The King's Deception by Steve Berry

  

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Cotton Malone is back! Steve Berry’s new international adventure blends gripping contemporary political intrigue, Tudor treachery, and high-octane thrills into one riveting novel of suspense.

Cotton Malone and his fifteen-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his former boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. But after he is greeted at gunpoint in London, both the fugitive and Gary disappear, and Malone learns that he’s stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown—an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets.

At its heart is the Libyan terrorist convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103, who is set to be released by Scottish authorities for “humanitarian reasons.” An outraged American government objects, but nothing can persuade the British to intervene.

Except, perhaps, Operation King’s Deception.

Run by the CIA, the operation aims to solve a centuries-old mystery, one that could rock Great Britain to its royal foundations.

Blake Antrim, the CIA operative in charge of King’s Deception, is hunting for the spark that could rekindle a most dangerous fire, the one thing that every Irish national has sought for generations: a legal reason why the English must leave Northern Ireland. The answer is a long-buried secret that calls into question the legitimacy of the entire forty-five-year reign of Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, who completed the conquest of Ireland and seized much of its land. But Antrim also has a more personal agenda, a twisted game of revenge in which Gary is a pawn. With assassins, traitors, spies, and dangerous disciples of a secret society closing in, Malone is caught in a lethal bind. To save Gary he must play one treacherous player against another—and only by uncovering the incredible truth can he hope to prevent the shattering consequences of the King’s Deception.

I haven't read a Steve Berry book in a few years although he was one of my favorite authors before.  Deciding to check out his newer work I read The King's Deception.  Thankfully I wasn't disappointed story-wise, but the characters?  I will get into that later. 

Although it wasn't a book I couldn't put down, it was very interesting and I looked forward to returning to it whenever I got interrupted.  It shows the readers the underhanded methods the intelligence community will use to get the results they want in the political arena; how lives can be sacrificed as long as they think they are right, regardless of said people's innocence.  The book reminds us how the decisions we make, whether they be right or wrong, can have untold ramifications years or even centuries in the future.

Personally, I enjoy reading books that weave historical facts with conspiracies which create a believable environment for the story.  It brings so much more interest in the intrigue if the supposed mystery has basis on a possible fact which is something the author claims it to be.  Wouldn't it be great if someone actually found irrefutable factual evidence supporting this book's claim?  Partly yes, because it will change history forever and yet the dire consequences pointed out for Ireland is also very much a reality.  The conundrum here is whether to leave the status quo be or rock the boat with the truth that may (or may not, depending on how it is handled) cause thousands their lives.  What will our protagonists decide?  Read to find out although I would say the decision is pretty obvious.

As for the characters of the book, I have to let out a sigh.  You either hate them or love them.  I dare say though, that for experienced intelligence agents, Malone, Antrim and Richards made some pretty stupid moves that made me want to slap them silly.  I know they are just human, but really they irritated me a whole lot through the book.  If that was the author's idea then kudos to him because it worked. *Spoiler alert - highlight to view* I'm just glad he didn't kill off any of the important people in the story.
Overall the book was engrossing enough and the premise very intriguing.  I am now looking forward to reading the other novels of Steve Berry that I haven't read yet.



My short review on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/review/R32SLV8S8POG5Y/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm


(Book image and description from Amazon.com)

Kettle

We were looking for a place that was good yet affordable.  On our way to check out the restaurants on the East Wing of Edsa Shangri La Mall, the first one that caught our attention was Kettle.   The last time we were in the mall, the place was packed.  We had already had lunch then so we didn't get to try it.  This was our chance.  Looking at the menu, the price range really did not fall under the affordable range but we reasoned that if we didn't order too much we won't be in for a bill shock at the end of our meal.  Our little boy's assertions that he wanted to try the place sealed the deal.

For our starter, we ordered the Clam Chowder.  Hubby and I split it so they served the sourdough bread separately.  My first thought was that the portions were very small.   When we tried it the taste and texture was nowhere near the ones we tried in San Francisco.  For one thing it was watered down instead of thick, and the taste of milk was evident.  Still, it was their version of a delicious Clam Chowder.  Even my son liked it with the clams, which ended with him eating most of mine and hubby's share.  The bread was also pretty good specially when we dunked pieces in the soup itself.  In short, it wasn't authentic & there wasn't much of it,  but it was delicious.

