Hitman: Enemy Within by William C. Dietz

Yes people, it is the same Hitman from the video game franchise! For many fans of the game, you get go through what Agent 47 goes through working as a top notch assasin for The Agency.

This is the same William C. Dietz who has written numerous franchises including Halo and Star Wars.

Quick synopsis of the story:
Bred to kill, Agent 47 is The Agency’s most valuable assassin. So when a competing murder-for-hire organization decides to destroy The Agency, the first person they target for elimination is Agent 47. Tasking someone to off the best hitman in the business is one thing; getting the job done is another. When the attempt falls short, Agent 47 is ordered to track down and kill the culprit who is feeding vital information about The Agency to its enemies.

Agent 47 must follow a bloody trail halfway around the world, fight his way through the streets of Fez, Morocco, and battle slavers deep inside Chad. Then he will discover a shattering truth: If he fails at his mission, the price he’ll pay will be far greater than his own life. . . .

My take of the book:
First thing to note, I really did enjoy the book. Took me only three days to finish the book simply because I was so glued to it! The story does shed some light on Agent 47's life growing up to be an assasin - live, breath, see, think and dream about killing people for The Agency. So for those who pick up this book and for the first time getting to know Agent 47, you will not be lost and thinking aboutn how he came about.

I must admit, there is quite a number of killings going on in the book and very well described, thus putting the reader in a very close-to-the-scene feel of the story. On top of that, the tactics the author applies into Agent 47 when going for a kill is very detailed and professionally done - very closely related to the game. Hence, simplest way to describe it - imagine kill rates like Rambo but done discreetly and withouth big guns, grenades or rocket launchers, meaning to say silent and quick deaths to all his preys.

Although Agent 47 is known to be the best ever assasin known to the underworld, the author still highlights the fact that his past as a child still haunts him, so there is a sense of realism to the book.

The main drawback of this book - because the author truly puts in the details of how Agent 47 goes through his kills, the plot becomes predictable and to some extent does take away the element of surprise. Then again, you cannot possibly have the best of both of worlds for details and element of surprise! Notably a good effort by the author.

In a nutshell, a good book to read and at a reasonable price of only RM32.50, which is a bargain for me! However, for parents who may want to get this book for their children, some discretion is needed due to the certain degree of language/nudity applied to the book.

Personally, I hope the author will continue to make a series on Agent 47 and hopefully this is not the first and last novel about Agent 47......... :)

Mary Called Magdalene - a novel........

"Of all the women in the Bible, perhaps no one's presence has been as constantly reinterpreted as that of Mary Magdalene. Was she a prostitute? A prophet? In Margaret George's epic historical novel, Mary, Called Magdalene (Geroge's previous subjects include Henry VIII, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Cleopatra), Mary comes alive as one of Jesus' first believers, a woman of infallible visions and a faith that earns her the title "Apostle to the Apostles." With numerous biblical and scholarly texts serving as the core of this intriguing woman's story, George recreates the world of Galilean fishermen and the oppressions of the Jewish people under Roman rule. Cast out from her family after Jesus expels the demons that have ravaged her mind, Mary follows the man from Nazareth until they receive attention from the skeptical hordes and the Roman magistrates controlling Jerusalem.

Mary, from beginning to end of this giant undertaking, is a woman who struggles to reconcile her absence from her young daughter's life with the chance to be part of something important. Through the lens of her ever-inquisitive mind, the story covers the formation of Jesus' ragtag band of disciples and the crucifixion, and ends with Mary's mission as the head of the Christian church in Ephesus, where she died at the age of 90. What makes this a compelling read is that Mary's story connects humanity with faith in a way that's possible to understand, whatever our contemporary beliefs. " (Amazon.com review).

My take:

Starting off this book, I first felt like this book wasn't as good as George's Cleopatra because at the start it was some what dry with more of a description of Mary's younger life and living in an environment that subdued women from studying scriptures, writing and reading under the religious pretext that God laid such rules. It gave me the impression of reading a women's activist book.

Reading through it, the story picks up when Mary is possessed by a demon which was from an idol doll she picked up when she was a child. For those who are unaware, in the Jewish days any form of dolls or figures are deemed as idols because you are seen as trying to create either a human from from wood or other forms to be worshipped. As the possession worsens Mary is forced into all sort of religious methods to cure herself and at one point she even tried to commit suicide. As she grew weaker, she was further possessed by five demons.

At the brink of giving up hope, she meets Jesus of Nazareth, who releases her from the demonic possession. The book starts to get interest here on because it feels like I am reading the bible but being told in the eyes of Mary Magdalene. As the story unfolds, it leads to the part of Jesus's crucifixion and and ends with Mary's mission as the head of the Christian church in Ephesus, where she died at the age of 90.

This book is by no means offencive to anyone because is does not touch on sensitive issues but one must also be reminded novels are novels and should not be taken too seriously. I enjoyed the book very much and especially how George amalgamated bible scriptures and Mary. It is definitely a good read!