Sarin Books

The Serpent's Kiss by Mark Terry
Trade Paperback, Midnight Ink, 2007
ISBN#978-0-7387-0882-9

***** Highly Recommended
Review by Douglas Quinn, Author of Blue Heron Marsh, etal

From the very first page I said to myself, "This author can really write," and throughout the novel I wasn't let down. I was immediately drawn in by Mark Terry's pacing and his wry sense of humor, which he weaves into his snappy dialogue and descriptive tapestry.

At first, when the main character was introduced, I was a little put off by how quickly he caved in about getting involved with the case,a serin gas attack-he had other, more important plans-but, hey, Terry is offering a fast-paced thriller here and there is no time for our unconventional hero, Derek Stillwater, to agonize.

As for Derek Stillwater, you've gotta love the guy. He's cranky and impatient and acts on impulses about which the rest of us only fantasize. His foisted-upon-him sidekick, FBI agent Jill Church, is cool, pragmatic and likeable. Jill's teen-aged son Michael is woven nicely into the story, including the exciting climax. Her politically connected boss, Matt Gray, is the perfect foil for both Church and Stillwater. Their antagonist, The Serpent, is diabolical and pure evil. There are many twists and turns and the ending has a nice little surprise that cleverly sets up the next Derek Stillwater novel.

Mark Terry baits his hook, casts it out into the world of the unsuspecting reader and, if you are one of the lucky ones who takes the bait and reads The Serpent's Kiss, you will be glad he reeled you in. Set in Detroit, the pace of The Serpent's Kiss is fast and furious. It's a Derek Thrillwater of a read.

The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) are at odds in the persons of Jill Church and Derek Stillwater. Derek always rubs everyone the wrong way. Jill is ordered to keep him in the dark and out of the way. If you've read any Derek Stillwater novels, you know that isn't going to work. Instead Jill becomes embroiled in Derek's unorthodox methods, and she finds herself on the wrong side of her boss, again. But does that matter when there's a terrorist, The Serpent, out there killing people with imprudence? And each time he strikes, its at a larger target.

The action never stops, and neither do the surprises. The reader will find a lot to like in Derek Stillwater, and a lot to dislike in those who try to keep him down.

Reviewed by Wanda C. Keesey

There's a killer in Detroit using sarin gas to kill as many people as he can. Homeland Security Agent Dr. Derek Stillwater is trying to stop him before he kills again. It's going to be a difficult task to say the least, especially with the FBI trying to babysit him.

If you like thrillers with independent tough guy agents out to get the job done, you'll like this one. I enjoyed reading it and can't wait for the sequel.

This is a great read, which is difficult to put down once you start it. There are shades of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha woven into the fabric of this artfully presented tale, yet the characters are modern and a bit more westernized. He wisely focuses more on the American character while drawing from what he has apparently learned about Japanese/Oriental culture. We can only hope Mr. Magnuson will regale us soon with more of his psychologically sophisticated and fascinating works of art.

A well-researched piece that draws on the actual events and mixes in an interesting blend of villians and heroes. Magnuson brings the tragedy to life with his accurate portrayals of the gruesome events on Tokyo's subways and intertwines revealing characters within the story. A book well worth reading.

A great read! Magnuson does an interesting job of interweaving the facts of the actual Tokyo sarin gas attacks with the fictional story of a young couple--one of whom becomes a cult member who helps carry out the attacks. The historical context of the novel gives it a richness and believabilty that takes it to another level.

This is a well-written, suspenseful novel that you'll find hard to put down.

An excellent rendering of the tales of Akbar and Birbal, full of both enjoyment and life lessons. The author has captured the authentic tales in a way that is completely accessible and engaging.

My friend Dhawal recommended this book to me after I mentioned Aesop's Fables to him. Birbal is King Akbar's clever judge; you will enjoy the way he solves the mysteries of the court.

This is the only version of the tales I've read, but it has a nice (short) introductory section before each chapter of stories, and is well-written.

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The content of this book is very much outdated and is very much behind current technology.
This is a waste of money and time.

Concise chapters, clear and candid presentation makes it easy to read. Ready reference book always in the book shelf at the worksite. Scripts are missing on the web site mentioned in the book. It would be nice to have them. It will be a good investment on the book.

A very comprehensive and good quality book. I agree with the previous reviewers that the book is a must-have for Oracle DBAs. I have found coverage on some critical areas of RDBMS management to be very helpful. It has added to my arsenal a lot of new and useful techniques. Also the information about Oracle 8i was helpful for me. I thank Sumit for taking the time to share with us this wealth of knowledge.

