Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventure. Show all posts

3/04/2013

Inkheart Review

Inkheart
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From the very first pages of this wonderfully well constructed tale, to the very last page, I was hooked. The words of the author evoke wonderfully clear pictures in the reader's mind and the air of suspense is maintained without terrifying younger readers. I would reccommend this book to any reader from fifth grade to adult. The characters were believable and, as a reader, I cared what happened to them. The reverence for books made it doubly rewarding. ...

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2/21/2013

180 South: Conquerors of the Useless Review

180 South: Conquerors of the Useless
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Makes you want to quit your job and follow their journey. Excellent photos and great stories, it feels like you're along for the ride the whole time.

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180 South takes readers behind the scenes of the film, 180 South, made by Chris Malloy, to learn more about the people who made the film, the original overland journey to Patagonia in 1968, and the repeat journey over ocean and land 40 years later. The book includes stories of events and experiences that inspired Chris Malloy, Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to choose paths committed to saving what's left of the wild world. Open it anywhere and enjoy the photographs by the worlds leading surf and climbing photographers Jeff Johnson, Jimmy Chin, Scotty Soen and Danny Moder.

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2/20/2013

The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) Review

The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1)
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Going into this book I had very high expectations. After all, the Percy Jackson books are such a wonderful and unique offering in children's literature. They are funny, witty, filled with action and adventure, they breathe life into some of my favorite myths... They are hard to top. Pretty much this book is what would happen if the 39 Clues series and Percy Jackson books had a baby. There is alot more information being tossed out in this book than in Percy Jackson, but much more fun and mythology than the 39 Clues.
In this first of the Kane Chronicles, Riordan again does a great job of combining humor with action and adventure. This book as a lot to explain in terms of the mythology it is based on, I think most readers on average know less about Egyptian mythology than Greek. However, Riordan again explains it in a way that brings it to life. And once all of the ground work is laid in terms of what is going on in the story everything zooms along at a really fun pace.
Carter and Sadie Kane were raised separately after the sudden and tragic death of their mother. Carter has spent the last half dozen years traveling the world with his father, a noted Egyptologist. Living out of a suitcase and never staying in one place for long, Carter is quiet and a little socially awkward. Sadie on the other hand was raised in London by her grandparents. Even though she's the younger of the two she has a much more forceful personality than her brother. She is loud, wears combat boots and streaks her hair with crazy colors. Carter and his father only are allowed to see Sadie twice a year.
Carter and Sadie barely know each other when the actions of their father leave them on a crazy adventure with only a cat, named Muffin, to help them out. Not only is the crazy chaos god, Set, after them also an ancient group of wizards is tailing them across the world.
Riordan again does a great job of pulling ancient mythology into the modern world. He really grounds his story and makes it believable. By the end of the book you really know the characters and are ready for their next adventure.
Another fun thing about this book is that instead of having one narrator he allows Sadie and Carter to alternate every few chapters. Their voices are very different and how they see things is very interesting. It also sets up a lot of the humor.
In spite of its size (its around 41 Chapters long) I think anyone who enjoyed the Percy Jackson books will find themselves loving this book as well.
I'm only giving it 4 stars because it took me until maybe chapter 15 to really get into the book, there was so much information that it slowed down the narrative for me.

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2/12/2013

Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits of Human Endurance Review

Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits of Human Endurance
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I am disappointed, but of course not surprised that some people did not enjoy this book--those who did not enjoy it either did not understand what they were buying or do not have the imagination it takes to be affected by this incredible piece of work. They need REAL cases, where they can't see past the fictionalized format of each of these circumstances. Peter Stark is the MICHAEL CRICHTON of outdoor adventure and all its dangers, where he provides the medical/biological condition of the victim that he or she, if writing his own tale would never have known about. Don't get me wrong, first-hand accounts are great, but the objectivity in these tales really makes them easier to "experience," and the use of second person in the opening and closing chapters is the crowning touch. You aren't "listening to someone else's story", you are completely drawn in with the victim, as long as you have an active imagination. If you don't feel affected after the last chapter then I just don't know what to say--talk about a grand finale for a book--I've never been so freaked out in all of my life! GET READY! Overall, I will never view being underwater or forgetting my water bottle the same way after reading this book.

