Scientific Techno-Thriller

 

The world is suffering with climate change. A group of entrepreneurs decide to undertake a risky mining venture on an asteroid. When things go wrong three of the astronauts escape to Earth leaving two of their comrades behind. This book centers on how the three make substantial engineering strides to build equipment to return to the asteroid.

The tension is not only working against time to accomplish the rescue mission, but international tensions are created by devastating climate change. In the circumstances, the government doesn’t want to back the rescue mission, so the three crew members are on their own.

The opening chapters are rather slow focusing on the lives of the main characters. They are reasonably well drawn. I found James the most interesting. He is the driving force behind accomplishing the rescue. Once the author gets into the technical details of preparing for the mission, the book gets more interesting. However, the science can be heavy. I enjoyed it, but it can be overwhelming if you only dabble in technical matters.

This is the second book in the series. The first book Delta-V does not have to be read first, but it can be helpful from the standpoint of getting into the technology. If you enjoy sci-fi with plenty of technical detail, this is a book you should check out.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Making Life Changes

 

The pandemic gave many people an impetus to think about their lives, and whether they were satisfied or wanted to make changes. Jill Schlesinger tackles the issue of making life changes through financial decisions. Making changes in the end is not just about what you want to do, but how you can arrange your finances to make the changes possible.

The book has ten chapters addressing issues such as: allocating your resources so you can make a change, taking advantage of the tax code, and more. The author illustrates the principles with anecdotes from people’s lives. My only criticism of the anecdotes is that most of them were about people who already were quite well set up.

The book is easy to read. The financial principles are fairly elementary and explained clearly. Whether you’re contemplating a career changes, getting more education, or planning for retirement, this is book that can give you good advice for making these changes.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

When the Doctor Becomes the Patient

 

Harry Marsh, a retired neurosurgeon, believed like many physicians that doctors don’t get sick, especially not terminally ill. They ignore their symptoms and then are shocked by the diagnosis. Harry Marsh had two shocks. He participated in a study requiring a brain scan. At seventy, he thought his brain was in excellent shape, but was surprised to see the withered, aging brain he possessed.

Marsh’s second shock came when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Now he was facing the prospect of his mortality. He reacted as most patients with a terminal diagnosis do going through the classical stages of grief. The book is almost written as a journal. The author expresses his deepest thought and fears, but often in a somewhat disjointed way that jumps around.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the book was the discussion of the doctor-patient relationship seen from the perspective of someone who is experiencing both and can express his ideas and feelings in an open way. This book also looks at medical care and aging. It’s not a comprehensive look, but it does highlight many of the problems with elder care.

The book is relatively short and easy to read. I recommend it, particularly if you or a loved one is dealing with serious life-threatening illness.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Is the Disney Actor’s Death Suicide or Murder?

 

Evan Hobbs, a beloved Disney actor, is the victim of what appears to be a deep fake, a video of him in a compromising position with a young girl, After a Hollywood party, he’s found dead in a the collapse of a cliff. With the exposure of the video, it could be suicide. Detective Maggie Nolan is assigned the case. A second death, the murder of the brother-in-law of Hobbes’ agent, tips the scales in favor of murder.

This is the third book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. Many of the characters are regulars in the series, but there is a host of new characters. Sometimes it almost seems like too many. If you haven’t read the first two books it may be hard to keep them straight. The characters, even the minor ones, are well developed. One of the things I like about this book is the interleaving of personal information about the investigators lives with the murder investigation.

This is a well plotted police procedural with lots of twist and turns to keeping you guessing the identity of the murderer until the end. I also enjoyed the detailed descriptions of Los Angeles, particularly the rarefied air of Hollywood stars and their associates. If you enjoy police police procedurals, this is a good one.

I received this book from St. Martins’s Press for this review.

Amusing Poetical Tales

In the style reminiscent of Shel Silverstein, the author presents a book of short poems with amusing illustrations. It was a quick read and quite funny in places.

A winner of the Baldersquash medal, it lives up to it’s name with plenty of nonsense in the verses. Although the book can appeal to adults, I think the read audience is children. Elementary school children love nonsense and the illustrations will definitely appeal to that group

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

A Nutritional Diet for Middle-Aged Women

 

Dr. Mary Claire Haver, an OB/Gyn, specializes in the problems of menopausal women specifically their nutritional needs. She developed the Galveston Diet based on her own problemss and has found that it helps many other women.

The three prongs of the diet are: diet modification to include healthy fats, some lean protein, and good carbohydrates; intermittent fasting, basically eating in a six to eight hour window and fasting for sixteen to eighteen hours; and limiting sugar and processed foods. Dr. Claire provides food lists, and recipes to help achieve these goals. The book also contains scientific discussions to give you an understanding of why the diet works. Although technical, the discussions are clear and readable.

I thought this was an excellent plan for women both pre- and post- menopause. I have been eating this way for years, including intermittent fasting and for me it works like a charm. I combine it with regular exercise, and it’s perfect to maintain my weight where I’m happy with it.

I highly recommend this book.

Friendship and Psychopathology

 

Clare left her grandmother’s home in France to study in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is trying to escape an incident in her past. Gradually, she finds a job and starts taking classes in art history. In her classes she meets Tabitha, Ava, and Samuel. The group of rich, privileged young people, draws her. She wants to be involved. Tabitha is beautiful, but there’s something about her that makes Clare nervous. Still she is drawn to the other girl.

When Clare becomes a member of the group, Tabitha reveals her plan. She needs Clare. Clare is wary but by then the friendship has become a dominant factor in her life, and she can’t pull away. It becomes even more threatening when it appears that Tabitha knows something damaging about Clare.

This is an interesting psychological thriller based on friendship, or more accurately co-dependence. As the girls become more entwined the mood becomes darker and darker. The opening incident sets the dark tone, the novel then becomes slower as Clare adjusts to her new life, then it speeds up at the end in a much darker conclusion.

I found the book interesting. The author writes well. However, she seemed much more interested in creating atmosphere than plot development. The characters are well drawn, but I couldn’t like any of them, including Clare. For me, that made the book less enjoyable.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

A Romantic Adventure Among the Fairies

Professor Emily Wilde, a dyradologist, has come to a remote island off the coast of Norway to study the Hidden Folk as part of the preparation of her encyclopedia on the fairies. Emily is a well respected researcher, but she finds people difficult. She is happiest alone with her dog Shadow and a good book.

The remoteness of island should keep people at bay, but shortly she is joined by her only friend and academic rival, Professor Wendell Bambleby. Wendell is everything Emily is not and soon he has the villagers enjoying his company. However, Emily and Wendell are there for serious research and as they pursue their objective rather frightening things begin to happen.

This is a delightful book. It takes place in 1909 and the author has done an excellent job making Emily’s diary entries true to the period. Emily and Wendell are good foils for each other. He annoys her, but she can’t help responding to him. Their banter is amusing and gives the story a light tone.

The book is a good combination of fantasy, romance, and mystery with scholarly overtones provided by the footnotes Emily appends to her diary entries. Emily is a very self contained character while Wendell is much more outgoing even chaotic. They make an interesting pair. I thought it was an excellent combination. Since this is the first book in a series, I’m looking forward to meeting them again in a new adventure.

If you enjoy romance, and fantasy with some mystery in a historical setting, you’ll love this book.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.