The scripts to accompany the book are not on the web site yet?? Come on Mr Sarin- get a move on.. Bind quality is very very POOR- Content of the book is good.

Good books should have good binding. Good books that fall apart at the center become worthless books. My SQL developer's guide split in 2 with 20 pages falling out and then one of the halves split in 2 again so I now have 3 pieces of book with 30 or so loose pages.

I never recieved this book. I have no clue what has happened.

The alternatives the good reviewer asks for are to be found on newenergymovement.org I, too, get very frustrated to hear of all the "facts" and then have the people involved deny there are any alternative possibilities ever because the world is flat!!

Timely and Thought-Provoking

Once again the Worldwatch Institute has published an important summary of the state of the world, using a sense of both urgency and hope.

The special focus of the eight chapters in the 2004 edition is "The Consumer Society". The authors document how we in the "developed world" continue to waste vast quantities of water and energy, despite having access to technology that, were we to embrace it, could dramatically reduce our "environmental footprint". We continue to eat more food than we need, and our diet includes more resource-intensive choices, such as beef, than are sustainable long-term. We continue to "inventory" in our homes more clothing than we realistically need, in effect storing in our closets the land, water and pesticides that it took to grow the cotton to make our shirts and sweaters, and the diesel fuel to run the ship that brought the clothing from south Asia.

Consumption for many is a mantra reinforced by the economic systems of "free enterprise", advertising, government policy that puts great emphasis on GDP as a measure of aggregate well-being, and the right of individuals to make choices. The challenge is that unbridled consumption cannot be sustained, especially if the growing middle class in the developing world aspires to acquire possessions and to consume to the degree that people in North America, Europe and Japan have already been doing for at least twenty years. Indeed, there are moral and social justice issues about the developed world warning the likes of India and China to resist embracing a full consumer society, when one considers that a) the developed world continues to consume and pollute at disproportionately high levels per capita; b) so much of the raw resources the developed world uses are extracted from the developing world, and c) a great deal of waste generated by the developed world, such as decommissioned ships dismantled on the shores of India, ends up in the developed world.

I highly recommend this book. In addition to the well-researched eight chapters, which can be read in any order, there are several sidebar articles, usually each two pages long, discussing the environmental impact of our producing and using such everyday items as plastic bags, computers, cell phones, bottled water, shrimp, cotton t-shirts, and paper. There is even an article that describes the ecological damage done by our using antibacterial soap. In short, what seem at first glance to be innocuous choices of what to consume, turn out to have profound implications on the viability of our ecosystems, if enough of us make unsustainable consumption choices.

On the one hand, there is great disparity in consumption patterns from one corner of the planet to another. Some don't get enough to eat, while others literally kill themselves by excessive and ill-advised eating decisions. On the other hand, the authors offer guidance, in chapters such as "Watching What We Eat", "Better Energy Choices", and "Boosting Water Productivity". The good news is that most of us can reduce our ecological footprint, attain better health and greater happiness, and often save money, by adopting practices that relate to consuming less, and to consuming more wisely. As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, "To know when you have enough is to be rich."

By focusing on consumerism, this book addresses the practices of our current society and the impacts those practices will have on future societies. I found it provides easily comprehended summaries of factual data that allows its readers to consider the issues of global consumption from their own individual perspective and from their particular societal perspective as well.

Throughout the book examples are given of individual and community practices that affect consumerism and global health for better or worse. Examples of consumer trends which illustrate how individual members of societies of abundance are willing to make choices based on their perceptions of global health (such as sharing cars or buying organic food) are included, as are examples of communities, companies, and governments that are attempting to move toward more sustainable production policies. The scope of the book is broad, well-indexed, and documented enabling opportunities for follow up research on material of interest. Additionally, the writers reach for an inclusive approach to personal and global well-being by emphasizing the inherent sociability of the human species and the need for solutions that are not just environmentally responsible but are globally equitable as well.

Although I like the extended reading list provided by angry-bear and agree that SOTW 2004 provides mostly facts than solutions, I wouldn't say that it is disappointing. On the contrary, this is what the series is all about. Facts are the food for thoughts, and I dare to say that every reader of SOTW has her/his own ways of facing the challenge.

The reasons are simple. The dire facts prompt us to think, to act, rather than simply to sit back in distress.

In case you haven't heard about other publications by Worldwatch Institute, please visit http://www.worldwatch.org.

The author uses a lot of wordy language to make simple concepts complicated. Also I agree with another review: there is a lot of macroeconomics. I think Dr. Shapiro needs to understand how his readers learn, not how he can enjoy his writing.

We adopted this book during the first semester of 1999 with excellent results. Our students were delighted with the practical approach, and the breadth of its contents. Recently our country has been through a monetary turmoil, and the book served very much to explain the policies that our local central bank authorities have been pursuing.

