Day By Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne

Unbeknownst to me there is a Zombie story genre. This is a Zombie story and that alone seems to attract a loyal following. The protagonist is an active duty military officer in a nation that is combating an unknown disease. The disease turns out to be Zombieism (?) and the bulk of the world is infected. The story centers on the survival of the few remaining uninfected humans.

My initial reaction to the story was disdain. Zombies have never caught my attention. Bourne wrote the story as if it was a journal. He did a nice job capturing the qualities of the protagonist that enabled him to be a survivor. The book surprised me in that I liked it. It held my attention and if you changed the word Zombie to evil bikers or Nazi’s it seemed like just a good story. The action was solid and the close brushes with death seemed realistic. I still have trouble with the concept of Zombies but then there are probably some poor souls out there who have trouble conceptionalizing a dragon or troll.

Ignore the label of A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Novel and read this, it was surprisingly good and I recommend it.

Body of work of J.L. Bourne

Review                  WebSite

World Autism Day, April 2, 2009

Autism seems to be the most recent ubiquitous disease. There are many definitions and even more arguments regarding those definitions. Bottom line is if you have someone you care about suffering from some form of autism it can be searing. It is extraordinarily difficult to watch a child grow up unable to conform to social boundaries. An inability to conform to acceptable behavior whether it is 1st grade or church, tends to isolate and alienate the child thusly compounding the effects of a disorder with emotional issues.

Early diagnosis of autism can have a major impact on the life an autistic person may live. Frequently providing a consistent emotional environment with a clearly defined structure can help a child develop internal controls. I recently saw the results of an out of control child moved from a inconsistent environment into a structured environment. In merely a matter of months, a child that was impossible to be around, has made remarkable social progress. On the other hand a teen that has had inconsistent structure is unable to maintain social control under any kind of emotional stress.

Too many people feel that drugs or firm discipline is the panacea for autism. Each individual who displays symptoms must be appropriately diagnosed and a treatment plan developed. Autism is a disease and must be treated as such.

Contagion by Robin Cook

Contagion sets the stage with some incidents in the beginning of the book that eventually you come back to see their impact. The book deals with managed health care and a thinly disguised disdain for the same. The protagonist struggles with his emotional stability based on personal loss. There is plenty of action, social interplay, socio-racial commentary and intrigue. It was entrancing but uncomfortable to read, primarily due to the plausibility of the premise.

Body of work of Robin Cook

Review of the book: http://www.bentrim.info/bookreviews.htm

Site: Amazingly doesn’t seem to have one.