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2/10/2013

The Great Chicken Debacle Review

The Great Chicken Debacle
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I think that this was a really good book. We had to read it for school so I was forced to read it but once my mom began to read it with me and really acted like the characters then it made the book even more interesting than me just reading it by myself! Ha. I won't tell the story but it will get you twisted up with the ending. Good reading.

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Hoping to earn a trip to an amusement park, the three Morgan children agree to take care of a chicken that their father plans to give their mother as a birthday surprise.

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2/07/2013

Stowaway Review

Stowaway
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My grandson is going to be 11 this month. I've decided that he's getting this book as his birthday book. Nicholas, the boy in the book, is 11 when he stows away on the HMS Endeavor, which is captained by Captain JamesCook. What better way to show an 11 year old what the future can be than to follow the exploits of another 11 year old in his trek around the world. I picked this book up to read because of the author. I loved OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hesse. I figured that this one would be as good. It is, but in a different way. I loved how much it taught me about history and how it's sent me hunting for answers to questions it raised. The map on the inside of the front and back covers was invaluable in tracking the trip. And what a nice surprise at the end of the book to find out there was a real Nicholas.

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2/03/2013

The Hour of the Cobra Review

The Hour of the Cobra
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Delightful! I purchased this book for my young teenagers and found that not only they, but I couldn't put the book down until the last page. The historical references were just enough for young readers to get a sense of ancient Egypt without being bogged down in minute and tedious details, but what impressed me the most was the relationship between the siblings in the book. For anyone who has fought with feelings of sibling rivalry, this is a must read.

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1/19/2013

Counter-Strike from the Sky, Second Edition: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974-1980 Review

Counter-Strike from the Sky, Second Edition: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974-1980
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The book Counter-Strike from the Sky by J. R. T. Wood details the use of the Alouette III K-Car and the practices that lead to the counter-insurgency tactics that became Foxfire in Rhodesia. Counter-Strike from the Sky details the concepts of Fireforce and the dates that it was implemented, details the equipment used in the program, as well as the history before, during, and after it that brought it into existence. J. R. T. Wood has also included a DVD with the book that some will find an added benefit. Before starting this book it would be helpful to have some idea of what Fireforce is, but not a requirement. The beginning of the book provides the background needed and the ideas of the concept in the first few pages and chapters. The information and set up is comprehensive. In this book research into the details the years of Fireforce and the phases down to detailed numbers, "894 mines were detonated or recovered a the rate of 2.44 mines a day," and, "From 1972-1980 there were 2,504 detonations by vehicles of landmines ... killing 632 people and injuring 4,410." This shows me the amount of time and energy that has been put into getting both the facts and the story correct in this book. The glossary and prologue are important pieces of the book and are located at the beginning of the book and are very helpful to the reader. If a reader is looking for specific information there is and index that has been included as well. There are three rather large sections in the book, two of photos and one of maps and diagrams that give the reader a visual reference.
This is not a book I would recommend to just any reader of Rhodesian history. It is not a book that can be picked up as light nightly reading and it is certainly not a book that one would pick up thinking that they would escape back to another day and time. It is a book that I would recommend to any historian of this time period. J.R.T. Wood has done a wonderful job of organizing and presenting the data into a all-inclusive unit.

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Fireforce as a military concept dates from 1974 when the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) acquired the French MG151 20mm cannon from the Portuguese. Coupled with this, the traditional counter-insurgency tactics (against Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo s ZIPRA) of follow-ups, tracking and ambushing simply weren't producing satisfactory results. Visionary RhAF and Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) officers thus expanded on the idea of a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy (first practiced by SAS paratroopers in Mozambique in 1973), with the 20mm cannon being the principle weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), flown by the air force commander, with the army commander on board directing his ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly Bell 'Hueys' in 1979) and parachuted from C-47 Dakotas. In support would be a propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft armed with front guns, pods of napalm, white phosphorus rockets and a variety of Rhodesian-designed bombs; on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets. A documentary DVD is also included in the book.

