Who Doesn't Love Zombies???

OK....well maybe I don't LOVE Zombies, but I love the genre!! Starting with the cheesy Romero movies, all the way to the new "Dawn of the Dead" and "28 Days Later", I have a passion for them. But I have to say, I haven't read a lot of Zombie books. Enter Monster Island by David Wellington (288 pgs, Thunder's Mouth Press). This is the first in a trilogy of Zombie books that Wellington originally published online.

Some time in the very near future, the Epidemic hits our planet. What is this epidemic? We never find out: but it causes the dead to rise again. Dekalb used to be a weapons inspector for the UN working in Africa. After the Epidemic took his wife, Dekalb and his daughter were captured by a band of female rebels in Somalia, led by Mama Halima. Normally, a man wouldn't have a chance with this group of females. But Dekalb has special knowledge that the Somalians need: he can lead them to the UN hospitals. Mama Halima needs AIDS medication. After a lengthy search through many of the countries in the area, no meds are found. All the hospitals have been raided. There is only one place Dekalb can think of that will have the much needed medical supplies: The UN Headquarters in New York City. With his daughter being held as collateral, Dekalb and a band of teenage school girl rebels set out on a ship and sail halfway around the world to find the drugs.

Now we meet Gary, a man who used to be a doctor in the city. Gary decided the old philosophy "if you can't beat them, join them" was the only way to make it. With his medical training, Gary felt that the reason the Zombies were so slow and stupid is because of a lack of oxygen to their brain when they dead and before the reanimated. So Gary hooked himself up to machines to keep everything flowing through the death process. When Gary "awakened", he was still able to think logically and move better than the rest of the zombies. The only real difference is the hunger that is unquenchable.

This book was fun!! The best part of the novel to me was the change in Dekalb. He had to rewire his way of thinking: from a peace keeper to a survivor. It was really hard for him to pick up a weapon against others, even if they were already dead. But when it came down to it, Dekalb became the hero that he needed to be to save his daughter. Wellington tells a great story and doesn't go too over the top. The suspense level was high from page one all the way till the last page. Although, I must say, he left us hanging, BIG TIME, by the end. So I guess this means I'm going to have to read Zombie Nation now!! 4/5

Deadly Dating

Death Match by Lincoln Child (356 pgs, Doubleday) is my first completed book for the SRC2 Challenge. It is also this month's selection for the Braincandy Reading group (and since I am leading the discussion, I figured I should probably READ it!) This is also the first book by Lincoln Child that I have read.

When Dr. Christopher Lash gets a call from Eden Incorporated, he is mystified. Why would they want to hire him for his services? He is a former FBI forensics psychologist, a profiler. A tragedy at work had affected him personally, and it not only caused him to retire early, but ended his marriage. He is in private practice now and working hard to exorcise the demons of his past. When Eden calls, he decides to see what they could possibly want from him.

Because everyone in the country knows about Eden. They are a match-making service. But not just any service. They are a high-tech company surrounded by secrecy and have a phenomenal success rate. Founded by the reclusive computer genius, Richard Silver, Eden boosts 100% accuracy in finding couples happiness. For just $25,000/person, you too can find the perfect mate! But people are LINING UP to apply for it's services.

When Christopher arrives, he finds he is meeting with the upper echelon of Eden. At Eden, they guarantee the matches they make. Using complicated computing and psychological analysis, couples are matched. If they reach a percentage, around 95%, they are considered a perfect match. And Eden's record stands: All couples that have been matched, have been happy. But in all the years that Eden has been operating, they have seen 6 100% matches. A uniquely perfect match. These are referred to as a "supercouple" match. But the reason Christopher has been called in is that one of the supercouples just committed a double suicide. Eden would like someone from the outside to check into the occurrence.

Everything that Christopher sees about the Thorpes indicates they are indeed the perfect couple. There are absolutely no indicators of suicidal tendencies. Just when he is about to give up, another one of Eden's supercouples commits suicide. Now the real question is this: Is it truly a suicide or is it homicide?

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice thriller with a lot of intensity. The nature of the book is truly far-fetched. Can a computer really match couples perfectly? Aren't there many factors that a computer can't take into consideration? But the book does get into some confusing explanations about Artificial Intelligence and technical jargon. For those that aren't familiar with computers and processing it might be a little too much. And the back story of Lash's time in the FBI just seemed to be thrown in rather hastily and was tied up unsatisfyingly. It's almost like Child was trying to do too many things at one time. He touches on a lot of topics: AI, dating, match-making, serial killers, psychology, suicide, computer programming, computer security. In the end, it was just too much to make a really GREAT book. I figured out the conclusion long before I turned to that page. But I was entertained. And that is truly what 'braincandy' is all about. It was enough for me to put Lincoln Child on my reading list for the future, especially his collaborations with Douglas Preston. 3.5/5

Also Reviewed by:

Melody @ Melody's Reading Corner

SRC 2 and the Book Award Challenge

Oh yeah...I know. Like a hole in the head, you say!! Yes, more challenges for you to behold!! But with the Spring Reading Thing and the Once Upon a Time challenge wrapping up, I thought I might as well add a few more to the list!!

This is the SRC or Summer Reading Challenge - Round 2. It is hosted by Amanda from Amanda's Weekly Zen. She has even set up a separate blog for this challenge. Just click on the above button and it will take you directly there! If you are interested, send Amanda an email and she will add you to the blog. She is accepting new participants till July 7th. So you've got a week!!

Rules are simple: It's your own challenge. Pick your own amount (you can change it at any time). Try to post at the blog at least once a week. Get to know other book bloggers in the process!! Since I'm involved with a bunch of reading groups and challenges, I have plenty to read. (I also have a stack of books to review, so I'm throwing them in as well!) This challenge runs from today, June 1st - August 1st. 2 months! Here are the books that I've selected for this challenge:

• Marked: A House of Night Novel (Book 1) - P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
• The Screaming Room - Thomas O'Callaghan
• Death Dance: A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mystery) - Linda Fairstein
• Monster Island: A Zombie Novel - David Wellington
• Death Match - Lincoln Child
• The Coffee Trader - David Liss
• The Years with Laura Diaz - Carlos Fuentes
• Life of Pi - Yann Martel
• The Fire Rose - Mercedes Lackey
• Naked in Death - J. D. Robb
  

This will be a fun challenge and I have already visited a lot of new blogs in the process.

3M@3AM's Michelle is also offering up a new challenge. Not only is she the host, she is also the moderator of the Yahoo group of the same name! Figured since I was a member, and would be reading a lot of those award winning books, this would be a pretty easy challenge to complete!!

The rules are simple: Read 12 Award Winning books in a year: From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Prize books include any that's won the Pulitzer, Booker Award, Nebula.....and so on! Books can be cross-challenged. She has also created a separate blog for this. If you click on the button above, it will take you there. There will be prizes too!!

I haven't picked out my books. But there are plenty out there to choose from.

So....if you aren't already up to your eyeballs in challenges, you might want to consider one or both of these!!

Later!