Review of Secret Science: A Century of Poison Warfare and Human Experiments

BLURB

There have long been allegations that many servicemen had been duped into taking part in trials with toxic agents at top-secret Allied research facilities. In Britain, a whole army of over 21,000 soldiers had participated in secret experiments between 1939 and 1989. Some remembered them as innocuous, others as harmful, and in isolated cases deadly. Ulf Schmidt offers a comprehensive history of chemical and biological weapons research by former Allied powers, providing a significant new interpretation of the cover-up of the death of a British serviceman in 1953. Employing new archival material and including many interviews with those involved, he charts the history of this "secret science" from its development during the First World War to the ongoing attempts by the international community to ban these weapons.

REVIEW

As you might expect from the blurb this book is not light reading, it is far from reading a textbook more like a very favorable written research paper. Ulf Schmidt took it upon himself to extensively look into the Porton Down Project, which during WWI, WWII, and the Cold War most of England's chemical and biological warfare research was performed. Whereas Porton Down was the main focus he also included how other countries were progressing with chemical warfare during that time also. All knowledge pertaining to this story is very well referenced not leaving a doubt in my mind any information in this read is untrue. Therefore, the prose was favorably assembled so the reader could easily follow the story since it does cover a lot of material being that the book is six hundred pages. The science aspect of the book is pleasingly executed, but it is the people behind the science and what they determined was appropriate to perform testing on is disturbing. Unknowing military personnel were misled and deceived into being guinea pigs for the testing of deadly chemicals, biological agents, and nerve gas. This lead to horrific deaths and life long health issues. As usual, any morals or ethics the military might have possessed were tossed out the window. This is just a minute taste of an extraordinarily investigated look into biological and chemical warfare. Did you know that nerve agents were discovered in 1945?  What happened was outlandish and makes you wonder what is still happening behind locked doors today. This would be a great read for both history and science buffs. You will learn a lot from this book.

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AMAZON/B&N/BAM!

"Thank You, NetGalley for allowing me to do this review"

GIVEAWAY 40$ AMAZON Gift Card + SWAG & book blitz of Bravo: Apocalypse Mission

Bravo: Apocalypse Mission
Summer Lane
(Bravo Saga, #1)
Publication date: April 22nd, 2016
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult

Civilization, collapsed. Society, gone.

The apocalypse rules all, and mankind struggles for survival.

But there was a dog, and his name was Bravo.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
First, there was the training.
Bravo, a strong and loyal German Shepherd, is born and raised to be a bomb detection dog in the Marines by his handler, Nathan Ingalls. Together, they prepare to become fighters.
After the training, there was the desert.

Deployed to Afghanistan, the brutality of desert warfare shows no mercy to neither man nor dog.
And then, there was the Collapse.

When the apocalypse strikes, Bravo is cruelly torn from his handler in the dying days of society. Bravo fights for survival in the city, longing to be reunited with his handler, his friend.

His journey will take him into the most dangerous parts of the city and country, into the heart of the apocalypse. He will meet new friends, and he will fight for them.

Bravo will not stop until he finds his partner.
This is the story of a dog. This is the story of a hero.

This is the story of Bravo, the bomb dog, and his apocalypse mission.

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GUEST POST:

Think Like A Dog
By Summer Lane

The most interesting part of writing Bravo: Apocalypse Mission was being able to look at the apocalypse through the eyes of a dog. What does he see? What does he care about? How does he survive, and more importantly, how does he deal with loss?

I’ve always loved dogs, so it was a great treat to be able to write this story. I had the idea a little over a year ago. Bravo himself was inspired by an offhand comment from a child who had read my books and exclaimed, “You should write about a dog in the apocalypse!” From that comment, I immediately pictured Bravo in my head. And thus, he was born! First as a sidekick in The Zero Trilogy, and now as the star of his very own story. I had always wanted to write a story about a dog, and this was my chance.

I think the most challenging thing about getting into the head of a dog is realizing that 1) dogs don’t necessarily have a reason for everything they do. They simply do it because they are creatures of instinct. And 2) a dog can be just as emotional as people when it comes to losing a friend or handler. I had to find a balance between instinct and emotion when it came to writing Bravo’s adventure, and I think I was able to locate the sweet spot and make it work!

Author Bio:
Who is Summer Lane?
Summer Lane is the #1 bestselling author of 12 thrilling books, including the phenomenal bestselling Collapse Series, Zero Trilogy and Collapse: The Illustrated Guide. Her newest series, The Bravo Saga, is releasing April 22nd, 2016, and is hotly anticipated in the reading community.
Bravo: Apocalypse Mission is the first installment of the Bravo Saga. It follows the story of a military working dog named Bravo who is separated from his beloved handler when the apocalypse strikes. It is a poignant and thrilling tale of love, loyalty and survival. Summer also owns WB Publishing and Writing Belle, an online magazine where she has interviewed and worked with countless authors from around the globe.

