THE HEAP - SEAN ADAMS

THE HEAP

What a great cover - THE HEAP

- Sean Adams -

Even though I thought this book would be more about the day to day activities of going through a gigantic collapsed building it turned out to be much more than that. It was all about deception.

The heap is a pile of rubble from a 500 story building that collapsed. Workers are sorting through the debris, sorting it all out, recycling, upcycling, selling, reusing, all of that. They are also looking for a survivor. There is still at least one survivor in this pile of broken building - he was the radio DJ when the building was standing, and by some luck his equipment is still in working order and he is broadcasting to the world. The phone line still works as well, so people can call him.

The brother of this DJ is on the site digging for him, holding out hope to find him, talking to him once a day.

The heap, however, is just a big pile of problems...

We join the story awhile into the dig - it could be months, or years - the initial excitement has died down and we are left with the long term diggers. These 'workers' are made up of mostly lazy, drunken, unmotivated people who are too comfortable to leave for better pastures. There is a lot of drinking, lazing on the job, and passing the buck. The heap is an enabler for this situation.

As the story progresses an advertising agency contacts the brother of the buried DJ and asks him to read ads when he calls into the radio show. Again the heap is the conductor that motivates terribly unethical behavior.

When the brother of the buried DJ refuses to read the ads then things get worse. Not only are there threats, but it escalates to a situation where the brother of the buried DJ is taken right out of the equation. It is because of this heap. There is a much bigger scandal going on around this 'clean up' involving organized crime. This nefarious business is unraveled by a couple of the main characters and comes to a riveting climax. By the end of the story you will be turned upside down by all the deception that has taken place throughout the book. It's a fun ride and makes you want to read it again to see all the clues along the way.

Adams also had more to say throughout the book. He used the heap, and the idea of a giant 500 story building (a small city enclosed in itself) to investigate human behaviour, community, and leadership. He makes you think...

Overall, I'd say The Heap is something you need to go through.

Book Haul - Christie, Bachman, Sagan, and L'Amour

Thrift Store Book Finds

One of the highlights of thrift shopping, at least for me, is finding awesome books at dirt cheap prices. Usually I'm feeling lucky if I come across a book or two...but, yesterday I found eight! EIGHT!

8 books = treasure

I'm always on the lookout for Agatha Christie books. I love them. Strangely, with millions sold they are a rare find at the thrift store. Maybe they are bought up quick? Maybe there are plenty of collectors out there who will not part with them. So, when I do see one that I haven't read before I scoop it up.

Today, An Overdose Of Death - 50 cents! It's not in the best condition, but I'm not that particular when it comes to Christie books - the story is the best part.

Agatha Christie - An Overdose of Death vintage

I've been on a science fiction reading binge for a few months now. One of the books on my to-read-science-fiction list is Carl Sagan's Contact. It's one of those classics that everyone who is into Sci-Fi has read and/or ranks on their best space reads.

Contact - 50 cents!

Contact - Sagan

Another authour who I often pick up used - that sounds bad - is Stephen King. His books are easy to find, but are usually marked up in price. Damn you market demand! However, sometimes the Richard Bachman books are put in the shelf at the Bibles For Mission Thrift store in the 'B' section...not the Stephen King section. They are also marked at a different price. Instead of the premium price of $1.50 that King demands, these books are only $1 or $1.25.

King / Bachman - The Regulators

This week I was able to stock up on Louis L'Amour books; add to my collection. I already have a good 40 or 50 of them, and I've read even more. This makes it tricky to buy more L'amours. First off, they are like the Agatha Christie books; millions sold, but few make it to the thrift store. I was extremely lucky this week. There were dozens of Louis' books for sale. It looked like someone dropped off their collection recently and I was one of the first to discover it. 

L'Amour - Crossfire Trail and Fallon

Out of the big stock of books I managed to find five that I haven't read and didn't have in my collection.

Doesn't this Tall Stranger look like a good one?

The Tall Stranger

The great part about these books is that they are marked at 50 cents.

I spent a total of $4.50 for all of these books. Amazing isn't it?!

DOUBLE THREAT - PAUL WILSON

 DOUBLE THREAT

Double Threat - Paul Wilson

- Paul Wilson -

My first Paul Wilson book...and it probably won't be my last, for a couple of reasons. One, I liked his writing and ideas. Two, this book ended with so many loose strings that there HAS to be a second book.

I think what I liked most about the book was that I couldn't really pigeon hole the genre. It was science fiction for sure, but a mix of some pretty hard medical science fiction and an attempt at horror...with some action/adventure thrown in, and a tiny splash of romance (more of a pinch than a splash maybe?). An interesting cocktail that I have never tasted before. While reading I had glimpses of Stephen King books, Dan Brown, Sagan, and a host of other authors that slip my mind at the moment...a mash up of some of my favourite writers.

Okay, enough about the writing style, how about the story? A lovable woman, with a criminal mind, has her brain infiltrated by a mystical/alien being. The life form bonds with her and takes up residence in her mind. Together they realize they have the power to heal people. For eg removing cancerous tumours from innocent children's brains. Paul Wilson is a doctor, so his knowledge of medicine really comes through in his writing. He doesn't dumb it down, which is something I really liked while reading. So, that's one story line.

The second story line is that a strange religious cult is expecting their god-like 'visitors' (aka Aliens) to return to earth...yet there is one person in the way. They believe it may be this mystical healing girl. There are a few members of this religion that are skeptical and / or rebel against this thinking...and they seem to be falling in love with this healing girl just to add to the conflict.

You can probably guess this will end up in a big old fight, both internal with the religious cult and external as they try to eliminate this healing girl. The book comes to a thrilling climax with a botched murder attempt...and then the story end. No real conclusion, just a bunch of pissed off characters and an open story line...

Which is why I'm expecting a second book.