Mer Barr

Coming into this read, knowing it's a series of stories, and not 1 continuous story, set the right expectation for me. And I find it refreshing to see the ugly side of being a ranger; I had considered this as a possible next career and sometimes I day dream of the more idyllic ideas of rangering. This is a nice balance.

Good read. People are kidnapped to help populate a secret community in the Himalayas. Sounds like something [b:The Celestine Prophecy 13103 The Celestine Prophecy (Celestine Prophecy, #1) James Redfield https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1166542346l/13103.SX50.jpg 2603195] might have been influenced by.

Sort of reminds me of [a:Elmore Leonard 12940 Elmore Leonard https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1240015224p2/12940.jpg] who shows you the human side of the ‘bad' guys in a way that you're rooting for both sides and feeling a bit conflicted to say so.Lots of humor, some great characters, good storytelling, and some interesting wrapping up at the end.

Strange, dull, not as good as the first in the series. Dropping the series at this point.

Very similar to a book I just finished, the author focuses on the interactions of the characters with the mystery in the background. There's alot more science in this book and there are a couple times when the plot is side-railed for longer than necessary, to geek out on a particular science or two.

An emphasis on the characters and their interactions, which I enjoy, with a mystery in the background, which they leave pretty cryptic and wrap up, rather suddenly, at the end.

I'd give this a 2 because it's waaaay too creepy! Like watching one of those 60s horror flicks at midnight when you were a kid, and you had your body stretched out as far as you could go towards the bed and still have enough finger on the light switch to turn it off and dive under the covers before the horrors under the bed grabbed your leg, creepy. And not the creature in [a:Piers Anthony 8516 Piers Anthony https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1661821937p2/8516.jpg]'s Xanth series that makes a little girl giggle when it takes a playful swipe at her leg, kind.But giving another star because Robin Cook does a great job of working the science into the story and I love the logic of the research in the Medical Examiner's office. Not sure I can continue this series, sadly.

It's been decades since I stayed up well past midnight devouring a book! I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with me, with all the books I've been dropping and moving on to something else, searching for the right mix of light heartedness, a collection of friends that have each other's backs and love them warts-n-all, and a sprinkling of science; but not too much!There are so many nerdy references it reminds me of [b:Ready Player One 9969571 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) Ernest Cline https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500930947l/9969571.SY75.jpg 14863741] and it's references to video games. I wasn't much into the games and that culture, but I'm definitely into science fiction and other references to the year of the story. I am! a science fiction nerd.

This is the type of mystery that I enjoy! One that's not based on someone's death by gruesome or sinister means. And even better it's non-fiction!

Only a handful of pages where the author's opinions of the mother got very opinionated and a bit much, otherwise very well told with clear transitions between the historical storyline and the current storyline. And I think the author's original story about what it was like in the ‘trenches' was also achieved.

In the little time I have for relaxing reading, reading about alot of violence against humans is not on my wishlist.

Very good writing and on an interesting subject. I was a bit disappointed there wasn't more around the actual discovery and I had a ton of questions around the 97% mark which, surprisingly were all answered in the last 3%. Much like a murder mystery.

The narrator was clearly thinking of Monty Python's ‘priest reading from the holy book' during much of this. So glad to discover another world from Terry Pratchett's imagination. Right up there with [b:The Wee Free Men 34494 The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30; Tiffany Aching, #1) Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443764106l/34494.SY75.jpg 62580]

It's hard to put my finger on but there are disconnects for me between what the title says, the chapter titles say, and what's actually presented in the chapter.

I can't seem to see the connection between the reference to ‘haunted grounds' and the subject presented in the chapters. Or between the practice of Chod and the subjects presented in the chapters.

It's like there are mentions of Chod but not real details for me. And very little about how the subjects of the chapters actually relate to haunted grounds. I'm sure others will see this but I can't.

This was a war of 2 opinions, for me. On the one side, I'm not a fan of murder mysteries and on the other side, I did enjoy the ethical discussions and the various aspects of cloning and its impact that were brought up.

I guess I didn't read the summary very well. I was expecting one thing and ended up with another, which did turn out to be much like seeing something horrifying, you just can't look away.

Proves my suspicion that there would be all sorts of abuse of power and privacy rights when the ‘Patriot' Act was presented.

And there was so much recreation of mistakes; from not listening to those on the frontlines, to using science for dark and unethical purposes, not doing the homework needed on how others perceive the world, and the invaders believing they are the ‘civilized people' and the invaded people are the ‘heathens' and need to be ‘civilized' with brute force.

Good extension of book 1 on the narrative, the story, and use of the same narrators.

The non-English words were, gratefully, translated. The story is told with very good skill. A great mix of character building and individuals' stories. Considering the way things were going, I was expecting the end to be incredibly sad and horrible. I almost can't believe the author's parents and closest staff survived!

In the mid 90s, I spent a week working with scientists doing an animal census in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. This memoir was a great catch-up for me and I wonder if the scientists ever went back once the situation improved.

I like when the mystery stretches out but I almost gave up on this one. So many twists n turns and I'm not sure I understand the whole timeline even after reading it!

Good storytelling telling, no going down rabbit holes, a nice variety of characters.

There is so much science packed in this book, I have to read it in short bursts. Lots of thought-provoking research and findings

Tons of good information on the history of the discovery of dna, genes, chromosomes, etc., lots of biographies, and another good job of relaying some complex ideas in non-scientific-minded language.

I will say I had to quit before finishing the entire book, my quote for science had been maxed out.

What can you say about the skill of an author that's on book #17 for the same 2 women but holy cow! These women are still interesting, still growing in character and personality, and thank goodness their mysteries are not always based on someone's death!

My personality is more like Mma Makutse's so I really look up to Mma Ramotswe's compassion, and calm, delay in response, and contemplation before choosing a response or action.

As other reviews have mentioned reading this book out of sequence does not create alot frustration when missing a book or two, but reading several of the first in the series helps set the characters' personalities and their relationships more easily in the mind.

I love how the author has each section being told from the perspective of one of the main characters, with each filling in gaps in the understanding. Thankfully when the author has the proverbial lightbulb go off over someone's head about who did what when, some of the information is made clear in the next section.

A good who-dun-it, with good character building, and the mystery not solvable too soon.

Great story telling skill by the author, telling of fascinating cultures so unlike my own which, sadly, probably doesn't exist anymore.

A nice continuation of the story, still good storytelling and visuals, and still too many Bob to keep track of. :-)

What a fascinating and wide ranging set of skills Milicent Patrick had! So glad the author was passionate about, and determined to complete, her research for the book.

A great read for those who went to work in the 50s-00s as a confirmation they weren't the only ones getting nauseous and angry over comments from male coworkers and other men. And I think a great read for those entering the workforce today, to see another woman in the working world that they can learn from.