Books for April

The Last Hero by Terry Pratchet

Review

In the Last Hero, Cohen the Barbarian, the ancient leader of the Silver Horde, now all old men, is fed up with life. He has it all, riches, power, you name it. But somehow it isn't enough, and when one of his friends dies, he begins on a suicide mission: to get to the home of the gods and detonate one of the most powerful bombs on the disc, thus destroying all the magic that holds the world together. Despite the fact that their mission will end, if all goes well, in the end of the world, they have kidnapped a bard to write an epic about their victory. Not everyone is just go to sit around waiting for the end, however. The city of Ankh-Morpork launches a mission to the top of the gods' mountain; by going under the world and then over it. But will they make it in time to prevent the end?

Willow by Wayland Drew

Review

In Willow, based on a story by George Lucas, a story of high adventure unfolds. Bavmora, the evil witch-queen who rules most of the human lands and seeks to conquer all that she does not, is constantly on the lookout for a child born with a certain birthmark, one which is destined to destroy her. When that child is born, the midwife forfeits her life to get it out of the kingdom. It sails into the country of the halflings, little people who are indifferent to the wars of humans. However, when one of Bavmora's Death Dogs follows the child to the village and goes on a killing rampage before it is slain, a party is formed to deliver the child back to Bavmora. However, Willow, an amateur wizard, comes to understand that more is at stake than the country of the halflings, and that if the child does not live, the whole world will fall under Bavmora's shadow.

Deep Fathom by James Rollins

Review

When a solar eclipse obscures the sun for a few minutes, powerful earthquakes wrack the world, turning Washington DC into rubble and crashing the president's airplane into the ocean as he attempts to escape the crumbling capital. Much of the peace treaties being formed between communist China and the United States are destroyed by the event as well, and the two countries begin to prepare for a nuclear war. Meanwhile, Jack, a treasure hunter and ex-marine finds himself pulled into the mess following the death of the president. As he and others recover the president's plane from the ocean floor, an old grudge flares between him and a CIA agent. Natural disaster has now put the whole world on a collision course for a nuclear war. But what caused the earthquakes to begin with?

-- JackW - 09 Apr 2010