An impressively original take on alternative history.
In this time-travel thriller, debut authors Miller and Manas spin a clever, original variation on a classic alternative history premise: What if it were possible to travel back in time and kill Adolf Hitler?
Jacob Newman, a brilliant scientist and nanotechnology expert who consults with the CIA on projects of national security, receives a mysterious packet containing his German grandfather’s diaries from the 1920s, which detail a failed plot to poison Hitler at the beginning of his ascent to power. Although Newman’s wife is dying of cancer, a global crisis soon takes him from her bedside. An alien vessel has been found on the bottom of the ocean, off the coast of Chile. Inside the elegantly described “cavernous zeppelin shaped” space are eight giant floating monitors—arranged “like some sort of avant-garde Stonehenge”—that show images from horrific moments in human history, including the Crusades and the Holocaust. The ship also contains some strange pieces of alien technology; most notably, a small object the scientists dub the Kronos Device, which, as Newman discovers, facilitates time travel. The scientists soon come to the consensus that someone or something has been sitting in judgment of humankind—and an ominous verdict could be delivered at any time. Inspired by his grandfather’s diary and desperate to afford humankind another chance in the eyes of the mysterious alien power, Newman decides to go back in time and ensure that the plot to kill Hitler is successful, thereby—in theory—erasing the ensuing heinous acts from history. Sci-fi fans will be familiar with what happens next: By interfering with the past, Newman inadvertently creates a future that is far worse. But here the novel displays some unexpectedly creative plotting: Newman’s attempt to undo the damage he’s done involves him in his own mind-bending parallel life, as well as the prospect of a harrowing sacrifice. The prose is unfussy, the pacing appropriately brisk, and the past and future sequences show the authors’ admirable imaginative gifts. Miller and Manas’ tour de force packs plenty of entertainment value, and the ending tantalizes with the possibility of future past installments.
An impressively original take on alternative history.Pub Date: June 30, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615651620
Page Count: 501
Publisher: Pop Culture Zoo Press
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A useful handbook for those who want to build mutually beneficial relationships in a business context.
A serviceable addition to the crowded field of how-to-network guides.
There is no shortage of business networking books on the shelves, but Les Garnas' contribution to the genre can claim its place among them. The book offers a solid collection of advice for building connections in the professional world, as well as a rationale for looking at every interaction with friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers as an opportunity to establish building blocks for career advancement. The book benefits from Garnas' frequent use of concrete examples, many drawn from his own experience, that illustrate the potential upside of making useful connections in the world of business. One notable strength of the book is its focus on the need for networking relationships to be beneficial to all parties. Garnas refers to the reader's colleagues as “networking partners,” and the theme of partnership – in contrast to begging for or demanding favors – runs throughout the book. Readers are encouraged to find ways to provide as much value as possible to their networking partners, through everything from forwarding relevant articles to introducing a purchasing manager to a potential vendor so they can bring about a valuable contract. Although Garnas packs quite a bit of information into a thin volume, introverts may not find his approach to networking practical or particularly useful to them. The book's advice is more appropriate for those who, like Garnas, would rather share a table with a stranger than eat alone in a restaurant. The book concludes with a series of case studies and suggested exercises that put the techniques and principles discussed in the text to work. QR codes at the end of each case study direct the reader to additional commentary on the author's website.
A useful handbook for those who want to build mutually beneficial relationships in a business context.Pub Date: July 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1467536516
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Edgemark Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 4, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An exciting novel that delves into the tensions of modern Turkey and the human heart.
A Turkish army general and a Kurdish lawyer try to overcome their instinctive distrust of one another and work together—while keeping their unexpected romantic feelings from getting in the way—in order to solve a political mystery.
Brodsky’s debut thriller is set in the tense world of modern-day Turkey. Turks and Kurds distrust each other at best; at worst, they hunt each other down, with violent repression on one side and insurgent terrorism on the other. When a prominent Kurdish doctor and his family disappear one night under mysterious circumstances, Kurdish lawyer Emine Sesen suspects the Turkish special forces of being behind the disappearances. Emine has reasons to be suspicious, given how Turkish police once brutally treated her after arresting her on fabricated charges. Later, members of the Turkish special forces stop her on the street, and she suspects them of politically motivated harassment. But Emine finds an unlikely ally in Turkish general Arslan Buyukdag. Both the general and the lawyer come from prominent families with long histories in Turkish–Kurdish conflicts. When they end up working together to solve the mystery of what happened to the doctor and his family, tensions flare. Soon, however, they come to trust each other and even to develop romantic feelings. Their pursuit of truth keeps them in constant danger and leads them into deepening mystery and intrigue, while the novel offers readers a glimpse of a region less frequently in the news than some of its neighbors. Fans of geopolitical thrillers will find plenty of engaging material, and the local color adds believable context. The plotting is occasionally slow for a thriller, and some readers may find the romantic storyline predictable and realistically improbable. Nonetheless, fans of the genre will be taken by the intrigue.
An exciting novel that delves into the tensions of modern Turkey and the human heart.Pub Date: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1432794071
Page Count: 358
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc.
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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