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GIVEAWAY of a Clean Teen Publishing Mystery Box & BLITZ of the book Broken Fate

Broken Fate 
Jennifer Derrick
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: April 18th, 2016
Genres: Mythology, Romance, Young Adult

Zeus gave her one simple job: Kill every human. Atropos—daughter of Zeus and the third goddess of Fate from Greek mythology —spends her eternal life snipping human lifelines when their mortal lives are over. As if being a killer doesn’t make life miserable enough, she and her Fate-wielding sisters must live amongst the humans on Earth thanks to a long-running feud between their mother and Zeus. Living on Earth means they must mingle with the mortals, attend the local high school, and attempt to fit in—or at least not stand out too much.

Killing and mingling don’t mix, which is why Atropos’ number-one rule is to avoid all relationships with the humans. Caring for the people she has to kill is a fast track to insanity. However, when Alex Morgan walks into her first-period English class, she knows she’s in for trouble. He’s the worst kind of human for her to like—one with a rapidly approaching expiration date. And he makes Atropos want to break all the rules.

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EXCERPT:

I turn off my desk lamp and computer, starting to get up, but then sit back down. My curiosity about Alex has been building all day. I’ve tried to tamp it down, to forget him, but I can’t. Even Chloe’s chatter couldn’t take him out of my thoughts. I boot the computer back up and give in to temptation.

I search for Alex’s record in our database. What I’m doing isn’t forbidden, but I rarely bother to check on the humans once I assign their manner of death. I forget them until I see them again on their date of death. However, tonight, I want to see what kind of fate Lacey devised for him and refresh my memory about how and when he’ll die.

I find his file but just as I’m about to double click and open it, I pull back. Do I really want to know what Lacey has planned for him? He’s already faced grief and loss. What if his fate gets worse than that? Do I want that knowledge?

I think for a few moments and decide it doesn’t really matter either way. He and I aren’t going to become friends. I enjoyed our afternoon together, but that has to be the end of it. If his fate is bad, I can live with it. He is, after all, just another human. Easy come, easy go.

I double click on the file. His entire past and future lies before me. I scroll down to the end of the document, looking for the relevant part, the date of death. I don’t have to scroll far.
May fifteenth of this year.

I read the page again. The date doesn’t change. May fifteenth is a little less than two months from now. I quickly scroll back up, looking for the details on how he will die. I’m furious when I find them.

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Author Bio:

Jennifer is a freelance writer and novelist. As a freelancer, she writes everything from technical manuals to articles on personal finance and European-style board games. Her interest in storytelling began when she was six and her parents gave her a typewriter for Christmas and agreed to pay her $.01 per page for any stories she churned out. Such a loose payment system naturally led to a lot of story padding.

Broken Fate, her first novel, earned her $2.80 from her parents. Jennifer lives in North Carolina and, when not writing, can often be found reading, trawling the shelves at the library, playing board games, watching sports, camping, running marathons, and playing with her dog. 

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Review of John Grisham's book The Tumor

John Grisham says THE TUMOR is the most important book he has ever written. In this short book, he provides readers with a fictional account of how a real, new medical technology could revolutionize the future of medicine by curing with sound. 

REVIEW

This is not written in a true book format instead, it is a long brochure. Even so, I found the contents to be incredibly interesting. The document tells about a treatment that is still in its infancy called focused ultrasound therapy and all the incredible things that are possible due to it. The way that this treatment is told to the reader is in an interesting format. You are told of a man's battle with a brain tumor, but with two different outcomes. One in today's society and then in the near future using the focused ultrasound therapy. The uses of ultrasound therapy go far beyond just that. What I thought was the most spectacular is how chemotherapy agents could be enclosed in microscopic nanoparticles then injected into a patient's bloodstream when they reach the area of the body that needs to be treated the focused ultrasound then activates the nanoparticles releasing the chemotherapy in the precise area. Therefore, the patient does not have the physical sickness as they do with today's way of delivering chemotherapy drugs. Amazing! If you are interested in science or medicine this is a quick and informative read. I would recommend reading it on your computer or tablet since it’s filled with a lot of pictures.

PURCHASE HERE:
AMAZON /B&N/Focused Ultrasound Foundation

As of 04/14/2016 the book is FREE!

TWISTED RIVER Review "Incredible Read"

Penguin Books

Published March 22nd, 2016
272 pages

BLURB

“She would never have fit as neatly into the trunk of his own car.” Limerick, Ireland: the O’Brien family’s driveway. American Oscar Harvey opens the trunk of his hosts’ car and finds the body of a woman, beaten and bloody. But let’s start at the beginning. 
 
