Gone Wild

Rating:
Summary: Hall's books terrify me - but I can't wait for the next one!
Review: As I get immersed in the Florida heat and sounds and even smells of the latest James Hall book, I cringe to think what he will do to his characters next. Hall is more likely to kill off his main characters and the people close to them than any writer I've ever read. It makes for a much more exciting, if heart-wrenching read, because he also has a knack for making you care deeply about the people in his novels. No formulas here, all bets are off. Please hurry with the next one, Mr. Hall!

Rating:
Summary: Wild and Dangerous
Review: The story opens with a woman and her daughters in the Borneo jungle looking for orang-utans, seeking to document their positions as part of a census. They are shocked when they stumble upon poachers who are hunting the apes, but who are not afraid to turn their guns on humans.

This book deals with the dwindling numbers of endangered species and man's indifference to whether they live or die. In particular, the orang-utan is highlighted. It's a battle between Alison Farleigh who is desperate to stamp out poachers, trappers and other enemies to animals, and a couple of brothers who have made it their lives work to capture wild animals no matter the cost.

Once again James Hall portrays his bad guys as just about the lowest, most demented scum of the earth, yet smart enough to keep getting away with their evil deeds. Thorn, Hall's recurring laid-back alternative-living hero, plays a minor role as the backup for Alison. It seems that his main role in this book is to get the living bejeezus repeatedly beaten out of him.

It's an action-packed thriller interspersed with more sensitive moments when the story is told from a young orang-utan's perspective. There are no real surprising twists to the story, yet it remained compelling from start to finish. Any book that highlights the plight of the many endangered species of animals around the world is a worthwhile book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent thrill-ride
Review: This book was awesome, it had everything: murder, fighting, monkeys, etc. Everything you need to make a good book. I was only going to read the first chapter, but after that i got drawn in and couldn't put it down. A real killer of a book.