Plaza by Shane M. Brown

An archaeological dig in Mexico leads to some fascinating circumstances.  A group of entomologists and archaeologists fall afoul of competing archaeological  

thieves. 

The setting in a Mexican jungle seems appropriate for the Indiana Jones type of thriller.   Complacent archaeologists discover that the real world has substantially more interest in their finds than they expected.   The story starts with a bang and continues rolling with gods, monsters, musclemen, thugs and innocents.

The mysterious gods are a surprising protagonist but nevertheless entertaining.   Tongue in cheek doesn't begin to describe it.   One set of competing thugs seems stereo-typically evil while the other set exhibits Robin Hoodish symptoms.  

The action really is non-stop and powers the book through some moments of disbelief. The ending provides the hoped for surprise.  

I recommend the book. 

web site:          http://www.shanembrown.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The Department of Magic by Rod Kierkegaard Jr.

This book appears to be a satire on government.  The Department of Magic responsibility is to protect “America” the goddess from any harm. 

The premise of the book was very attractive.   It prefaced each chapter with satirical definitions that were often quite funny.   I found the main protagonists hapless and clueless which most likely was intentional.

There was plenty of action and gore.  I just couldn’t get into the story.  I didn’t find it captivating.   I suspect it will find a fervent audience such as Adam’s Hitch Hiker which I also couldn’t get into. 

Body of work of Body of  work of <a type="amzn" > Rod Kierkegaard Jr. </a>

Web Site: http://rodkierkegaard.blogspot.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

The Elder Gods by David and Leigh Eddings

This is your basic omnipotent evil villain vs. the good guys with minor gods assisting the good guys.

I haven't read any Eddings in awhile so I don't quite know how to feel. I wasn't as fond of this book as I have been with some of the past Eddings work. I always enjoy the banter and humor illustrated by the protagonists. The plot just didn't seem all that complicated. I guess it just didn't capture me like some of the other stuff they have written.

I do recommend it and plan on reading the rest of the series unless I get totally bummed out after all I bought the four book Dreamer series, I may as well read it.

Body of work of David Eddings

Review: http://www.sffworld.com/book/804.html

Web Site: http://eddings.fantastyka.art.pl/english.html

The Treasured One by David and Leigh Eddings

This book is a continuation of the series, The Dreamers. Two sets of gods, a younger and a an older are attempting to deal with a insect like genetic altering villain who creates minions on the fly. The elder gods recruit humans from their domains to deal with the villain since they are incapable of taking life.

I enjoy the Eddings work. This series seems to be too much like light beer, less taste and definitely less filling. I like the characters and I like the verbal interplay. The plot seems to be a replay of the previous book as opposed to growing from the last book. The plethora of omnipotent beings is a bit amusing but not overly so. Lots of fighting, spectacular deeds by unlikely heroes and some pontificating on the greed of some organized religion. It appears to be more of a young adult book than I had anticipated. A very light but never the less entertaining read.

Body of work of David Eddings

Review: http://www.sfsite.com/04a/to197.htm

Web Site: www.eddings.fantasyka.art.pl/english.html

The Peshawar Lancers By S. M. Stirling

Stirling has proposed a post meteoroid holocaust world with the holocaust set in the late 1800’s. The world has recovered to the point of early 1900’s and the novel deals with the political ramifications of the dramtically changed world. Characters are well done, story is exciting, I had trouble putting it down. My biggest critisim is that there is no sequel. This book screams for a sequal, what’s the point of getting you into a very interesting environment, enticing you with good characterizations and then leaving you hang. Stirling’s characters exhibit the characteristics that I think exemplify scifi and fantasy, courage, loyalty, nobility, concern for mankind, all things that are often hard to find in current fiction as well as in the real world. Read this!

Body of work of S.M. Stirling

Review: http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/Literaturo/Recenzoj/peshawar.html

Web Site: http://www.smstirling.com/