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12/17/2012

Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole Review

Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole
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This book is not only a wonderful look at the fascinating men who were obsessed with reaching the North Pole, but with the fascination that unknown lands have on the human imagination. I was impressed with how foreign the concept of the North Pole was until it was reached. It was as mysterious to people back then as Mars is now, if not more so. Some theorists believed a whole other world was located in the center of Earth, accessible only by the Pole, and which housed a whole different race of people. The hardships that these men willingly endured just to be able to put their flag up and name a spot on the map and for the glory of it, simply amazed me. A terrific read without a slow spot in the whole thing. On top of it Fleming is a terrific wordsmith who has a really funny take on things at times. Get it.

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In the nineteenth century, theories about the North Pole ran rampant. Was it an open sea? Was it a portal to new worlds within the globe? Or was it just a wilderness of ice? When Sir John Franklin disappeared in the Arctic in 1845, explorers decided it was time to find out. In scintillating detail, Ninety Degrees North tells of the vying governments (including the United States, Britain, Germany, and Austria-Hungary) and fantastic eccentrics (from Swedish balloonists to Italian aristocrats) who, despite their heroic failures, often achieved massive celebrity as they battled shipwreck, starvation, and sickness to reach the top of the world. Drawing on unpublished archives and long-forgotten journals, Fleming tells this story with consummate craftsmanship and wit. Ninety Degrees North is a riveting saga of humankind's search for the ultimate goal.

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12/07/2012

Genesis - The First Degree (God's Chain) Review

Genesis - The First Degree (God's Chain)
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With an incredible imagination, research and experience, Nikolaus Baker penned GODS CHAIN, which made his writing dream come true as he created a Masterpiece. "GODS CHAIN" is a series of fiction books that are linked to each other, containing stories of fact, and fiction. It is a search for discovery to find out where the three Reliquiae are, fabled to be the links to God. The author's secret passion for writing a book became reality with "GODS CHAIN" and the first of the series being 'Genesis' and 'The First Degree.' Nikolaus Baker was born in a place filled with history, including the enigmatic Freemasons villages and towns to the summary killing times of the Covenanters, where religious tensions in Scotland mixed with manipulation of human life, and the author incorporates this background knowledge into his writing with expertise. I highly recommend this novel to mystery lovers, who enjoy historical stories, packed with action, and adventure. The author had a craving to create a novel, where the reader would have the burning desire to step into the same shoes of a character, while contemplating survival, and his craving was fulfilled as he succeeded with perfection. What bizarre events take place in a hidden, complex world? What does Cardinal Giovanni Dalla Gassa plan to do? Where there is conspiracy, will truth be discovered? Where there is despair, will hope be found? Where there is racism, can equality be found? Is is through our weakness, where we become stronger? Follow Nikolaus Baker through this fast-paced historical adventure, with fascinating twists-and-turns as the pieces to the puzzle are beginning to fit one-by-one. Where there is hatred, will friendship be found? Where there is power, can there be compromise? "GODS CHAIN GENESIS: The First Degree" is as impressive as THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, with Mel Gibson.

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First book in the Gods Chain tetralogy. In the Scottish village of Mauchline things are not quite normal, as a freak earthquake hits and precipitates a dramatic fall in temperature. Meanwhile, across Europe, in the Vatican City, mystery surrounds an untraceable security breach in the computerised nerve-centre of papal authority. This has ramifications for the suspect intentions of Cardinal Giovanni Dalla Gassa. He has plans for a new Genesis once he is in possession of the links to God that would tip the cosmic and spiritual balance in favour of the holder. The mystery thickens with the involvement of the Freemasons, the Cardinals' henchmen in the Vatican Internal Audit office, a ruthless businessman with mafia connections named Don Luizio Ilario, the disappearance of a senior systems administrator named Michaelangelo, the death of a member of the technical & operations team and the torment of another administrator named Francesca De Rose in the Vatican catacombs. The plot to this story is intricate and complex, akin to a game of chess and of manipulation. Is it the Illuminati who are ultimately moving the pieces? In the meantime, back in Mauchline new and increasingly bizarre events are just starting to unfold.

