Best of Jan, Feb and March

There are a lot of books to read, and in the past few months I have read some good ones.  Here are the most notable:

Area 51 by Anne Jacobson - Imagine a book that does not shy away from the mysteries of Area 51 but rather addressed them in a genuine and logical manner.  This, my friends, is that book.  For one of the first times an author pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive locations in the entire world.  Jacobson is a great writer and some of the secrets she divulges are shocking - but always truthful.  She does not write about aliens and conspiracies (other than a whopper of one around Roswell 1947) but rather focuses on the military history of the installation.  There is truth here, and Jacobson writes it fluidly.  Believe her or not, this is a solid book.

Ashfall / Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin - In dystopian fiction there is often a very dark tone, and in many cases this is well deserved.  There is dark and then there is what Mullin writes - these books are incredibly bleak.  Set in a world where the Super Volcano underneath Yellowstone unexpectedly erupts throwing the entire United States into chaos, the struggle to survive is desperate and brutal.  For the two main characters Darla and Alex, life becomes a dire prospect which grows dimmer with each passing day.  As the two find love in a dying world, the importance of things we take for granted like water, food and vitamins take on an added dimension as unthinkable actions (like cannibalism etc) become commonplace.  These are richly imagined books and the world Mullins destroys and then rebuilds is fascinatingly realistic.  Truly an achievement leaving me eagerly anticipating the third volume.