Golish has produced a technically well-written science fiction, based on near future power politics and warfare. The twist with a difference is the medical enhancement of two rival leaders brain function; enhancements that has been compromised by the Perfect Recall team for a third superpower. Doctored memories are replayed in the protagonists’ minds, upsetting mental balance and so altering tactical decisions. One is eventually driven to a mental and physical breakdown, but only after his has ruined any chance of military success.

We are in a post polar ice-caped world, which has managed to maintain current levels of technology, but at great cost to humanity. The world is in power blocks based on existing geo-political realities, projected forward through the growing climate and general environmental crisis. The blocks are in an almost constant state of military rivalry that breaks out into regional war. The book has very much a male mindset, relying to a high degree on the escalation to war to drive the drama.

Note that that Golish concentrates his words on building his political and technological space in near future time rather than on looking deeply into the characters than populate the story. There are spells of character development of at least two or three of the main players, though more would help emotional buy-in, for at least this reader. Many of the cast are one dimensional, so the opening ‘dramatis personae’ is useful if one loses the plot. Despite some difficulty in developing any emotional connection with individuals the book has an exciting build. There is a balanced mix of near future technology and familiar superpower real politic and warcraft. I found no flaws in the plot, or in its execution; allowing for medical and technological inventions that are, for now at least, science fiction. Some of the content Is written a little long, and even superfluous. Deep description can be welcomed if one is building empathy or disdain for individuals. It is demanding of concentration here where the detail of technology and plot dominates.

This book is intended to be a pacesetter for a series of books based on mind enhancing technology. This should excuse some of the over-writing in the first outing. I really enjoyed reading this book, and his rather dystopian take on the future, aren’t they all. It is certainly worth five of those stupid stars that seem designed to empower those that relish doing more harm than good, by so woefully reducing every aspect of a book to individual reader’s taste. Five gold ‘kisses’ doesn’t mean this work couldn’t be made better if the author worked with a suitably exacting content editor. Or else, Golash like so many new writers, needs to play his own devil’s advocate much harder. The unknown, unconnected, independent author is usually highly financially constrained, making the job of producing first-class books far more difficult than it is for the very few, usually ‘known’ insiders, who manage to get big publisher support. That doesn’t mean we ‘the unlauded’ shouldn’t strive for perfection. Copy editing errors mostly relate to verb tense selection, and lack of full liaison between some sentences.

This book deserves to be read and positively reviewed. I very much look forward to the next instalment.

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This is a genre that I seldom read, near-future, sort of post-apocalyptic, military fiction; but DAMN, I like this series. It's almost like ... well, I want to say good Tom Clancy with twists.

This is the continuation of the events in First Light, book one of the series.  Again, we follow the 1st person narrative of Lieutenant James Shelley as he navigates this screwed up world.  Shelley is the beneficiary of some high tech body modifications, even thought they sometimes seem like a curse and Nagata writes it so well that even a know-nothing like me understands what's going on.  Even the trial/court scenes were eminently readable and that's not always the case.

The world is dark and cynical and full of conspiracies and plots and counter-plots and the author does them all justice.  I never predicted what was happening until it was either happening or just about to go down.  And even then, there was always some twist I didn't see.

This is a techno-thriller in the true sense of the word, I think.  I was on the virtual edge of my seat almost the whole time I was reading.  We meet up with lots of old friends, make some new ones and come across some not so nice folks too, familiar and otherwise.  And I should have seen that twist coming at the end, but I didn't, and damn, it's a good one!

So yeah, I really enjoyed my read and I'm glad that I have the final book in the trilogy nestled nicely in my Kobo.

After several false starts, I got into this book. I read most of it on the way to Illinois for Thanksgiving. This is one of those books that takes a while to get started, but once you're in, you're in. The concept is so crazy, it takes a while to figure out what's going on. I think the closest comparison I could make is the TV show "Fringe". It's that kind of crazy. Also it's the kind of thing that people who have tons of conspiracy theories and deep distrust for the establishment, corporations and the government will read and say, "I told you so." The ending is a bit of a mindblower. I am still trying to decide how I felt about it.

I am no physics genius, but I love the concept of time travel. I like the ethics and philosophical aspects. You know, the whole grandfather complex thing and the "if you could go forward or back, would you?" kind of thing. Also, there's the whole what happens when we open doors to places we don't know anything about. Should some doors stay closed?

As a scientist, I have asked myself that many times. I tend to be a big fan of scientific ethics and I think that you can't throw that out just in the search of knowledge. Seek it, but seek it carefully and cautiously. Some of the inventions in this book, I can't even. I mean, they should be buried in a very deep hole somewhere. I pray some of this will never exist in real life.

So anyway, my opinions of science and time travel aside, this trippy book really grabbed me and didn't let me go. There is a high body count and I asked myself what the hell is wrong with some people. They abandon right and wrong for power and ugly stuff happens. That's a big part of this book. Also, on the good side, there are people who will put their lives on the line to do the right thing. That takes a lot of moral courage and I feel that even from fiction, we can draw courage to face those tough ethical decisions in our own lives.

This one has some blood and guts, but nothing gratuitous. I would advise readers to plan to pick up the next book. I have it, and I will try to get to it in the nearish future.

This is my second book by Patrick Lee. I read Runner first, and I like his style. He's not afraid to go there and put the reader through their paces. He doesn't give them a cut and dried book. He makes them think about what they are reading. I like that in an author.

Map of Bones wasn't bad.  I had been hoping for more of an early Tom Clancy type of read, but this was a little thin on most counts.  

There was a lot of exposition, feeling as if one character telling the others the whole history of the world at times.  It certainly shows off that the author did a lot of research. I found it all a bit complicated and more than once it felt like a bit of a slog to get through things and get down to the action.  

The characters were okay - generic techno-thriller types with an interesting quirk or two that I thought could have been explored a little more.  There was a bit of a romance as there often is in this type of book, but it never hooked me.  I actually wanted to know more about what was going on with a couple of the secondary characters more than the main couple. 

There were some interesting twists and turns and one HELLUVA twist that managed to catch me completely by surprise.  I wanted more about the motivations though.  

All in all, this was a pleasant read and should the others in the series (yes, this is apparently the first of the Sigma Force books), go on sale for a reasonable price, I'll pick them up.  I wonder if they'll deal with the same characters at all?  Hmm...

I thought Persona was a fascinating book with a fascinating premise and I went into it hoping that the characters lived up to the premise and luckily, they pretty much did.  

I saw the book mentioned by one of the authors I follow on Twitter (I get a lot of good recs this way, I have to say) and since I had enjoyed Valentine's The Girls at the Kingfisher Club I figured I could do worse than give it a try.  :)  

Persona is an interesting look at the world of diplomacy in the near future where the face or Face of diplomacy is just that - a pretty face, a young face, a person groomed for the job and handled once there, a celebrity more than a diplomat.  It's a future where the paparazzi - now called snaps - are even more intrusive and even frightening.  

It made me think of a Bourne novel, only 1/3rd the length.  :)

The two main characters, Suyana, the Face of the United Amazonia Rainforest Confederation and Daniel Park, a runaway turned paparazzi, are both young and both have secrets and both are in danger.  Both are likable and believable, I thought - even though I found them young.  *LOL*  I'm old, so hardly a surprise there.  

One thing that's odd about Valentine's writing is that I find it almost trying to be edgy and clever and while I usually hate that, somehow it works for me here.  I felt the same way with Kingfisher Club.  

Persona is the first of The Persona Sequence and its follow-up Icon, comes out at the end of June according to the publisher and I will be picking it up.  I need to find out what happens - Persona was only the beginning.