December Books

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Consent to Kill
by Vince Flynn

This was the old “hunter becomes the hunted” deal, where assassins are sent to kill Mitch. Well-written as always and I liked the ending and the aftermath. 4/5

The Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown

Wow, what a book. It's about the Olympic gold medal winning crew team from the University of Washington in the 1930s. It weaves a fascinating story of hard work, determination, willpower, teamwork, and triumph. Some of the stuff that happens to the main character (all true) is unbelievable. I didn't really care that it took place in my hometown and alma mater, but it did make it that much more interesting to know the places they were talking about. Definitely can recommend this one to anybody. 4.5/5

Act of War
by Brad Thor

This was a random grab from work. One of the managers had heard it was good so I gave it a shot. It's like the Mitch Rapp books except the guy's name is Scot Harvath: action/thriller with political intrigue. In this novel the Chinese are trying to launch a massive attack on the U.S. and Scot and his crew have to save the day. Good stuff and another series to work on at some point. 3.5/5

Act of Treason
by Vince Flynn

Mitch Rapp just keeps firing away...this time the President-elect's wife is killed by terrorists, and Mitch has to figure out who really did it and how he can bring them to justice. 4/5

Johnny U
by Tom Callahan

I don't know how many times I'm going to fall for this “biography” scam. Every time I decide to read a biography, in this case on the greatest QB to ever play, the book ends up being one of these “life and times” things. In other words, it's only a little about Johnny Unitas, and a lot about the Colts, life in the 50s, etc. Happens every time. I guess I need to start grabbing biographies that are low-rated instead of highly-rated. 2.5/5

Protect and Defend
by Vince Flynn

This time Mitch's friend and the head of the CIA is kidnapped while in Iran and it's up to Mitch to save her and expose the nuclear weapons plant Iran was trying to hide. Do you get the feeling I like these books? 4/5

Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
by James Swanson

This was a very nice LJ recommendation. The level of detail and research Swanson puts into this book is incredible, yet he manages to keep the pace up and not bog the story down with too many facts and details. It reads like a fictional adventure story, a real page-turner. If you like history at all I can highly recommend this one. 4/5

The Lost Throne
by Chris Kuzneski

My manager, who got me on to the Vince Flynn books, lent me this saying it was better than Flynn's books. They're the same kind of books except in this series there are two guys, and my manager likes that they can play off each other. I thought it was OK. It's one of those “lost ancient treasure scavenger hunt” things that I'm not all that excited about. It was fine but not something I'll run out and read more of.

Extreme Measures
by Vince Flynn

Wow, 4 of these in one month...this time the terrorists have been caught launching a plot on U.S soil. Two cells have been caught but a third one is out there somewhere. This was the most 24-like of these books so far; I could see old Jack Bauer in this one easily. And more of that show is always welcome in my life. 4/5

Books for December: 9
Books for 2015: 76