CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Publication Date: July 29, 2008 Publisher: Tor Author: · Warren Murphy · James Mullaney Grade: B+
When you near the conclusion of Killer Ratings, you find that it's one of those unique titles that has two meanings -- both of which get utilized by storytellers Warren Murphy and Jim Mullaney in this newest adventure/comedy tale of Remo Williams, the Destroyer.
Every Destroyer novel by Murphy and Mullaney has a central theme, an effigy and a pitard to hoist it upon, and Killer Ratings is no different. This go-round, the skewer is heated, barbed, and pointed at the media, with the usual cast of barely-veiled parodies, with BCN news anchor Kitty Coughlin taking the spotlight. Kitty was the former co-host of a morning talk show before BCN paid $15 million to bring her to the evening news... and then BCN's ratings began to tank when nobody tuned in to watch their new lady lead.
But when Coughlin finds herself on a hijacked airliner that narrowly misses the Empire State Building, the camera footage gives her show a temporary ratings spike -- and the near-disaster gives CURE director Harold W. Smith a reason to call in CURE's enforcement arm, Remo and Chiun, to investigate the matter.
Throughout the novel, Coughlin continues to inexplicably find herself in the middle of the news as it happens, and the question becomes: Is someone trying to help Kitty's ratings, or are they just trying to kill her? And either way, how many other people are they willing to kill to accomplish their ends?
The slightly snide father/son relationship between Remo and Chiun continues to be the highlight of The New Destroyer series, illustrated in several places throughout this novel, but none better than the moment when Remo secretly rescues a handful of trapped underground miners -- a moment that also gives the authors another chance to dig at the "tragedy equals ratings" obsessed news media:
Arthur Welt stood to one side, beaming, baffled and shell-shocked as he tried to answer reporters' questions.
The atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the funereal pall Remo had left in early afternoon. Everyone in the crowd, from the oldest Weltsburg citizen to the youngest child, seemed delighted. Everyone, that was, except the press. The quick and happy resolution had torpedoed any chance of turning the drama in Weltsburg into a two week-long tragedy, from initial death watch to the nineteen dramatic funerals that would now not take place.
Most glum of all was Kitty Coughlin, whom Remo spotted berating her crew as she climbed into the back of her limo.
At the edge of the crowd, hands clasped behind his back and taking in the entire scene, was the Master of Sinanju.
Remo sidled up to his teacher.
"Hola, amigo," Remo said.
"I see by your empty hands that you did not find any diamonds," Chiun said as he watched the cables being rolled up and the cameras being packed away.
"Sorry, Little Father, didn't see any. Only coal."
"Coal is good," Chiun said. "Sort of like you. A diamond waiting to happen."
"How nice," Remo said. "I'm touched."
"Of course, coal -- being smarter than you -- doesn't have your bad habits."
"That's right. Spoil our Kodak moment."
Talk to any longtime Destroyer fan, and you'll find out the series hit something of a nadir in recent years when the titles were ghost-written through another publisher. Forearmed with this tidbit, one can't help but notice that Murphy and Mullaney take their own shot at this series -- particularly at the title logo of the bygone series -- in what to anyone else would have seemed just a slight, throwaway description:
The phrase "The New L.A. Riots" appeared on the bottom of the screen. For some reason Feldon could not fathom, a cartoon sword sliced through the tops of the letters. Feldon assumed someone at the network had decided that the sword would make an eye-catching addition to the graphic even though it had nothing whatsoever to do with the riots.
It's hard to discuss much more of the plot without spoiling the story. However, rest assured there's more than just news coverage driving the plot. There's also the Internet, and the cloistered communities that have sprung up there. The insular denizens who live mostly online have a large part to play in the drama that unfolds, and their motivations -- while extremely important to themselves -- come across as somewhat silly to anyone who isn't a full-time Web surfer.
Killer Ratings starts off somewhat slow, with the authors driving home their descriptions beyond the point after the reader has well and truly got the message. However, once beyond the first two chapters, things quickly pick up speed, barreling along like a Prius left in neutral on a San Francisco side street. The penultimate villain is an enjoyable joke of a person, and the ultimate face behind all the destruction is actually an old friend from Remo and Chiun's past. Once you get into this one, you won't want to get out until everything comes crashing down.