Kate and Mannix O’Brien live by Curragower Falls in Limerick, in a lovely house they can barely afford. Their son Fergus is bullied at school, and their daughter Izzy blames herself, wishing she could protect him. Kate decides that her family needs a vacation, and is convinced her luck’s about to change when she spots an elegant Manhattan apartment on a home-exchange website.
 
Hazel and Oscar Harvey and their two children live on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Though they seem successful and happy, Hazel has mysterious bruises, and Oscar is hiding things about his dental practice. They, too, need a change of pace. Hazel has always wanted her children to see her native Limerick, and the house swap offers a perfect chance to soothe two troubled marriages. But this will be anything but a perfect vacation. And the body in the trunk is just the beginning.

REVIEW

What a mind blowing read! Siobhan MacDonald takes you on this crazy ride of a story. I am not a reader who tries to guess what will happen next I am just there for the journey. The book is written in extremely creative prose were all that is given to the reader is minute details regarding certain aspects happening in the story (I’m not going to give any away) it is such an amazing style unlike I have ever read before. The characters are fabulously developed. I either liked or detested them. As a reader, you will get livid at circumstances during others you feel sorrow, underneath there's always a situation smoldering.

“She looked at him now. At his sheepish expression, looking for solace. In that moment, she wanted to hurt him. Really, really badly. She wanted to reach inside herself and scoop out all the hurt and heartache and drive it deep inside him, twisting and turning it until the pain of it choked him.”

It is a wicked stimulating thriller amid events going awry. The reader is misguided with what is truly occurring showing you not to assume things about others without having all the information. Therefore, good luck trying to figure out what is to occur subsequently. I felt as if I could feel the gloominess hanging over the town of Limerick. This book keeps you on your toes with its power-fullness and twisted intrigue. The only thing that I did not like is the ending, that is not how the process would have been handled & it leads you to know what is going to occur next (the only part of the book that this happens). Twisted River is a fun read.

PURCHASE:

AMAZON/B&N/PENGUIN

Siobhán studied in Galway and pursued a successful career as a writer in the technology industry, working in Scotland, France & Ireland. Her interests turned to fiction and she has just published her first novel in the US & Canada with Viking Penguin. Siobhan lives in Limerick with her husband and two sons.

Author's Website/TWITTER/GOODREADS

STEAMSWORM Blitz & Book GIVEAWAY

Steamsworn
Eric R. Asher
(The Steamborn Series #3)
Publication date: April 5th 2016
Genres: Steampunk, Young Adult

The world dies in war only to be reborn. It is the way of things, and always will be.
Forged in the Deadlands crucible, and armed with the knowledge of their true enemy, Jacob, Alice, and their allies bring the fight back to Ancora. They’ll liberate their homeland, or die trying.
The wounds cut deep in their darkest hour, but in the end, vengeance will light their path.

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Previous books in the series:

EXCERPT:

“Whoa,” she said, jumping away from the burst of heat and flame. “That went up a little faster than I expected.” She reached the edge of the rack with her toe and forced it beneath the boiler.

Another rumble and crack echoed from the corridor behind them. Jacob turned around in time to see Drakkar come running back into the station, his cloak rising in the breeze behind him.
“Scythe Beetles!”
Jacob swung the air cannon off his back and racked the slide.
“Jacob, Alice!” Samuel’s voice rang with authority. “Fall back with Smith. If you need to use the cannon, use it at the last second. You don’t want to injure a Scythe Beetle. You want to kill it.”
Drakkar’s arm snapped out to the side, and his sword unfolded with a rapid series of clicks.
There was a calamity behind the Cave Guardian, and it grew louder with every second. Jacob and Alice scrambled off the railcar. Jacob paused and then ran to the pump to turn it off. The last thing they needed was wet fuel bars.
Alice made it to Smith ten steps before Jacob did. Samuel and Drakkar set up a loose line between the railcar and a steeper section of the shattered wall.
Smith spoke into his transmitter. “Mary! Get the chaingun down here now!”
Her static-laced reply came back in an incoherent burst.
“Chaingun! Now!”
Mary cursed and began shouting orders before she stopped transmitting.
Drakkar had the best view of the corridor, and everyone tensed when he said, “Here they come.”
The iron gate in the stone hall collapsed at the first impact. The metal rattled and screeched as it was twisted and trampled. The creatures were not very fast, but once they were moving, nothing seemed to stop them.
They ran on three-toed claws, the spikes on their legs tearing through stone and rending metal as they crashed onto the platform. Jacob watched in awe and horror as the front most beetle paused, and its back split open. A pair of leathery wings extended from beneath the carapace and gleamed in the rising moonlight.

Author Bio:
Eric is a former bookseller, guitarist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers.

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