Recently I finished reading Vince Flynn’s thriller, Memorial Day. This is the fifth book in his main series starring Mitch Rapp, a super commando who works with the CIA.
First published back in 2004, Memorial Day is the story about an upcoming terrorist attack here in the United States. The Muslim extremists have their sights set big in a dual attack that’s supposed to not only destroy the top level of leadership in the country but also cripple the economy and send the country into the deepest recession in history. For part of the country, the attack itself will leave the land inhabitable for hundreds of years.
Memorial Day begins with Mustafa al-Yamani, a Muslim extremist, killing the captain of a private yacht and sneaking his way from Cuba into the southern part of the United States. Al-Yamani meets with his target and successfully enters the country near Merritt Island at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The man is committed to his mission and time is of the essence as al-Yamani is suffering from advanced stages of radiation poisoning, and he literally has only a few days left to live.
In Washington, D.C., Mitch Rapp, an analyst with the CIA and expert on international terrorism, gains information about an upcoming meeting of terrorists scheduled to take place somewhere in Pakistan. The few pieces of intelligence point to terrorist chatter about a bomb, a really big bomb, and Rapp is set on flying to Pakistan and conducting a raid on the camp with other special forces soldiers. Rapp’s boss and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Dr. Irene Kennedy, clears Mitch for the secret raid into Pakistan.
The commando raid commences and five terrorists are ultimately captured, two of them allegedly had direct ties to the planning on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Along with the terrorists, a vast collection of new intelligence into the recent terrorist actions was also captured.
Computer specialists begin accessing the captured files, and it’s quickly noted that a big terrorist attack was either in the final stages of planning, or it’s already been authorized by the terrorist leaders. The information is pointing towards a high profile bombing, something that will create a tremendous amount of damage from a single blast. One of the images shows a map with projected damage circles radiating away from a major city. It’s a similar type of map used to analyze the power of nuclear weapons. Continue reading
Treasure Island was directed by Byron Haskin and stars Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton in a memorable role as the mighty pirate Long John Silver. Supporting them are Basil Sydney as Captain Smollett, Walter Fitzgerald as Squire Trelawney, Denis O’Dea as Dr. Livesey, and Geoffrey Wilkinson as Ben Gunn.
Enter 2011′s spooky horror film Paranormal Activity 3.
Reliquary begins several years after the events of Relic. By now Margo Green has earned her doctorate degree and continues working with the Museum. Dr. Frock has since retired, and Pendergast, Smithback and D’Agosta continue working for their respective employers.
As we see, about 95% of the events in PA2 actually take place a few months prior to the haunting and possession and then Micah’s murder in Paranormal Activity. We learn more about the history of Katie and Kristi, and perhaps there’s much more to the hauntings than we previously believed.
In World War Z, Brooks takes us throughout the worldwide struggle as his character interviews the survivors after the war. We learn about the initial cases of people rising from the dead, how it was hard to identify the problem at first and ways to contain it. One of the interviews is with a doctor in a remote part of China as he encounters “patient zero,” a young boy who was bitten while swimming with his father. His father was never found, but the boy transformed into a zombie and began biting others, causing the terrible disease to spread. The doctor watched as the Chinese government swooped in and launched a cover-up, going as far as instigating a crisis with Taiwan to make people look the other way.
Map of Bones begins at a Catholic Church in Cologne, Germany. What begins as an innocent midnight mass quickly turns to horror as a band of hooded monks seizes control of the service. Most of the worshippers are electrocuted in an obscure method and the monks gun down the rest of the survivors, leaving no witnesses. Except for one young man who crawls to safety and reports the horrors he witnessed. Unfortunately for him, that young man is later killed as the evil doers attempt to wipe their path clean.
That’s exactly the premise in comedic legend Mel Brooks’ classic film, History of the World, Part 1. This film takes a look at a few time periods from the Dawn of Man to the Roman empire and the French Revolution, and shows us that history can be rather hilarious even in some of our darker times as a society.