The Gray Man by Mark Greaney

FYI: Usually I don't repeat what you can read on the back cover, instead I add my two cents.

The Gray Man. The ultimate living weapon. When someone is closing on him he disappears. Nobody can find him if he doesn't want to be found. If he is after you, you are a dead man.

The Gray Man is a fast paced novel with lot of action. Several groups of professional killers want to hunt down the Gray Man, they chase him through Europe, always on his heels. He has to use all his experience and talent to be able to get rid of them. I wasn't bored for a second, it's a real page-turner.

I was thinking about the main character. I was wondering how the human mind works. The Gray Man is a ruthless, cold-blooded killer, he is trained to take lives with such ease as I cut the veggies for dinner. In spite of it we root for him, and our adrenalin level rises high when he is in danger. How can we like a murderer like him? He says he is after the bad guys, who deserve to be dealt with. But still he is a killer.

Before the final battle I thought the story was going to be just like the Expendables. You know, when the hero shoots a whole army without receiving even a scratch. This scenario has its charm, but it would have messed up this novel. Fortunately Greany didn't fell into this trap. The Gray Man was injured, and he was barely making it. The bad guys started to shoot at each other in a competition to get to him first. The whole situation was well constructed.

There was one thing I found too much: the bragging about how professional the Grey Man was. It was OK that his enemies showed respect because of his reputation, but it wasn't necessary to talk about him as a superman. His actions showed that he knew what he was doing.

The new Star Trek movie delivers

Photo: collider.com

On Saturday with my sons I went to see the new Star Trek movie. This is a film you want to see on big screen. We were packed with popcorn, chips and M&M's and with a Coca Cola "Share a Coke with Alice" written on it. (We haven't met any Alice, so drunk all the coke.)

The new Star Trek is a typical Hollywood film. I don't mean it as criticism. It's full wit action and exciting scenes and spectacular space ships. But since I have seen so many of this kind, I could guess many of the twists. Though they were some which got me surprised. Let me explain.

The film is fast paced, there is hardly a minute without action, conflict or foreshadowing. It starts with an old formula: the crew is in a middle of trouble, which establishes the platform to show that they are tough and capable guys, even if sometimes they make stupid decisions. (I try not to spoil the story, but no promises.) Of course they hardly get out of it. Now our adrenalin level is set, we are prepared for the further complications.

Because there are complications on several levels. First there is a bad guy on the loose, who blasts or kills everyone who wants to stop him. By the way, I liked the part before he persuades an officer to blow up an operation base concealed as a library. The officer's family life is ruined by the illness of his daughter. There is hardly any dialogue, but the emotions come through nicely. Khan offers him to save his daughter. This is the only thing being said, but we know that the officer has to pay the price.

The characters are well done, if you ask me. I especially liked the development of Spock, he IS the second protagonist next to Kirk. Actually he is the one - with some help, though - who defeats Khan. I think it made the story better that he busted Khan than if Kirk would have done it. The figure of Khan is a compelling connection to the first series. I haven't seen all episodes, but I seem to remember one, when Khan was waken up from a cyrogenic sleep. Then he went berserk. At the end of this movie he is put into cyrogenic sleep. (Oops, sorry, I forgot about not giving spoilers.) Another connection to the series that now the young Spock asks advice from the old himself how to defeat Khan. Nice touch. At the beginning of the movie Khan was the dark, bad guy, but later when he revealed his motivation I completely understood his reasons. He was betrayed and at the end general Marcus who used Khan for his own purposes was bigger, badder guy than Khan. An interesting take on villains. By the way, it was really predictable that Khan was going to betray Kirk - one of those elements I guessed right beforehand. The other thing which was predictable - now, spoilers again - was the revival of Kirk. Not only the fact that he cannot stay dead, because then how could he save the world later, but the I knew how it could be done before he actually died. One character I couldn't place was the general's daughter, I couldn't figure out her importance.

There was lasergun shooting, of course, and space battle too, it wouldn't be Star Trek without them. Supported by the modern computer technology it was really enjoyable. And there was it: a bigger and more powerful spaceship than the Enterprise, coming after our heroes with full warp thrust. As you can guess it was defeated by the Enterprise crew's bravery. And some nasty tricks, but this is what the bad guy gets when he messes up with the heroes.

There were some errors I spotted, for example the little furry thing the doc experimented with. The Enterprise was free falling and bouncing and turning around itself, but the little fella stayed right on the table. But in the heat of the final battle, I quickly got over it.

The Star Trek into Darkness delivers in several levels. It's full with action, so you never get bored. It's full with emotions, which drives the story. And it's a spaceship movie, man. Go and watch it.

Just bought: Prophecy by J. F. Penn

I just bought this book on the right. It's amazing how easy it is these days to buy a book on-line.
I have read the first book in the Arkane series, and I'm curious what the second one is like. According to the reviews it's even better.
I follow Joanna's podcast, and I hope that her book will be a success. She deserves it. By the way, have a look at her blog if you don't know her yet.

