Goldstrike: A Thriller by Matt Whyman Review

"Carl Hobbes may have escaped from Camp Twilight—the most secure military prison in the northern hemisphere—but now he’s being pursued by a ruthless bounty hunter and an Al-Qaeda assassin. Wanted dead by one and alive by the other, he must call upon his skills as a manipulator of both systems and people to survive. With no second chances available, can he play one enemy against the other in his bid to live another day? Packed with action and a plot that doesn’t quit, Goldstrike is a riveting teen thriller in the vein of Anthony Horowitz and James Patterson."

I gave this series a second chance. Honestly, I was quite disappointed by the first book, because there was barely any action. *Thinking back* Yeah, little action. 

Goldstrike continues the journey of Carl Hobbes, an infamous computer hacker. It is fun and interesting, especially in the beginning. Carl Hobbes is making trouble for the CIA while pleasing his girlfriend, Cat. I think her name is Cat. (I don't care much about her, after what she did to Carl in this book. She is just like Parker from Leverage). No one should ever break the hearts of nerd boys. They are cute, too.

Carl Hobbes' character is explored even further. After seeing death, he is running from a bunch of people like the CIA and an assassin along with a few people of her party. He is clever, but he is bound to make a mistake. It is quite interesting to see how much he cares for people and how easily he forgives. Plus, he is exactly like the classic hacker. He always wants to break open something, just to figure out what makes it tick. Cleopatra is the name of that system, and she is just like the Steranko from Leverage. Oh, yes. I'm making points by alluding to television shows that are off air. Still doesn't mean I can't use them.

I have to get this out of the way. The last line of Goldstrike is gold. Let me tell you that the CIA is most certainly involved along with Cleopatra and a new friend of Hobbes (whose head is worth twenty million dollars alive). That is my favorite line of the entire book. That is the most favorite line out of this week's batch of books.

The CIA remains as clueless as ever in Goldstrike. I doubt they will be happy by this portrayal of them, but that is all plot.

Overall, I give this series of two books a thumbs up. It is great, and there is a lot of action. When there is a crazy assassin after our main character, you know that it is going to get fairly interesting. When there is also a bounty hunter, you know it has to be interesting. When the CIA is involved, well... That is a bit complicated. I mean, the book is going to get a bit complicated. And exciting! You can't forget about that part.

Second chance well-deserved!

Rating: Four out of Five

Icecore: A Carl Hobbes Thriller by Matt Whyman Review

"He's a seventeen-year-old British computer hacker who penetrated the security systems at Fort Knox for a laugh. But the American government was less than amused. Since his prank, gold bars have been landing in the hands of terrorists across the globe.Now, Carl has found himself in a military prison deep in the Arctic and far off the grid. He's been caged alongside the world's most notorious terrorists, with no one to trust and no end in sight.Carl Hobbes may not be a criminal mastermind, but if he wants to escape this subzero prison with his life, he'll have to start thinking like one."

There's a few words that can correctly describe this book. And some of them are negative words while others are more positive and neutral. These words: Yawn, groan, boring, okay, yay-it's-over, whatever, bah. If you noticed, some of these words aren't exactly the describing type (adjectives, remember them?). There more describe what was I doing while I was reading Icecore. (But they also describe the books, because they are hints. Get it? No. Alright, then.)

Icecore is very interesting at first. In the beginning, it is so intriguing and mystifying. I wanted to know more and see more of the plot. How will Carl Hobbes escape? How will Carl Hobbes find a way out of the Arctic prison? How did Carl Hobbes hack Fort Knox, the treasury that is considered the most secured and safest in the entire world? The one where they keep The Declaration of Independence? (I hope I got this right, because it would be embarrassing if I didn't)

The plot moves slowly in the beginning. I spend most of the time skimming through the pages. Ya, ya, ya. Carl's complaining about this. Carl's getting beat up. Carl acts like a scared girl. Carl is going to die. Blah, blah, blah. Not very entertaining, for one point. Boring, for the second point.

Then, there's the ending. *Sign* I'm definitely not reading the next book, whatever the second book is good or not. I don't care. Once screwed, always screwed. I don't always believe in second impressions. Books are like a job interview. We're the interviewers. And the books and authors, well, they are on the other side of the table. Anyway, I really hate the ending. Maybe because of what a certain character has done, but mostly at the ending. Mostly the ending.

Rating: One out of Five (yeah, I've been giving a lot of these.)