Investigative reporter Jane Harper is on an anti-whaling vessel observing whether or not The Sentinel is following proper protocol. In a decisive NOT following protocol, the Sentinel rams the Blixum and both ships sink. The survivors land on an island off the coast of Greenland and inadvertently set free the ancient draugar, the walking zombie vampire dead. As more and more survivors die, Jane is left trying to figure a way off the island before it's too late and before the draugar plague wipes out humanity. ( )

SO funny and a great horror read. Loved the characters and the fact that sarcasm used by the main character isn't snark. I know snark is popular but the way it is done in most books is dumb. This is intelligent, witty repartee. The Sentinel is a book that made me smile while I was reading it. What a great movie this would make. ( )

Just finished THE SENTINEL and it was exactly the sort of quick, fun, action-packed read that I was looking for. We're not talking haute lit here or Shakespeare, but a good solid, satisfying wild romp. One with a different take on zombie-like behavior.

Principal character:: a smart-ass chick who can kick some butt
Time Frame:: modern
Language:: expect the f-bomb but little that's worse
Humor:: definitely
Creepy:: not really
Disbelief O'meter:: not exactly full-speed ahead, but close

One thing I really loved about this book, besides the wise-cracking heroine, was the fact that the author built up a tangible storyline before bringing in the 'other world' elements. He describes some whaling/anti-whaling inter-ship action that could easily have come from The Discovery Channel. That he described the crew and their philosophy, as well as that of Jane (our heroine), so well before bring on the creepy stuff, totally worked for me.

As far as the secondary characters, they also worked for me. There wasn't much in the way of character development, but really the time frame of the whole storyline was so short that development really wasn't expected.

The only thing I really found wrong with the story was one typo, and the fact that it was a tad too long. But then again, I think most books are a tad too long. And more bad guys doesn't necessarily increase the tension.

But really I have no serious complaints. This was a fun book that I would classify as a good 'Summer Read'. Or a book for anytime when you just want to kick back and go along for the ride.

Somewhere in the 4 to 4.5 range for the Genre.

Pam T~ ( )