The happiest time of my life.

THE ENGAGEMENT STORY!

As a joke-ish type thing 10 years ago - A.J. and I changed our Facebook status to "engaged" one night while chatting online while I was in Biloxi on a work trip. It was mostly a joke... but not really a joke really since both of us just knew that A: we want to get married and B: it was going to happen sooner or later.

Well... it was sooner.

See, I had in my mind for some time how it would all go down... when we did the facebook thing, A.J.'s sister was all like "OH! If he asked you on Halloween that would be awesome!" -- all I could think of was "GET OUT OF MY HEAD WOMAN!!!" ;-)

So, we picked out a ring a week earlier... And I lied and told her it would be almost 8 weeks before I could get the ring, financially. And, you've got to love the salespeople at the Jewelry store who played along with me on this. I thought about inviting them to the wedding as a result of their excellent acting skills.

Book Recommendation - Junkers by Benjamin Wallace

A new feature I'm adding to this blog - any time I finish a book, I will promptly do a short write-up on it and either recommend it for reading - or for ignoring.

A few weeks back I finished Junkers by Benjamin Wallace - and it goes on the "Recommend List"

My rating system is as follows - and anything between 3 and 5 stars should be considered worthy of buying....
1 star – I didn’t like it - won't talk about it.
2 stars – It was OK - I probably won't re-read this book without a compelling argument.
3 stars – I liked it - The book was enjoyable and I might revisit in the future.
4 stars – I really liked it - Have probably read it twice already or will soon.

5 stars – It was amazing - Will probably re-read this title every year or so.

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The Robot Uprising is Here - And It's Hilarious
For such a short book, Junkers is a lot of fun. 

I read the "Robopocalypse" by Daniel H. Wilson and was so disappointed that I almost gave up on the genre as a whole. But along comes Benjamin Wallace with his team of Junkers - Jake, Kat, Mason, Savant and Glitch - and I'm back in the game!

Life is supposed to be easier when robots do all the work, right? Then why are they murdering people? The story starts out with a murder, is followed up by a murder, and ends with another murder or two... and, yet, I found myself laughing and eagerly consuming page after page of this story. 

It's fun, lighthearted, and full of characters that I couldn't help but like - and want more of in the future. Junkers is the Robot Uprising we should all be reading... and we should also be calling our movie representatives and asking for this to be optioned. Seriously, folks, Benjamin Wallace's wit and sense of humor make him a national treasure.


Disclaimer - I am in no way paid for my reviews - which you can probably guess by how poorly they are written... and all opinions are my own.

Book Recommendation - Trackers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

A new feature I'm adding to this blog - any time I finish a book, I will promptly do a short write-up on it and either recommend it for reading - or for ignoring.

Earlier this week I finished "Trackers" by Nicholas Sansbury Smith - and it goes on the "Recommend List"

My rating system is as follows - and anything between 3 and 5 stars should be considered worthy of buying....
1 star – I didn’t like it - won't talk about it. 

2 stars – It was OK - I probably won't re-read this book without a compelling argument. 

3 stars – I liked it - The book was enjoyable and I might revisit in the future.
4 stars – I really liked it - Have probably read it twice already or will soon.5 stars – It was amazing - Will probably re-read this title every year or so.


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The Nightmare Scenario Done Right 

I am an apocalypse junkie. I've read almost everything I can get my hands on about stories involving life at the end of things... And the scariest of all scenarios, to me, is an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse). Other books have touched on them and done a fair enough job making that scenario into a work of fiction - but they usually seem like a really over the top "how to" guide for Preppers - not saying it's a bad thing, just that it does make for good fiction. Nicholas Sansbury Smith, however, has made this into good fiction while still addressing the "how-to" aspect of being prepared. 

WWIII begins in the skies over the U.S. with the detonation of three nuclear devices resulting in an EMPs. If that wasn't bad enough, the attack is followed up by a secondary device that take out Washington DC. Dealing with the EMP is least of the problems for former Marine Sam "Raven" Spears and the man he's usually at odds with - Police Chief Marcus Colton... they are in the midsts of a manhunt for a potential serial killer who has come to the quiet, tourist town of Estes Park, CO.

It's good story showing the immediate fallout of life after an EMP mixed with a gripping murder-mystery. I look forward to the rest of the series to see where Smith takes us in the new, dark world. This one story is clearly the doorway into something larger and more encompassing just like Smith has done with The Extinction Cycle and Hell Divers. 

Disclaimer - I am in no way paid for my reviews - which you can probably guess by how poorly they are written... and all opinions are my own.