Writing prompt

In case you need the first kick to write:



Finish the story. Now go write!

Revision and Self Editing for Publication by James Scott Bell

I'm sitting at my desk, blue pen in my hand, and I'm drawing a branch of a tree. This is not an ordinary tree, and I'm not drawing a landscape. I wouldn't dare to attempt anything like that with my drawing ability of a child. I'm creating a mind-map. No, not the one scientists make to describe how neurons connect inside your brain to make you a smartass human. I'm making notes studying J. S. Bell's book: Revision and Self Editing for Publication. When ready it will be nice and colorful. I will make a picture and pin it here.
I hear a knock on the door, and I shout "Come in". Jack enters, whistling.
"Hi Uncle, can I borrow your car?"
"Where's yours?"
"Still in the garage, they are repairing the dent that stupid woman made the other day."
The 'stupid woman' refers to an old lady who didn't see the stop sign and drove directly into the side of Jack's car - at least Jack said it happened this way.
"Where are you going?"
"I promised Jenny to take her to her friend's party. She doesn't want to drive drunk."
"She's drunk?" I arch my eyebrow.
"Not yet. But will be, most probably, when I'm picking her up later."
I sigh, fish the car key from my pocket, and hand it to him. "Be careful with old ladies" I say.
He puts the key into his pocket, then steps to my desk, and studies my mind-map.
"What are you doing?"
"Mind-mapping."
"I can see that, but about what?"
I tell him.
"You take this seriously, don't you? This writing thing."
"I do."
"Does this book help?"
"Sure helps a lot. I just finished the first draft of my novel, and..."
"Oh, my! You wrote a novel? What is it about? Can I read it?"
"It's a thriller, but not ready yet. I have to edit and revise it."
"Amazing."
"You can be my beta reader."
"What?"
"Who reads the book before submitting to Publishers, and gives valuable advice how the story can be improved."
"I can do that. When are you going to finish it?"
"I'll let you know. So. I just finished the first draft, and I need to improve it. I bought this book to learn how to revise and edit."
He studies the blue and red and green lines on the paper, small letters written next to and around them. It is really like a tree: there is an oval shape in the middle, like a cut-through trunk, wide branches coming out of it, then narrow ones coming out of those. Every wide branch has different color, and their small ones are colored the same. Each one represents different subjects I studied from the book.
"Characters" he reads out loud, "Plot and Structure, Scenes. Where is the part it talks about editing?"
"It's all about editing. If you want to write a compelling novel, you need to know what makes a novel compelling. The book is mostly about that. How to create believable characters, how to raise the stakes infusing conflict into the story, what to put in the beginning, middle and end, and thousand other things you need to incorporate into your book. The last part is about the editing process itself."
Jack frowns. "It sounds complicated" he says.
"It is complicated first, and it never gets very easy. They say everyone has a book inside. But not everyone can put it on paper properly."
"I'm sure you can, Uncle. You're too stubborn to fail."
I take it as a compliment.
"I must go now, thanks for your car. I can hardly wait to read your novel. See ya."
I turn back to the mind-map. Man, I glad I have bought Revision and Self Editing for Publication, without it my novel sucked.

Ok, here it is, a few hours later:

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

Jenny went to see a movie with her friends, something involving romance and love and tears and happy ending. Jack is late from work, he sent me a message complaining about due dates and evil bosses. I'm home alone, so I'm playing my Best of 90's CD so loud that the walls are resonating. Those were the days...

Since nobody disturbs me, I'm catching up wit some reviews I should have written weeks ago. I start with the one about The Ghost Brigades. I'm big fan of John Scalzi, so this review will be totally subjective. If you want to read an objective evaluation of the book, try some other place. If you are still interested in my opinion, here it is.

I like John Scalzi's work since I listened to the Old Man's War audiobook. That was the first one I have read from him. I immediately appreciated his humor, which adds a layer to his books.

The story of The Ghost Brigades happens in the same universe as the Old Man's War, and I loved that Sagan was part of this story. (If you don't know: Sagan is the clone of Perry's wife, who dies before Perry joins the army.  Perry and Sagan have an interesting relation.) It gives extra connection to the previous book. By the way, it really helps if you read the Old Man's War, because a lot of ideas grow from that story, and you can understand better what's going on.

If you haven't read The Ghost Brigades, better go and read the description before I get to the details, so you have an idea what I'm talking about.

The Ghost Brigades could be a simple space-military type of book if it hadn't several layers. The base of the story: the Colonial Defense Forces fights against the threat from three alien species, who made an alliance against  the humans. This already gives reason for a few exciting actions, like taking a research base by force or kidnapping the heir of an alien race. Or blow up the generator and shot the bad guys' base to pieces.

But more is at stake, because by the end of the book we learn that hundreds of races making alliance and other races are making their counter-alliance, so something BIG is going on in the background.

