Rick CheslerCritiques

New Mexico. Fourth of July. Special Deputy Jessie Torres, her grandmother who is a Apache curandera. An infusion of odd-acting wolves. All of these combine to make Dark Green a well written and attention grabbing novel.

Jessie was hired to investigate any interaction between wolf packs, wolves and humans. She is noticing activity in the wolves that isn’t right and sets out to figure it out. Add to this mix is the arrival of the Rainbow Family; a group of hippies who take a different National Forest every year to congregate, get high and hang out. Are they in the middle of all this?

Jessie’s sister may have killed her wayward husband. She had good reasons.

This book does a great job of describing New Mexico and the politics that threaten every state in the Union. Protect the wolves? Put them down? A tangled mess that doesn’t apply to them, of course but to all of us.

A great book on cultures and single beliefs.

I expected this to be a mindless trashy gore-fest, but instead, it was an actual book with a well developed story. Timing in the book seemed a bit off at times, and there were some characters who deserved to die but didn't however overall it was a fun book to read.

Just Plain Fun! Reads like a Sci-Fi Planet, B-rate monster movie. Perfect. Its fast-paced, keeps your attention and its not deep.

My original Sawfish audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

I was already biased to like this story as such stellar titles as 'Sharktopus' and 'Frankenfish' top the list of my favourite ever films. I don't know what it is about pseudo-science giant animal monster flicks, but I freaking love them.

This book didn't disappoint, it begins with a mean and nasty scientist having the funding cut on his make-giant-sea-creatures project and finding himself out of a job. What the funding body doesn't know is that he's just discovered away to cause gigantism in sawfish, and cos he's mean an' all - he dumps them in the public waterway.

The beasties grow exponentially and become uncharacteristically aggressive because.... science. I have an undergrad degree in Zoology, so I really enjoyed the fact that the author had put some real science in among the fantastic and the fun.

Rayman (pun intended? The fact that sawfish are closely related to ray is a fact which is repeated a few times in the course of the book), the mad scientist, isn't the most developed of characters but that isn't what this story is about. He's deliciously hateful, pompous and amoral. He's careful to pose himself as the hero in this situation, with absolutely no consideration for the fatalities he's ultimately responsible for.

The course of the story follows the sawfish and the havoc they cause, hacking and slashing as a giant sawfish will. Ending in a great hint that there may be more books where this one came from!

Jeffrey S. Fellin is a great narrator and well suited to this book, I'm not sure this book would have brought me quite so much joy in print form. The audio quality was flawless, as well as Fellin's execution of character voices and accents.

If you're a fan of creature features and fun gore, I would absolutely recommend this book for you. It kept me entertained right to the very end!

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.½

Coco Keahi, a marine biologist from Hawaii, is the star of this creature feature. Off the coast of a Fiji island, James White has financed the building of a magnificent underwater hotel. Dolphin shows and underwater sub tours are just a few of the distractions offered to the guests. It’s opening weekend and the special guests have started to arrive just as things have started to fall apart.

This book was quite a bit of fun! Just simply saying ‘megalodon’ is fun. I’m a fan of the mysteriously appearing supposedly-extinct critter plot and watching the characters figure out they are facing a megalodon was great. Coco was just recently brought on and one of her main tasks is to drive the sub and tell the passengers all about the marine life. She and Mick (the mechanic) work to fine tune the sub, and that’s when Coco has her first hint that something isn’t right. Later, the air conditioners for the hotel get a bit sluggish, so Coco and Mick have to go clean out the cold water intake and find another clue.

The action picks up from there. The tram that takes guests from dry land to the underwater hotel suffers. Coco comes to the rescue – yes! She’s got skills and brains. Yet even as Coco tries to save the hotel staff and the guests, an adversary works against her. Not only does Coco have the world’s biggest living shark to contend with, but she also has this egomaniac that wants her dead. She definitely rises to the occasion!

There was plenty to like about this book. The big glass window showing off the natural marine life at the hotel bar sounded gorgeous! Clarissa really cared about the dolphins she trained, though I did feel a little sorry for the dolphins by the end of the book. I really liked that the cast of characters was so ethnically diverse – hooray! The last quarter of the book had plenty of action and while Coco was the main hero of the story, there were plenty of other characters doing heroic things as well. The ending was quite satisfying. Marine life goes on, despite human frivolities.

I received a copy of this book at no cost from the narrator (via Audiobook Boom) in exchange for an honest review.

Narration: Andrew Tell did a great job with this book. While the main character was female, Tell pulled off a savvy female voice for Coco quite well. There were also plenty of accents too and Tell did them all with competence. Indeed, I think Tell enjoyed narrating this book almost as much as I enjoyed listening to it.

*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com, at my request.

Maddock is with his Navy SEAL partners, Bones, Professor, and Willis, on a mission to find the Amber room that went missing in the second World War. If they can't retrieve the whole room, at least bring home what they can. Diving the wreckage of a ship thought to have pieces or traces to the lost room, they find more than a clue. The mission turns dangerous as trouble from the Russian's searching the site as well board their boat.