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11/01/2012

Minus 148 Degrees Review

Minus 148 Degrees
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It is clear from the beginning of this book that trouble was looming on the horizon for these intrepid, but somewhat reckless, climbers. The loss early on of one of their comrades to a fall into a crevasse was predictable. How they could think of walking unroped, on a glacier that they knew was ridden with crevasses, is almost unbelievable. This was due, no doubt, to youthful inexperience and a lack of leadership necessary to set the parameters of what would be acceptable in terms of safety. These factors combined were to cost them dearly. It was not until near the end of their forty two day stay on the mountain, that they coalesced into a team.
Notwithstanding the sheer recklessness of their initial, bumbling efforts at a winter ascent of Mt. McKinley, the fact remains that they did achieve the first such summit, no mean feat any time of year, but almost inconceivable in the dead of winter. Coming off the summit, their thermometer recorded the temperature at a quite bone chilling minus fifty eight degrees.
Caught in a whiteout on their descent, however, the three summiteers were forced to dig a snow cave, where they were to spend endless days, in weather which saw temperatures plummet to an almost mind boggling minus one hundred and forty eight degrees with the wind chill factor, hence the name of the book. That they could survive this, is a testament to their fortitude.
In their snow cave, it was a relatively toasty minus thirty five below. That snow cave was the only thing that stood between them and certain death. With virtually no food, frost bitten, and suffering from disorientation due to the altitude, they waited out the storm and lived to tell the tale.
This gripping chronicle, of the forty two days they spent on the highest and coldest mountain in North America, is a classic in mountaineering literature and one of the best books on McKinley climbs. Those who love this genre will certainly enjoy this book. It is made all the more interesting by the author's new afterword, which gives a retrospective of what happened to all those who participated in the first winter ascent of Mt. McKinley.

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10/30/2012

The 34th Degree: A Thriller Review

The 34th Degree: A Thriller
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During the Second World War, Hitler and his cronies searched for an ancient secret text because it contained the formula for creating Greek Fire. The original formula came from Atlantis but was secretly encoded in one of Saint Paul's testaments to the Thessalonians back in New Testament times.
With Greek Fire the Nazis could have won the war. Its unique thermodynamic formula would have allowed Hitler's regime to light afire any/all water that touched allied harbors. All ships, men, and harbor cities they could have turned into a holocaustic conflagration. But this text was kept hidden by monks deep within a secret monastery high atop one of the mysterious Meteora mountains in Greece.
Now Pentagon officials want Sam Deker to locate this text to keep it from falling into terrorist hands because if misused, it could possibly bring about an apocalyptic event ending human life on our planet. Because of the mental torture he survived while serving in the Israeli Army, Sam Deker, who now lives in the United States, is chosen by the Pentagon to help find this lost biblical document because of what he had endured
According to The 34th Degree, in order to find the formulaic text, Deker must travel back in time to infiltrate the Nazi regime where he will use the same clues they used when seeking the text. This is a story about backward time travel. Author Thomas Greanias has devised a clever method of studying the German mind during the last two years of World War Two.
Found preserved for posterity is the brain of Hitler's top henchman, SS General Ludwig von Berg. By systematically cutting through his brain tissue with almost microscopically thin slices, information contained on those slices will be fed into Sam Deker's brain and reassembled. He will be able to analyze that past data and rethink in mente the ideas of the dead Nazis who had allegedly located the doctrine, but not in time to perfect it and use its power.
For readers who like thrillers, this could be the book for you. But you will have to place aside any sense of reality considering all the bizarre elements assembled to make this story work. The tale includes: Atlantis, ancient Jericho, an encoded letter of Saint Paul, an atomic bomb, the Nazis, Masonic symbols, Greek Fire, brain information transference, secret texts, secret monastery, doomed submarines, text predicting the demise of the world.
Needless to say, I did not find the book exciting because its characters are far too unreal. The first few pages are crammed with too much information needed to explain the predicament the Pentagon is in. It seemed to rush through an explanation of what Deker was up against just so it could get to the real story in 1943-45.
Within a very few lines, Sam Deker accepted his fate and readily climbed into the electronic apparatus that would insert probes deep into his brain so that information transfer could begin. Any concern for life or death at the hands of this experiment Deker merely brushed off.
All in all, as much as I like thriller stories, The 34th Degree was 34 degrees too far into the realm of the outlandish. Although I think it a major feat to include so much in a fictional undertaking, perhaps there is a point beyond which any sense of belief fades away in favor of the preposterous.
Other Interesting Reading:
Shadow Flight
Healing Charles


