Lethal Exposure

Rating:
Summary: Where's the beef?
Review: Anderson and Beason try unsuccessfully to combine the particle physics subject matter of hard sci-fi author Gregory Benford with the "I'm just a good-old FBI agent" narrative approach of Tom Clancy.

While the story successfully presents a mystery involving high-energy particle physicists, there is very little technical content to go along with it. Besides having predictable 1-dimensional characters (just like Clancy) the book has its share of other aggravations. For starters, it contains a critical overuse of the unheard of term, "towelhead", describing East Indians that wear turbans. And let's not forget the "sepia-eyed" nurse whose too often quoted expression is that she "never felt this helpless since Chernobyl" and did we mention that she was "sepia-eyed"? Oh yes and just in case you didn't get it before, her eyes are the color of, what's that, oh yes "sepia". ARRGGG!! And what in the world is so special about a checkered tablecloth turned 90 degrees?

Terribly unsatisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: Ok read, but best not to think too hard
Review: Having read Beason and Anderson's other books with the same characters, I found "Lethal Exposure" a bit of a dissapointment. While the characters were fairly well developed, and the idea had merit, the actual execution left something to be desired.

For instance I did not believe for one minute that Baretti could be that clueless as to the Indian's true motives. I had it figured out as soon as they sat down to talk the first time.

As another example, Kriedent should have been able to discern the cause of the explosion a lot sooner than he did. He had all the clues and specialized knowledge in front of him. Why it took me 3/4s of the book to figure out is beyond me. Again This was so obvious that it was practially shoved in the reader's face and I was able to determine the cause when they first met Dumenco and learned what he was working on.

All in all I'd give this book a read, if you are on a plane and there is nothing else to read. Otherwise skip it.

Rating:
Summary: . Tom Clancy meets the X-Files, only better.
Review: I have always thought the X-files was a good idea taken to far. This FBI thriller has a reality based X-Files approach, but the quality of a Tom Clancy Novel. Don't judge this book by it's cheesy cover.