Jeffrey voices these men with ease. Jeffrey has been narrating this whole series and connected series's, from what I've listened to. With Jeffrey narrating and David and Rick's writing, I smile at the small quips from the four men working together. They have a quick sense of humor that keeps their situations light as they work through them, but also makes me smile and keep the story light. Jeffrey's voice brings this to life for me. I have grown fond of listening to Jeffrey. He's always clear and easy to listen to. There is no background disturbances or echos to his voice. Also there is no pops on letters as he speaks. Perfect recording and narration.

From the beginning we see how Maddock, Bones, Professor, and Willis work as a team back when they were SEAL's in training. It's fun to listen to these men banter back and forth. They are a great pairing of friends and have great quick comments for each other, such a youthful feel to them as SEAL's in training.

I found I was thinking I'd enjoy traveling in person with these men on their adventures. Their personalities and humor are ones I'd enjoy. Plus the addition of possible dangers (okay with them, yes danger) they find themselves fighting out of, sounds exciting!

This is book 7, do I need to read in order? I don't think so. We are introduced to the characters at the beginning and see the bond between them all is strong. Then we go on with the adventure they find themselves on in this story, it's not a carry over from previous books, it's a new one. Sure there are drops of other missions together, but that just fuels the want to listen/read the previous books.

I would listen to the story again as I think I'd pick up some details that I missed with all that's packed into these pages. There are a few moments I wasn't 100% sure how the characters knew where to go. But, they are getting information from an Admiral and you don't question your superiors. They did find a journal that helps back the information too. Even as this is a shorter read/listen, it's packed full of details of the mission and action.

I do enjoy these characters and dangerous adventures. I will be looking for more of them!

Another great addition to the Dane and Bones series! Shorter than a Cussler, but every bit as riveting. Always full of action/adventure, good natured fun among the team, and an integration of history into current possibilities. See publisher's blurb for clues, no spoilers here except to remind that there is no gratuitous erotica.
Kafer gives his usual excellent performance with this one, no problem differentiating characters or their responses.
I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook BOOM.

Wow. Riveting. Couldn't put it down. Couldn't wait to see if and how Alex, Veronica, Arcadia and Remington would save the world.

I expected this to be a mindless trashy gore-fest, but instead, it was an actual book with a well developed story. Timing in the book seemed a bit off at times, and there were some characters who deserved to die but didn't however overall it was a fun book to read.

I went into this book only knowing the title and seeing the cover. Based on that, this book ended up being different from what I expected based on the title alone. I was concerned that it would just be a more gruesome version of Jurassic Park, particularly with the regained popularity of the Michael Crichtons' series.

While I do think the title of this book will (hopefully) help bring attention to this book. This story is definitely more along the lines of horror than adventure. There are multiple villains (seriously evil masterminds), not to mention extraordinarily harsh elements, zombies and dinosaurs! Oh- and zombie dinosaurs. That is a seriously messed up element to even fictionally contend with! I think our authors must have some very hardcore imaginations. I never even would have considered the concept of going where they did with this. Which made it all the more disturbingly scary! I'm excited to share it with my 'little' brother (33) who loved all things dinosaur when we were kids and now likes horror. I think it might ruin his love of dinosaurs...but it's worth it.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the writer, publisher or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.½

Here we go - Zombies everywhere and in several different species - will the USA survive?????

Alex has come to Antarctica to stop the exploitation of the last pristine place on Earth, only to find his father, a paleontologist has made a major discovery there for a rather sinister employer. What happens next is just too incredible to believe or describe.

Definitely 5 stars and if I could pick more, I would

This isn't my first book by Sakmyster, but his collaboration with Chesler made this intensifying and amazing story about a come-to-life frozen, yet heartless T. Rex. The interactions between the characters, especially father and son, Marcus and Alex, respectively, flowed perfectly with a zombie-ish but more like ... as it's described in the book "a prehistoric-skinned mash-up between human and reptile..." setting. There are some things that a son shouldn't see in his father ... Basically, it's a prehistoric zombie or undead T. Rex who is very hungry and what he does to his meals is something ... vile. Loved it. The story grabbed me from the very beginning.

Great book, well written, fantastic characters, and plot to die for!

Book Title: kiDNApped
Author: Rick Chesler
Publisher: Chalet Publishers
ISBN: 9781936395132
Reviewed by Michele Tater for The Couch Tater Review

“If you can write DNA, you're no longer limited to 'what is' but to what you could make.” ~Drew Endy

Set in the beautifully scenic back drop of the Isles of Hawaii, a kidnapping has taken place so long ago that the man will soon be declared die and lost at sea. His daughter a brilliant successful professor of microbiology is not ready to give up on finding her father just get. Along side of her is her Lance a not so successful computer programmer, who is being enticed with a free trip, room and board. This brother and sister team are joined by Dave, a scuba drive and marine biologist and a FBI agent named Tara. With clues left for them by the missing Dr. William Archer, they are hoping to close in on the captures and rescue their captive.

This book starts off like water that is calm just before a storm that is brewing blow in. It give the reader background information to get to know the characters that they will be following. Then with each ripple in the water, the plot become more in depth, even includes technical aspects that are truly remarkable if true. The reader finds hidden secrets and betrayals within this team of searchers, that cause the FBI agent especially, to keep a close eye on the rest of the party. Reading further along, it as though the winds are start blow and the wave start crashing against the surf and there is a need to hang on to something for dear live or be blown away. Then it is found that the waves are coming from one source and that source will lead to more answers and hopefully to one happy ending, or will it.