About: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva is the eighth in the Gabriel Allon series. Even though there are numerous references to the previous books, I thought this novel was still a good read and could be read independently. 352 pages Publisher: Signet Language: English ISBN-10: 0451227387 My rating for Moscow Rules – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* Thoughts: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (web­site) is another solid, well-written and dependable adventure in the Gabriel Allon chronicles. After reading the 8th book in the series it is obvious that Silva has created a character that is strong, subtle and conflicted with an interesting background story and engaging future. At this point in his life, Allon and the readers aren’t really sure what he is. Allon is too old to be the James Bond style agent, too young to retire, too cynical to take a desk job but he is a patriot in every bone in his body and is still able to contribute. Silva realize that he can’t keep his spy young forever and basically ruined his spying career in several books prior by having his face splashed across newspapers and European agencies not allowing him entry…

Tomomi “But­ter­fly” Ishikawa com­mit­ted sui­cide but left her best friend, Ben­jamin Con­sta­ble, a trail of clues which lead him from Paris to New York and back – the cities she called “home”. Ben is search­ing for jour­nals and notes left specif­i­cally for him.

About: Death of Superman is a collection of a one of the most famous storylines in recent comics history (1992). The comics were created by a myriad of artists including writers Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louse Simonson and Roger Stern and artists Jon Bogdanove, Jackson Guice and Tom Grummett. 168 pages Publisher: DC Comics; First Edition edition Language: English ISBN-10: 1563890976 My rating for Death of Superman – 5 Buy this graphic novel from Amazon.com* Thoughts: Death of Superman is basically an epic fight between Superman and Doomsday leaving the reader wanting for more with an open ending. As for story, well… Superman dies… it’s in the title and that’s basically it. There is no background to who or what Doomsday is but the book stays true to the Superman ideals: he never gives up and he is selfless (see Glen Weldon‘s book Superman: The Unauthorized Biography). This book is part one of a long and interesting Superman saga. If you buy this book make sure to also get World Without a Superman, The Return of Superman for an exciting read. The art in the graphic novel ranges from good to very-good, since this is a collection of single issues, drawn and inked…

Article orignially published as Book Review: Big Brother – by Lionel Shriver on Blogcritics.org About: Big Brother by Lionel Shriver is a fictional book from this acclaimed author. Ms. Shriver won the 2005 Orange Prize for her acclaimed novel We Need to Talk About Kevin. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 384 pages Publisher: Harper Language: English ISBN-10: 0061458570 My rating for Big Brother – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* Thoughts: Big Brother by Lionel Shriver (Facebook) is a book which stylistically reminded of So Much for That which I thought was fantastic. Ms. Shriver wrote an interesting book, with a twist at the end which I did not see coming. I was a bit disappointed with the book because I thought it might have more social commentary. After all, So Much for That was scathing in its criticism of the health care system. I was expecting more of the same about the weight loss industry, its shysters, the discrimination and reasons for obesity – I got some of that but not much. Yes, I concede that I should read a book without any…

Superman in this strip is a step, or a few steps, above a circus strongman accomplishing magnificent feats, underwear on the outside and all. The adventures are masterfully reproduced to insure enjoyment of fantastic storytelling, active imagination and the beginning of the greatest super-hero of all.

Arti­cle first pub­lished as Book Review: The Death and Life of Superman by on Blogcritics. About: The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern takes the saga of “The Death of Superman“, “Funeral for a Friend“, “Reign of the Supermen”, and “The Return of Superman“, which appeared in comic book form in the mid 80’s, and turns it to light reading. 418 pages Publisher: Bantam Books Language: English ISBN-10: 055309582X My rating for The Death and Life of Superman – 3 Buy this book from Amazon.com* Thoughts: The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern, a successful comic book writer, is a fast read for someone who wants to get caught up on the Death of Superman saga without reading the comics. There is a bit of suspense and mystery, but overall there are no surprises and little mystery. The story starts slow, does not have the “punch” of the comic book stories, but picks up pace towards the end. I was a bit disappointed because it seemed to me that the author just looked at the pictures of the comic books, and turned them into words, without adding any new insight. There are no character studies, smart twists or interesting tidbits….

About: The Geneva Option by Adam LeBor is a novel which introduces the reader to Yael Azoulay, a high-level UN staffer. The book is marketed as being the first in a trilogy by Mr. LeBor who is, by trade, an author and journalist. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 368 pages Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Language: English ISBN-10: 0062208551 My rat­ing for The Geneva Option — 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* More Books by Adam LeBor Thoughts: The Geneva Option by Adam LeBor is a gripping thriller which introduces the world to a strong heroine. The world created by the author is raw and brutal, a world most of us would like to think does not exist. Yael Azoulay, the protagonist, is truly an international woman with no roots and no place she can call home. This is a fast paced book is entertaining on the surface but has a lot going for it in between the lines. The lose-lose deals Yael has to strike leave the reader feeling almost dirty but with the clear understanding that they must be made…

Adirondack Mendel’s Aufruf: Welcome to Chelm’s Pond by Sandor Schuman is a fictional book, taking place in upstate New York which reprises some of the old Jewish tales of the fools of Chelm.

About: Seduction by M.J. Rose is another novel in the Reincarnationist series. This is the fifth book in the series and deals with past lives as do the other books. 384 pages Publisher: Atria Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1451621507 My Rating for Seduction – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More books by M. J. Rose Thoughts: Seduction by M.J. Rose (web­site) is a detailed and somewhat haunting novel. This Gothic tales touches on reincarnation (as do the other books in the series), love and loss, pain and family secrets. Half the book takes place in present time, the other half in the past in which author Victor Hugo is a major part of. While I do enjoy Ms. Rose’s work and writing style, the fact that Hugo was in the book was a major draw for me. While there is some romance in the book, as well as a few paranormal elements (not the normal genre I read) they are sub-stories to the main narrative. As the other books in the series, this one also deals with finding about past lives and how they affect individuals to this day. While the book can be read as a…

Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende is a fictional novel and a coming of age story. Ms. Allende is an award winning, internationally famous, Chilean writer.