Books with terrorism as a plot line seem to be the favored genre of the 00's. Certainly much has been made by the press of the concept that terrorists could attempt to detonate a dirty bomb in some densely populated place like New York. The consequences of such an action would be unthinkable.
Bernard Steele's Jihadists in Death In Small Doses have radiation as their central weapon, but it is not for a bomb, their plot is much more insidious, to put it into a vapor and expose rush hour subway commuters. The effects would not start to be seen for days. The number of deaths might only be in the hundreds, but the destabilizing effect on the government would be incalculable.
Of course a major problem is how to smuggle radioactive material into the country? You can hardly stroll though customs with a tub of it in your carry on luggage. Who are the most effective smugglers? Well the drug trade clearly are the experts. While we watch CNN reporting about law enforcement intercepting a $10 million drug cache at the border, how many of those $10 million loads do make it to the market? The answer unfortunately is most of them.
Bernard Steele has created a very intricate plot in this book. He needed to create a segway whereby the authorities could discover the terrorists scheme, sure he could have had the NSA discovering some covert phone call, or email conversation, but this has been done to death in other novels. Instead he takes us into an interesting sub-plot, indeed it is drug smugglers that import the radioactive material, albeit probably unknowingly, and in the process they inadvertently contaminate a load of cocaine. When users and dealers start dieing the game is revealed.
One of the facets that I enjoyed was Steele's Jihadists, yes they were as dedicated as the animals that pulled off 911, but they were also long term US residents who have become an accepted and mostly respected part of the local community. These are no AK47 toting thugs, but well dressed and well educated business men. There is also an interesting twist at the end of the book that certainly leaves Bernard Steele the option to reuse some of his characters in a future work. If he does take that road I hope that in book two he fleshes out the characters a little. I liked what I saw and think that someone like 'Sammy the butcher' (as in meat!) could become a great focal point for a future story.
I enjoyed this book, it is fast paced and written from several viewpoints. The different viewpoint style though, is one that has to be managed carefully in order not to confuse the reader. There are two aspects in particular, length of time spent with a character, if you hop from character to character every couple of pages, the book becomes choppy. Conversely if you spend too much time with a single character the reader loses the thread of what is going on elsewhere.
The second issue is how and when you segway into the change.
I think Death In Small Doses could have withstood a slightly heavier handed editor to smooth out the ride for the reader. But please do not be put off by that comment, it is still a very fine book, and for a first time effort Bernard Steele deserves kudos.
There is a web site that has more information about the book and the author, you can also order it through Amazon.
Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.
Maternity Clothes For The Plus Size Woman
Being pregnant is one of the most joyous and happy times in a woman's life, although having to buy plus size maternity clothes is certainly something no woman really looks forward to. Having to buy plus sized clothes is bad enough, but plus sized clothes with room for a huge belly? Forget about it, right? Luckily, there are some fabulous plus size maternity clothes out there that are fashionable and can make you look great, no matter how plus sized or pregnant you may happen to be. Who said big girls can't look great in their clothes? Plus sized maternity fashions just got that much cooler!
Brand New Leather & Plus Size Lingerie & Kama Sutra Products
Any Size Lingerie has just added over 400 new leather & Plus Size lingerie products including men's under garments and briefs that are in leather and fishnet combinations. Any Size Lingerie also added over 200 women's leather lingerie outfits that are available to view online and most come in a variety of options in sizes and some in color including red leather and black leather choices.
Maternity Photography Specialist Chosen By Miss America 2002 Katie Harmon
There are a lot of photographers that serve Vancouver, Washington and surrounding cities, the Greater Portland, Oregon area, and Orange County, California.
Nearly all of them will claim that they too do maternity photography. However, even a brief search shows that preciously few specialize in this … and only one has been garnered with praise, appeared in eight top publications, and has their work displayed as art in locations as diverse as maternity clinics to yoga centers. Only one has been chosen to be the exclusive family photographer for Katie Hamrom (Miss America 2002).
Belly Dance Maternity Clothes Boutique to Offer Brand Exclusives
Belly Dance Maternity clothing will be expanding its designer boutique collection to include maternity designers such as Olian, Maternal America, Japanese Weekend and ChiaraKruza.
Fashionable Designer Lingerie and Branded Lingerie
Beauty of a woman is a matchless attribute; with nothing to surpass it. So long a time there have been the existence of women in this world, there have been lingerie's as well. This fashion serving luxury undergarment expresses her beauty loving feminine personality, apart from the basic need of supporting her physique. Though the word 'lingerie' normally describes both male and female undergarments, the term is commonly used to refer woman's intimate wear. Lingerie is a broad term and includes garments like bras, panties, stockings, thongs, garters, peignoirs, sheer night gowns, and exotic night wears
Maternity Clothing - What Every Woman Needs To Know About Maternity Clothes
Let's face it: maternity clothing is ugly and expensive. Since most women don't need to wear maternity clothes until the second trimester, at most you'll only be getting six months of use out of those ugly $200 overalls to cover your ever expanding stomach. I couldn't bring myself to spend thousands of dollars on a new wardrobe when I already felt so ugly, so I resorted to making my own for as long as possible. For example, I really didn't want to buy old lady underwear that would cover me from my belly button to the tops of my thighs. They were hot and uncomfortable anyway, but there aren't many sexy maternity panties around.
Jeans That Heal: Custom Jeans Company Makes Ayurvedic Organic Clothing That Possess Medicinal Benefits
Makeyourownjeans.com have recently created a new fashion product using techniques that go back over 5,000 years, can heal the body and help loose weight too. They call it "Ayurvedic Organic Jeans", they give an overall sense of well being.
Your Plus Size Lingerie Clothing Sytle
You are feeling full of anticipation and naughty. You are waiting for your husband to come home. You dab on the most provocative perfume you own, which is your husbands favorite. You are wearing a teddy with a leopard print. While checking yourself in the mirror you look at your choice of your accessories and smile to yourself. You feel so vamped up.
YMI Jeans - Official Jeanswear Sponsor of Miss Universe Pageants 2007
YMI Official Jeans for Miss USA, Miss Universe, Miss Teen USA 2007
Plus Size Maternity Clothes Now Easier To Find
It used to be a challenge to be a pregnant plus-size woman. Fortunately both local stores and online shops now stock plus size maternity clothes. If you look carefully you also should be able to find good sales on maternity clothes that will help you maintain a budget. Keep in mind that, after all, these are only temporary clothes.