A political thriller that relies heavily on action but lacks substance.
Corrupt American and Chinese government officials scramble for control over a medical cure-all derived from a Nepalese plant, culminating in an international incident in Allen’s (Deadly Untruths, 2008) second novel.
Dr. Maggie James and Dr. Jangbu Tong have been researching the growth and effect of a unique plant found in a remote village in Nepal. When Maggie arrives at the village to check on the progress of the experiment, she finds her partner severely beaten. Jangbu reveals that his abusers, hoping to intimidate him into submission, were strangers in search of the plant. In the aftermath of the attack, it’s imperative that the team work quickly to validate their research. As they rush to complete their findings, U.S. senators, lobbyists, an ambitious Chinese ex-pat and his granddaughter, Luli, all scramble to gain control over the miracle drug. Allen then increases the reader’s anticipation of conflict with the introduction of corrupt Chinese government officials. The plant’s power offers what seems like the golden ticket to world domination; everyone wants a piece of the pie. Though briskly paced, the language is often clumsy and redundant. No matter how well the plot is moving, the constant mention of Luli’s youth and beauty or Maggie’s idealism and dedication do little to advance the story. Detailed expositions of the internal workings of the U.S. government—specifically the Senate and the lobbies—indicate exhaustive research or familiarity with the halls of power. Allen has a knack for keeping the reader enthralled by the suspense. Unfortunately, the rush of the plot derails in-depth exploration of the issues of corruption and greed, or the ethics behind the use and dissemination of such a miraculous plant.
A political thriller that relies heavily on action but lacks substance.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2011
ISBN: 978-1935083337
Page Count: 258
Publisher: CyPress Publications
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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