One of the reasons the little boy wanted to try the place was because he heard that there was burger in the menu.  Since we were already planning on going to a burger place for the next day we bribed him with the Buttermilk Fried Chicken instead.  Thankfully he liked it specially the crispy chicken skin.  I tried their order too and what I liked most was the gravy and corn bread.  The food was a bit pricey but considering the size and heft of the chicken which was boneless, it evened out.

My order was the Shrimp Po' Boy.  I've seen it written down in menu's in the past and also read about people raving about it but have never personally tried it.  I asked the server if the sandwich was good (as if he was going to say if it tasted bad) but he said that it was actually their best seller in that category so I decided to go for it.  Since I don't have any comparison for taste I must say that it was good.  Not great enough that I would totally go back for this but good enough for me to have enjoyed eating it.  The shrimp was crispy on the outside and just right on the inside.  I dislike over cooked shrimp coz it turns to mush so I was glad this one was perfect.  The overall smell combined with that of the pickles reminded me of Disneyland. The bread was also crispy in toasted well sense and not because it's been left too long out somewhere.

Overall:
- The place was simply decorated which was one of it's charms. 
- The servers were attentive.  I liked how the left a carafe of water on the table to preclude the need for constantly asking for more.  In fact the servers were very efficient in refiling it in spite of the place being packed with customers. 
- The food wasn't cheap but it tasted good and the portions were acceptable, except for the soup.

Note:  We didn't get to finish the chicken and corn bread so brought it home.  We had it for dinner again and they still tasted good.

Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson

“Robinson puts his distinctive mark on Michael Crichton territory with this terrifying present-day riff on The Island of Dr. Moreau… One of the best Jurassic Park successors.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
Mark Hawkins, former park ranger and expert tracker, is out of his element, working on board the Magellan, a research vessel studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But his work is interrupted when, surrounded by thirty miles of refuse,  the ship and its high tech systems are plagued by a series of strange malfunctions and the crew is battered by a raging storm.

When the storm fades and the sun rises, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island...and no one knows how they got there. Even worse, the ship has been sabotaged, two crewman are dead and a third is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man on shore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they quickly discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the Island’s former occupants: Unit 731, Japan’s ruthless World War II human experimentation program. Mass graves and military fortifications dot the island, along with a decades old laboratory housing the remains of hideous experiments.
As crew members start to disappear, Hawkins realizes that they are not alone. In fact, they were brought to this strange and horrible island. The crew is taken one-by-one and while Hawkins fights to save his friends, he learns the horrible truth: Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person taking his crewmates may not be a person at all—not anymore. 

Why read this book?  I was intrigued by the historical significance behind this book which is the existence of an actual island where the Japanese experimented on prisoners of war (POW) during WWII.  It made me curious as to how the author was going to spin his story around this and hoped it wouldn't be too gory.  Unfortunately for squeamish people like me the author was pretty much graphic in his descriptions.

Cons of the book: (Potential spoiler)  I really really dislike how in thrillers most of the characters die and this one is no different.  I mean can't I read one where everyone actually survives such an environment.  Okay so it's unrealistic but I'd really like to find an author who finds plausible ways of keeping his characters alive till the end of the book instead of being very creative on how to kill them off. 

Pros of the book:  Like I said it was pretty graphic and not just the gory parts.  I could actually imagine the layout of the island from the author's description which is pretty rare for me.  Oftentimes I end up glossing over details of the scenery because the narration was just too tedious.  I am not the most patient of readers obviously.  The characters also had something going for them that made you want to root for them or want them to be the monster's next meal.

What really struck me about the book is the chilling thought that, even with advanced mapping and radar technology, there could be an island somewhere out there that dealt with that kind of horrific experiments as I write this.  It could be privately funded or cloaked by clandestine government organizations.  This isn't an attempt at a conspiracy theory but simply a thought that came about because of the news that many scientists are feeling pressured by all the stringent measures put in place by human rights advocates.  Who's to say that they aren't experimenting out there?  We all want cures to all the diseases that plague us and not everyone is willing to respect fundamental laws of nature in order to achieve it.  Maybe they will end up with the results they were aiming for but at what expense?  So this book should serve as a warning of the consequences that might arise from playing GOD. 

