty for them above anything else along with making as much money by destroying as many planets for profit as they could. 

It was interesting to see Rose and the Doctor separated. To see the Doctor work alone as he has done in the past but for Rose, this was one of the first instances she truly found herself alone on an alien planet and got herself out of a mess. During the Doctor's parts all he could think of was Rose and getting her back. He never once doubted that she could take care of herself. But even so early in the series since their meeting, you can instantly tell how much she means to him and how he would do anything to get her back. And that at the center of it all is what the Doctor truly is. He may act cold and distant (who wouldn't after all he has lost and how old he is) but it's just a front to protect himself. He cares for his companions and feels the loss of every one of them when their time to part comes. Another part that was right on character for the Doctor was the ending, where even though there was loss of life, he was upset about it. He feels every death and will do everything in his power to prevent anyone from dying, be it the good guys or the bad. After all he went through in his past and losing his entire planet you can see in every single decision he makes to prevent loss of life and the author hit that spot on. 

The plot of the book itself was interesting. I was a little lost during some of the technology speak since it was things that were never a part of the series. I give this storyline props for how original it was and even though it was a book instead of a TV the visuals of what they were doing and using the technology was a little lost on me, by no means was this a bad book. I liked every bit of it and for the first alien planet that Rose and the Doctor go to in this book series, I'm glad there were some familiar aliens and that we got to see where the Slitheen family ended.

What a great addition to the movie! We get to see the thought process of Terminator and how it functions and computes the data it sees as it is going about it's mission. Unlike the movie where we only get to see 'through' Terminator's eyes the code and responses that flash on the screen. There is also much more information on Skynet, the time displacement machine, and how Reese and Terminator actually got to LA 1984. But by far the best part was getting to know Sarah more and who she was before Reese and Terminator showed up in her life. We see her relationship with Ginger and Matt in more detail and her very monotonous daily life that we as humans take for granted. Then it shows the evolution of her going from the young college student to the beginnings of the Sarah we know she will become. She is so young and fragile in this book and knows next to nothing and its a good reminder that she is only human and we get to discover that along with Reese as he realizes there is more to her than the lore he grew up hearing. I can't wait to continue this series and get more information that the movies were unable to show us.

The story picks up about a month after the last book in the series. Jane is about to have her baby and of course, she is swept up into another case and more danger. It was really interesting to see her as a mom, especially a new mom. She went from a badass cop who had to keep up with the boys and prove herself with every breath to a new mom adjusting to a new role and title. The hostage situation was an interesting first part of the story which only took up about 1/3 to half of the book. Then it moves on to a darker plot as more is revealed and once again Jane and Gabriel have to solve the mystery. The fact that all of this happened within days of Jane giving birth was a little far fetched. I don't think any new mother would be up to the physical task of running around town or chasing down bad guys right after giving birth. But Jane is a badass character (and this is fiction) and it was in Jane's nature to do so. She has never been or never will be a woman who will stand on the sidelines while there is a case to solve or people to save. Though the very unbelievable part was at the end where Jane takes her baby along with her on the case. Sure the witness showed up unexpectadly and they needed a safe place to go. But by this point in the murder mystery there were only a few pages/chapters left of the book and as the reader, you could tell where this was going. I don't see the reason to put a newborn in unnecessary danger like they did when Jane is literally digging her own grave as her two-week-old sits next to her. That was a little excessive. 

All in all, once again it was a good book. Seeing Jane as a mom was interesting and Gerritsen writes a very good crime novel.