jbronderbookreviews

The Annihilation Score (Laundry Files – 6) by Charles Stross

In this science fiction spy thriller by Hugo Award winning writer Charles Stross, the Laundry – the British secret agency that fights supernatural threats – must team up with the police force, with one unfortunate secret agent caught in the middle.
PLAYING WITH DANGER

Dr. Mo O’Brien is an intelligence agent at the top secret government agency known as ‘the Laundry’. When occult powers threaten the realm, they’ll be there to clean up the mess – and deal with the witnesses.

But the Laundry is recovering from a devastating attack and when average citizens all over the country start to develop supernatural powers, the police are called in to help. Mo is appointed as official police liaison, but in between dealing with police bureaucracy, superpowered members of the public and disgruntled politicians, Mo discovers to her horror that she can no longer rely on her marriage, nor on the weapon that has been at her side for eight years of undercover work, the possessed violin known as ‘Lecter’.

Also, a mysterious figure known as Dr Freudstein has started sending threatening messages to the police, but who is he and what is he planning?

My Review

3 stars

Mo works for the Laundry, a British secret agency that is the front line against paranormal events. Then people start getting super powers from leaked magic, Mo heads up a task force to fight both the super-heroes and the super-villains. But on top of the new task force, Mo is starting to think that her marriage of ten years is over. She is jealous over Bob’s exes and finds him in a compromising position.   She definitely has her plate full.

Mo seems like she may be a tough woman yet she comes across as weak to me. She is assigned to lead the new task force in regards to the people with new super powers. Yet all she does is have meetings and more meetings about this. I understand that there is a ton of paperwork involved but usually this is not in books since it is so dull.

Then there is her marriage. Wow! After being with someone for ten years she is so nasty. I couldn’t image being stuck with such a selfish person. But then again for someone that is supposed to be though she can’t handle a cat using the box or cleaning it up. Really? She seems to be the stereo typical whiny, weak, overly emotional woman that you see everywhere.

I admit that I have not read the other books in this series but thought that it sounded like a great series. I don’t recommend reading this book first. I do admit there were some references that I have no idea what they were talking about. I am still curious of the series so I am going to go back and start with book one. Maybe this is what has me so irritated about this one.

If you have read the series I would say try reading this one. As for me I think that I will try this one again after reading the rest of the books in the series.

To purchase The Annihilation Score make sure to visit Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads and Charles Stross’ website.

I received The Annihilation Score for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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The Legend of Waterhole Branch by Lucas R. Wright

A Harrowing Race Against Time! For centuries, treasure hunters have sought to uncover the infamous legend regarding a wealth of gold buried somewhere in Waterhole Branch by a notorious Spanish explorer…

But it turns out that one man may have already found it Hunter Pierce, raised in a rural area of southern Alabama, has mysteriously built a lucrative career on Wall Street. He’s young. He’s smart. He’s ambitious. And he has his whole future ahead of him.

Then one night everything changes.

Locked in a treacherous game with ruthless killers and embroiled in a treasure hunt of epic proportions, Hunter is reunited with his two childhood friends – Brian and Camilla – who unexpectedly find themselves coaxed into this pulse-pounding adventure.

Unsure who is friend or foe, Hunter returns to Waterhole Branch–where his survival hinges on outsmarting the bad guys, masterminding an escape, and putting his trust in an unlikely source…

My Review

4 stars

Hunter, Brian and Camille grow up in the small Waterhole Branch. Waterhole Branch is the supposed home of a buried Spanish treasure. One day the three teens return home to find that Hunter and Brian’s parents and Camille’s father have been killed. Camille and her mother are taken for hostages and the mobsters leave.

We then follow along with Hunter as he goes to school, makes money in the financial market, and continues to investigate the treasure of Waterhole Branch. Years later the mobsters are back with Camille and want Hunter to help them find the treasure, which they assume he has already found with the money that he has made.

This is an interesting story. I was under the impression that it would be more of an action adventure involving the treasure. The reality is that we send a lot of time following Hunter through his life between the initial murder of his parents and the return of the mobsters. It was interesting but kind of took away from the story for me. Of course there is lots of action when they start fighting back at the mobsters and the book ends with the possibility of a sequel sine Camille’s mother is supposed to still be alive.

This is a good story. I admit not what I was thinking it would be but one that I would recommend people read it.

To purchase The Legend of Waterhole Branch make sure to visit Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads and Lucas R. Wright’s website.

I received The Legend of Waterhole Branch for free in exchange for an honest review.

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