Martini, Steve. Critical Mass. London: Headline Publishers. ISBN 0 7472 60621


Martini dedicates the book to, among others, ‘ the people of Russian Republic who have managed against impossible odds, to keep the deadly genie in the bottle’.

And yet, the tale begins with the Russians losing two nuclear devices which are intended to be used by Dean Belden paid to plant the nuclear bombs in Washington.

Involved in this nuclear fiasco is a burned-out lawyer Joss Cole. Enters Gideon van Ry, a blue-eyed Dutchman and also a nuclear fission expert.

Joss and Gideon embark on the trail of the bombs to find them before critical mass is reached. Joss is almost killed on two occasions. In one of those, she is sent to the depths of the ocean along with her car from a freight boat.

I found the action riveting, the descriptions graphic and the climax, interesting. What sets it apart from the others is this : Gideon dies of radioaction received during the rescue mission. He dies, but humankind lives on.



Patterson, James. Cradle and All. London: Headline Book Publishers. 2000.ISBN. 0 7472 66980

The beginning is extraordinary, just like the uncommon events it describes…several incidents take place all at once in different parts of the world. There is famine in India, ebola virus and polio virus outbreaks in other parts, all sudden, all devastating.

Then there are two virgin pregnancies reported…one in Ireland and the other in Rhode Island. Two unlikely protoganists, Anne Fitzgerald, a private detective and Justin, a Catholic priest from Vatican follow the lives of the two virgin mothers…

So, are these signs of the birth of the God or the Devil? That is what they try to find.

You will not believe the climax….the unexpected denouement…you can only say, WHAT!...


Finder, Joseph. Company Man. New York: St.Matrins Press. 2005. ISBN 0 312 93876 4

This book somehow reminds me of ‘The General’s Daughter’ – there is a murder on the lawn of a highly respected CEO, presently maligned because of the layoffs his company has effected and the unravelling of it brings out a spider’s web of betrayals, suspicion, mistrust and moral responsibility. It is the army in TGD and a business organisation in this.

Nick Conover, CEO of a large corporation, weighed down by the layoffs recommended by his CFO and Board, finds himself stalked by someone who even disembowers his dog…one night, he kills the intruder, Andrew Stadler, a man whose bipolar disorder makes him a danger to Stapler’s family. Dissuaded by his CFO, he does not surrender to the police and carries the guilt every day.

Befriending Cassie Stadler, he finds himself empathising with her. The sympathy and empathy turn into something more intimate soon. Even his truant teenage son and young daughter respond to her.

However, he soon finds that there is a dark past to his victim's daughter...the cost he pays for this is very high.

Every page a compulsive turner...entertaining and interesting.

Long Lost by David Morrell

Some books just explode on you... or are more like stuccatto bursts...they leave you in a shock...they grip you for a few hours...you begin to live the lives of the characters in the book...

David Morrell's 'Long Lost' was borrowed fromthe library because the book was conveniently sized and the font was extremely readable. Boy, what a powerful story this is.

Brad welcomes his long lost brother Petey, twenty years after he just disappeared during a ride back home. Brad just does not know the dark secrets lurking in his brother's mind till he finds himself pushed down a gorge by Petey. On recovery from the fall, Brad finds that Petey has disappeared from his home with his wife and son.

A year long trail follows...Brad's memoir like writing takes one back to the events,as Brad tries to relive the moments of his brother's return, looking at everything from his brother's perspective. The shocking truth hits him with intensity...Brad follows his brother and saves his wife and son. His love saves them, but not his brother.

This is a searing tale of a child's life gone awry due to screwed up adults playing havoc with the child's psyche.

The language is taut; even the chapters are very short, sometimes, just two paragraph long.

The climax is the stuff of Reader's Digest's unbelievably true stories - a drama in real life.

The Seventh Scroll - Wilbur Smith

Smith, Wilbur. The Seventh Scroll. London: Pan Books. 1996. ISBN 0 330 34415 3

If in River God, Smith made us unobtrusive spectators in the drama of an Egyptian tale featuring a eunuch slave Taita, his beloved Tanus turned Queen Lostris and his friend turned Pharoah Mamose as they lived out their passions, loves, fears, betrayals, royal insurgencies and survival instincts on the shores of the mighty Nile, the Seventh Scroll takes us as fellow adventures alongside Royan al Simma, an archaegologist and Lord Quenton Harper, a rich man with a love for Egypt's ancient mysteries.

The two go on a quest of Pharaoh Mamose's tomb guided by Taita's Seventh Scroll in which he encrypts the keys to the tomb. A greedy billionaire prospector and his entourage of evil men follow them, even as Mek and Tessay, two of the proud descendants of Egypt's ancient glorious past and fellow rebels seek to join the mainstream of life.

All of them come together to set a searing pace that never slackens. It is fast; it is furious; it is menacing; it is redolent with the sights, smells and sounds of an Egypt 4000 years ago; it is cruel; it is gentle.

The action leading to the finding of the Tomb showcases Wilbur Smith's amazing capapcity for capturing details. If I believed in mysteries, I would say that Smith must've lived 4000 years ago to give us such minute details. I know research plays a major role, but research becomes a fabulous yarn, rich in details.

My favourite images in the book include the brilliance of incandescent colours bathing the Pharoah's tomb, Taita's handmade little wooden statue of himself and the dark deep pool with unseen predatory fish turning the pool into swirling red waters whenever a victim steps into it.

Like Taita, Wilbur Smith likes to leave something of himself in his work. He and his previous work, River God, become characters in this story - the author and his are integral in unravelling the secrets of the 7th Scroll.

Interesting reading.