This textbook may not be a good choice for undergraduate students or for someone who does not have an intermediate or higher knowledge of finance. Wording in the chapters and in the end of chapter problems can be confusing. Statements are made and then not backed up with supporting information. The book spends a large amount of time on a macroeconomic view.

Next May I will be starting medical school at SABA University in the Netherlands-Antilles. Though my medical education is just about to begin, I'm happy and relieved to say that the application process is finally over. I applied to only schools in the Caribbean, and I bought this book thinking that it would help me in the selection process. Unfortunately, this book is ABSOLUTELY USELESS!

The two guys who wrote it are graduates of Caribbean med schools, but most of the book reads like a diary of their "feelings" and "emotions" as they embarked on their missions to become doctors. This isn't a guide as much as it is a journal, and not even a very good journal at that. There is very little substantive information here, and of that information, ALL of it can be found on the internet. In fact, this book is so vague and out-dated that you'd actually be at a disadvantage by using it over the information that can be found on each school's individual website. There's even one school listed in this book that isn't even in business anymore.

It is very possible to go to the Caribbean for medical school and return to the United States and practice medicine. That's what I intend on doing. However, there are many questions that one needs to ask him/herself before beginning this endeavour. Going to the Caribbean isn't a viable option for everyone, and one needs to do heavy research and ask some serious questions about these schools and what the future holds for its graduates so they don't waste alot of money and time. This book does not serve to accomplish any of this. It's basically a poorly made and out-dated brochure, and definitely not worth the paper it's printed on. I strongly recommend AGAINST this book.

This book was a total disappointment. It is poorly written, out-of-date, and provides very little information. It only includes a few of the avialable schools in the Caribbean and the school's that are described are done so directly out of school catelogues word-for-word. Don't waste your money, you will not learn anything from this book that is not availble by calling one of the schools directly.

anybody who recommends this book is a mole or the author himself. what a disgrace. not even basic info.

this book was worthless. if you need info. get another. they are insulting your intelligence.

This is a book for young adults with reading deficiencies. Often, young adults with reading difficulties are not interested in the topics of books at reading levels at which they are proficient, especially if that level is three to four years below their true age. Books such as this are meant to get such children to read, even if the topic is somewhat unconventional. This book is not meant for adults, unless they are looking for the most cursory overview of these weapons.

I was hoping to find something that would be more medically related to specific symptoms and treatment options when considering this horrific possibility. The book did a good job of describing the Saran attack in Japan.

This CD-ROM is very informative and a great resource. But it's a bunch of Adobe files on a burned disk and they're a little unorganized and tough to sort through. I had to download them all and organize them into folders I created in order to use them.

Not a bad book, although at times it was quite tendious to read. It gives a basic overview of Soviet involvement in major world coflicts (Spanish civil War, WW2, Vietanam, Arab-Israeli wars etc). It is quite heavy on militaristic elements, which would be interesting to anyone interested in how wars are fought and funded. The historical backgrounds of the wars are briefly discussed, as fell as the fallout created by conflict. Interesting chapter about Soviet involvement in Afghanistan, which gives a detailed look into the geo-political reasons for the invasion. All in all, not a bad book, but lacking in historical depth.

An author would have to work awfully hard to make the history of the USSR and the aggressive aspects of its foreign policy dull. But these two authors manage to pull it off. This snoozer reads like a bad military manual, with authors that seem utterly unable to tell a story, preferring instead to dwell on the incredibly uninteresting minutae of military logistics. Even when it tries to be interesting by giving you insider information on the thought processes of Soviet officialdom, whether through insider information, official correspondence or newly declassified Kremlin documents, it still manages to underwhelm the reader. The writers should have focused on writing this as a history rather than as a textbook for a military academy which is how it reads.

As if the narrative isn't bad enough, the writing style is at best amateurish. This book reads like a rough draft. Thus it is difficult to decide which is worse, the writing of the book or the total lack of editing done by the publisher.

Anyway, I normally keep the books I have read in my book collection. This one will be donated to my local library's used book fundraiser before it can stink up my house any further. Come to think of it, I hate to cause yet another individual to waste their hard-earned money on this coma-inducer. But hey, it's for a good cause!

This book is awful. Do not buy it under any circumstances. Sarin and Dvoretsky have no understanding of history or strategy. They simply fulminate against the Soviet regime. They claim to have used new documents from the Russian archives, but none of the documents they cite is of any great significance (they are largely anecdotal). There are many better books on the Soviet military and Soviet foreign policy, so don't waste your time with this gibberish