(Book image and description from Amazon.com)

Throwback Thursday 2

Flour Child

Today I received my order from Flour Child and it was heavenly!!

To start with the outside packaging was simple and eco-friendly.

The logo design was clean, simple and classy.

But most of all the cookies were yummy!  Notice one of the snickerdoodles already has a bite?  Hubby bit into that coz he couldn't wait to taste it.  Admittedly it was our first time to try snickerdoodles but we all agree that this one by Flour Child was really good.  The cookie had the crunch but it was also soft at the same time.  My son loved it so much that he took the bag to his room and kept it there.  Hubby and I had to share whatever was on that plate.

For those who do not like their cookies too sweet you can opt for the oatmeal raisin cookies.  I liked how it was textured with the oatmeal and the raisins were perfectly flavored.  I've had some other brands that were lumpy and floury with the raisins having no taste anymore so I was happy I found a good one in Flour Child.

We will definitely be trying out Flour Child's other products soon!


For orders:


https://www.facebook.com/flourchildph?fref=ts


#3 Constellation St.,
Bel Air 2
1209 Makati

0917 540 2431
flourchildph@gmail.com

Dencio's Capitol Hills, Quezon City

Dinner tonight was at Dencio's in Capitol Hills, Quezon City coz I have been craving for their Sinuglaw which is a mixture of inihaw na baboy with kinilaw na tanigue (fish).  Of course I don't have pics again coz we were too hungry, specially the little boy.

The place was nice and since a typhoon just passed the temperature was cool & the outdoor setting would have been great specially with the view of lit up buildings in Ortigas.  Unfortunately outdoor meant smoking was allowed and so we had to opt for the indoor eating area.  It was clean and the servers were pretty attentive considering the restaurant was full even if it was a weekday.

The food.

My kinilaw na tanigue, (I claim it as mine since I'm the only one who likes it) was a big disappointment.  To my taste buds it was the vinegar they used since the texture and taste of the fish was okay, although not great.  That change in the kilawin process, at least for me, affected the overall taste of the tanigue.  I think Kanin Club, for now, holds the first place status for the Kilawing Tanigue dish.  At least the inihaw na baboy was good.

Our other order was the assorted sinugba or assorted inihaw dishes which comprised of liempo, pusit, pork bbq on a stick and tuna.  A combination of hunger and tasty food, my son finished of the liempo and almost a cup of rice.  I wasn't going to eat the fish since I don't really like them grilled but this one was pretty good.  Between the three of us we finished our orders.

One of the reasons we loved the inihaw was because of the sauce they served with it which is also one of my gripes.  The sauce was yummy because it was full of MSG.  I wish restaurants would find ways of making food tastier without resorting to the use of this magic ingredient.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen Edsa Shangri La Mall

So sorry but this post has no accompanying ramen pictures.  For one we had no real breakfast and this was lunch at almost 2 in the afternoon.  When the ramen arrived we literally dug in and remembered too late I had a blog to post to =P In spite of the cons I will list down later, we love their ramen enough to come back for it.

Since I was so hungry I decided to order edamame but the ramen was served before my appetizer.  The picture below is actually of empty shells.  When I first saw the bowl I wondered if I would be able to finish it but as evidenced by the pic, I did, all by myself.  

When we told my son we were eating at Ikkoryu he wasn't happy at all.  His favorite eating place in Shangri La is Cyma and he calls it "wopa" after the word the servers yell when they present their flaming cheese, an order of which the little boy can finish by himself.  The past few time we have eaten at Ikkoryu, he did not like any of the food.  But this time, when he tried the Karaage again, he liked it so much he demanded for some take home.  

Here's a picture of the place when the number of people had dwindled already.

Pros:

1. Great food!

2. Servers, once their attention has been called, are efficient and nice.

Cons:

1. Smoke, which we assumed was from their cooking stoves, enveloped the dining area and made our eyes water.
2. It was so much warmer inside the restaurant than the mall itself.

3. It was a little difficult to get the waiter's attention.

4. Food was a little pricey.

We hope improvements would be made on these points but honestly we would probably return anyway because the food was that yummy.