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An ancient text. A world at war. The end of history. Prepare to be initiated into The 34th Degree.From New York Times bestselling author Thomas Greanias comes an all-new, reality-altering epic adventure featuring counter-terrorism agent Sam Deker from The Atlantis Revelation and The Promised War. 1943. The supernatural alchemy for the ultimate weapon, encoded in an ancient biblical text, has fallen into the hands of the most ruthless secret society known to man—the Nazi SS. Present Day. Dishonorably discharged from the armed forces after the events of The Promised War, Sam Deker is trying to build a new life in Los Angeles. But nightmares of the past continue to haunt his present, and Deker discovers that the unusual lightwave-induced torture he barely survived has changed him. The Pentagon, however, believes that change makes him the only one who can endure their top-secret neuro-simulation program known as the 34th Degree. The stunning technological breakthrough uses the sliced brain tissues of dead terrorists to enter their memories and glean priceless intel. Now Americans want to use the preserved brain tissue of SS General Ludwig von Berg, the legendary "Baron of the Black Order," to send Deker back to 1943. Deker's mission is to discover the fate of the lost biblical text and steal its formulas before his counterparts in the Alignment, a 21st-century successor to the SS, beat the U.S. to it. The text not only spells out the end of the world, but the supernatural alchemy for Greek Fire, a thermodynamic technology that the ancient Greeks believed to have come from Atlantis and that the Americans now believe threatens the Earth. Ultimately, Deker discovers that the past, present and future are not what they seem, as his path leads to a shattering secret that will change everything he knows about the universe.

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11/05/2011

Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pack Review

Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pack
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Doug Ritter and his foundation, Equipped to Survive, has come up with a very economic method to equip yourself and your family with an emergency kit. It is small enough to carry unnoticed in a pocket, yet fully functional.
Although you can control the amount of certain items if you put together your own kit (something of a rite of passage among the survivalists/emergency preparedness folk), I spent twice as much putting together a comparable kit. The military issue sparklite and tinder-quick, Fox-40 whistle, and Rescue Flash signal mirror alone could cover the cost of the kit and they are all top notch gear. This pack is extremely high quality through and through, from choice of equipment to packing and instructions. I recommend looking at the ETS website at the slideshow of how such a kit is put together and what Doug Ritter himself recommends that you add to the kit (the pouch can hold a few more small items such as water purification tabs).
The Pocket Survival Pack is an amazing value. I've purchased all of the items separately, and just the shipping or driving to pick up 3 or 4 of the items probably covers half the cost! If you are lucky enough to get everything at one store, you'd be hard pressed to get the entire kit as cheap as this. I know people who have purchased this kit to take the parts for their own self-built survival kits! That's how economical it is. Plus, if you buy this PSP, a portion of the proceeds goes to the ETS non-profit group which gives free survival consulting to deployed troops and is actively involved in improving survival equipment and standards. In fact, Doug Ritter is the only consumer advocate working with the governing body on personal locator beacons used in marine, aviation, and remote travel.
The kit itself comes in a waterproof container. I found it to be a bit tight when closing back up, but there is actually some room for more items. All components are of the highest quality. It's lightweight and I never notice it in a pocket. With the recommended ETS or similar keychain LED flashlight and a good pocket folding knife, you have a complete survival kit that rivals ones costing $100+. These are cheap enough to get one for each car and any camping/hiking/marine/aviation gear you might have. I highly recommend this PSP. I'm not affiliated with ETS, but I've come to appreciate their no-nonsense advice and forums. And if this was a bad kit, I'd still say so. I give it 5 stars, great value for the price and it really could save your life.

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