If we go deeper, we see how the Ghost Brigades soldiers are born. Or made would be the better word, because they are clones of people who died on Earth and didn't have the chance to join the CDF as Perry did in Old Man's War. Which raises a series of questions. How can they coop with the fact that they are very young yet fully grown adults? By their "teenager" years they could be retired veterans. And how can they develop an own consciousness? The Brainpal implant seems to solve this issue by providing all the necessary information while they discover the world.

Talking about the brain implant: it is amazing. Not only because it's like an endless source of information, but because it provides deep integration between soldiers. Scalzi unfolds the possibilities of this technology to several degrees, and uses it's impact to create compelling situations and also trouble. Which makes the story more interesting.

The implications of the consciousness-transfer is well done, and its contribution to the final conflict is well played out. Also brings some interesting questions: who really is Jared? The newborn CDF soldier or the incarnation of Boutin, the bad guy? Can the consciousness of Boutin take over completely, or Jared develops his own personality?

There are some really good twists and turns in the story. And of course, there is the characteristic Scalzi humor (for example the stone throwing), which is like a good spice to a delicious food.

It may seem too sentimental, but I liked the ending: Perry, Sagan and Zoe will be a family most probably. I suppose I will know more when I read Zoe's Tale.

I already purchased The Last Colony, and hardly can wait to listen to it.

Don't Leave Me by James Scott Bell

"The snowman shoots a snowball with a cannon to the butt of the duck."

Jack looks up at me, narrowing his eyes. He is sitting at the kitchen table peeling potatoes to help Jenny out. His hand stops in the middle of the motion, half of the potato peeled, a piece of crust stuck to his knife.

"What?" he asks.

Jenny giggles, and continues slicing the meat. She is standing at the counter, preparing the dinner. I'm stirring the soup with a wooden spoon elegantly, this much I can contribute to the meal.

I repeat what I said, then I add "It's a riddle. So, what do you say?"

"The snowman. With a cannon. Uncle, are you alright?" says Jack shaking his head, his attention returns to the potato.

"OK, listen. You are kidnapped, they put you in a room, the security door has a keypad to open. You don't know the code, but secretly watch the bad gal enter it when she leaves the room. But you aren't good in remembering numbers, so you have a system. Every number is represented by a symbol, something easy to remember of. So when the guy left, you remember the snowman and the cannon and the duck. And the snowball. What is the code to your freedom, then?"

Jack puts his knife down and asks:

"Where does this stuff come from?"

"From a book. 'Don't leave me' by James Scott Bell."

"Is it a 'crack the code' type?"

"No, not at all. It's a thriller. It's about a former Navy chaplain who gets into a lot of trouble because of his past. He fights with his own demons, but on top of that gangsters want to catch him. He has valuable information buried deeply in his nightmare's and he has to find the reason why the bad guys want him. He has a younger autistic brother he needs to take care of. This brother is kidnapped and he can learn numbers in this interesting way, using pictures. Pictures belong to every number."

"Ah, it makes more sense now. What is the riddle again?"

I repeat it. "It may be phrased somewhat differently in the book, but you get the point, I think."

"OK" says Jack. "The snowman is quite obvious, it is the number eight. The snowball is the zero. The cannon could be... I think it's the six, the lower circle can be the wheel and the upper short part is the barrel. But which one is the duck? Maybe five? Or the nine, like a duck with its head submerged into the water?"

"You are close. You got the first three right. The duck is the number two."

"Yeah, that fits too."

Jenny is finished with the meat, she wipes her hand in her apron.

"Tell me about the book, uncle" she says.

"It's a good one. Fast paced, just as I like it. There are a lot of questions asked in the beginning, which made me turn the page - that is click the 'next page' button on my Kindle. I always appreciate hooks and cliffhangers, and there are plenty of them. Also twist and turns. I guessed some of them, but the author surprised me many times."

"What about the characters?" asks Jenny.

I know she is not really into thrillers and suspense, she likes romance and young adult books more, and she always enjoys complex characters.

"Chuck, the protagonist has a few layers, some of them pealed off during the story. I liked how Bell presented Stan, the brother. In his scenes it was interesting to see the events unfolding through his specific view of the world. And the cop woman was original too."

"I think I give it a shot" says Jack. He puts the last potato into the bowl, stands up and  walks to the sink to wash his hands. "I have reached my food preparation limit."

Jenny rolls her eyes and gestures towards the living room.

"Go, go, don't be under my feet here. I call you when dinner is ready."

"What? I helped, see?" says Jack pointing to the peeled potatoes.

"OK, I give you that. You can go now."

Jack leaves the room, but after a minute his head appears in the door.

"Can I use your kindle, uncle?"

"Sure" I say, then I turn to Jenny. "Is this soup ready yet? I'm stirring it for so long time, my arm hurts."

"You guys are unbelievable. Go, I don't want to see your sad face."

She takes the spoon from me and pushes me towards the door. I open my mouth to object, but think better of it. I'm sure she can finish the cooking less time if I'm out of the kitchen. So I shut up, and go to write a review for Don't Leave Me.