Rating: 
Summary: BUGS - I Hate Bugs!
Review: Interesting premise to say the least as far as storyline is concerned. As mentionned in some of the other reviews, it's hard to accept that a team of Navy Seals could be so completely innept...their weapons get stolen, their Zodiac gets destroyed, their boat floats away...etc. If I was that innept at my job, I would be OUT of a job! I did however enjoy the band of misfit characters, especially the crusty Savage. One thing I didn't enjoy was the author's tendency to use extreme violence for no other reason other than to shock the reader. The gratuitous abuse to animals in a few scenes did nothing to carry the story forward and was only there to make me flinch in disgust. A little long in the tooth on the technical side in some parts as mentionned by other reviewers but other than that, once you get into the action sequences, you're hooked.
Rating: 
Summary: MINUTES TURN INTO HOURS
Review: Like a previous reviewer, I found myself wanting to like this book more than I did. But, "Minutes to Burn" is far too long, and filled with useless description and repetitive sequences. A blend of every sci-fi/horror cliche of the past twenty years, the novel starts off well, but gets bogged down by a little too much technical garbage, and scenes that seem padded to expand the characterizations. Unfortunately, most of the characters in this book are not that likeable. Once again, we are treated with a Sigourney Weaver pair of female warriors, one black, one white. Szabla is so obnoxious in her braggodocio that I wanted to slap her several times; meanwhile, the tough Cameron is such a self-centered, whining brat that she and her husband Justin come across as the Ken and Barbie of the future. Savage is such a pompous and evil, insensitive character that one can't find much in him to admire. That leaves Tucker and Tank as the only real likeable SEALS, and poor Derek goes off so weirdly, and becomes a father figure to the larva of one of the monsters. Needless to say, Daddy doesn't fare too well. Through the novel, we learn that Derek's child died a horrible death, obviously at the hands of its mother, but in the revelatory scene, we aren't really told WHAT the heck happened.
But, nonetheless, the last section of the book does move better, and the action sequences are very well developed. The inevitable sequel looms, but I don't think Hurwitz has anywhere to go with this one.
Not a horrible read, but not one I'd recommend at this time.
Rating:
Summary: MINUTES TURN INTO HOURS
Review: Like a previous reviewer, I found myself wanting to like this book more than I did. But, "Minutes to Burn" is far too long, and filled with useless description and repetitive sequences. A blend of every sci-fi/horror cliche of the past twenty years, the novel starts off well, but gets bogged down by a little too much technical garbage, and scenes that seem padded to expand the characterizations. Unfortunately, most of the characters in this book are not that likeable. Once again, we are treated with a Sigourney Weaver pair of female warriors, one black, one white. Szabla is so obnoxious in her braggodocio that I wanted to slap her several times; meanwhile, the tough Cameron is such a self-centered, whining brat that she and her husband Justin come across as the Ken and Barbie of the future. Savage is such a pompous and evil, insensitive character that one can't find much in him to admire. That leaves Tucker and Tank as the only real likeable SEALS, and poor Derek goes off so weirdly, and becomes a father figure to the larva of one of the monsters. Needless to say, Daddy doesn't fare too well. Through the novel, we learn that Derek's child died a horrible death, obviously at the hands of its mother, but in the revelatory scene, we aren't really told WHAT the heck happened.
But, nonetheless, the last section of the book does move better, and the action sequences are very well developed. The inevitable sequel looms, but I don't think Hurwitz has anywhere to go with this one.
Not a horrible read, but not one I'd recommend at this time.
Rating: 
Summary: A thrilling page-turner!
Review: Minutes to Burn is a fast-paced, intelligent glimpse into the near future. Somtimes frightening, sometimes humorous with a biting edge, Hurwitz clearly has a gift for spinning a good scientific adventure tale. From the opening description of a cow being killed by a mysterious creature, I was hooked. The group of Navy SEALS are well developed and even the women characters are well written. The book was obvioulsy thoroughly researched and covers a broad range of topics...making it appealing for a wide range of readers. The frenetic pace, set against the altered ecosystem makes for an exciting read. This work can be compared to that of Crichton, particularly to Jurassic Park. As in his last book, Hurwitz is a very visual writer, and you can just imagine the story unfolding on the big screen.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it!!!
Review: Minutes To Burn is the second book I've read by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz and I am thouroughly impressed. There are a lot of authors out there who stick to the same themes in their books, but not this one. Hurwitz's first book The Tower was a psychological thriller and he has now jumped to a science thriller involving Navy Seals and a phenomenon none of us could imagine encountering. The characters in this book are fascinating, funny and at times brutal. This book is smart and fast paced. You won't want to put this one down.
Rating: 
Summary: Cliches galore
Review: Thank goodness I got this book for $1 at a library sale. I expected more based upon the reviews, plus I enjoy a good thriller as much as anyone. However...the characters are not very sympathetic, and the action chugged along (saved by some pretty graphic descriptions). Found myself skipping pages to hurry it along. I kept waiting for something revelatory from Savage, the LT, or any of the other characters. Could Cameron be any more whiney? How many times will someone gasp or make a sound when they need to be absolutely silent? Like the worst grade-Z horror movie, you know when someone walks backwards something will pop out and go BOO! I wondered almost immediately when the author mentioned the implanted comm chip why they didn't emphasize getting off the island ASAP? Oh never mind. Frustrating book, as it held such good premise.
Rating:
Summary: MINUTES TO BURN HAD TOO MUCH TIME!
Review: The beginning of this novel was the best since it introduced an assortment of interesting characters, but after that, it seemed to bog down and bore me.
Now, ususally I love these types of books and movies, but after about 100 pages, I found myself losing interest due to lack of movement and great action sequences.
This is where the book fell flat for me. If you could combine this authors ideas and add some great action-type writing such as Matthew Reilly, then you would have a blockbuster on your hands. These two writers need to meet and collaborate!
Rating:
Summary: Highly visual, entertaining thriller
Review: The novel moves along at a fast clip. Although many of the characters are almost sketches, the action sequences were what grabbed me. And a line regarding anthrax on page 262 will really bring it on home. Reading very much like a Star Trek episode...the guys in the red shirts are first to go....the monster would be an animatronic feat to reproduce on screen.
Rating:
Summary: minutes to burn
Review: The premise of this book was interesting, and some of the action was hot and heavy, but a lot of books by people who do not have a military background fall into some similar problems, and this one is no exception. The major problems are chain of command (the SEALS in this book don't seem to report to anyone in the Navy) and an understanding that the services are different. Hurwitz calls the SEALS soldiers throughout the book, but SEALS are sailors, not soldiers, and would not refer to themselves as soldiers. SEALS are the hot heroes of the moment, and that is fine, but if you are writing about a service, refer to them by their proper mode of address (I have read other writers who refer to Marines as soldiers, but as a former Marine, I can tell you it matters what they are called). Overall, the book was OK, and in places a page turner. I agree with others that some of the technical ecoscience jargon got to be a bit much. But Hurwitz did play fair and kill off characters I thought would pull through.
Rating:
Summary: Well, it was OK
Review: This book had its good points, but wasn't the environmental/evolution disaster novel I quite expected. I don't think I'll ruin anything by saying that the book is basically about a huge bug picking off Navy SEALs one by one. Yep, a big bug. Lots of bug descriptions if your into that sort of thing.Cool thing about this book is that ANYBODY CAN DIE AT ANYTIME! Very few books do that. You get attached to these people and then chomp, chomp, chomp. It's great. Overall, a pretty good book to turn your brain off and enjoy, but not a real edge of your seat kind of thriller.
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