30 - Wedaestias, December 20, 1989 -

North Shore News

| of

TWO NEW PAPERBACKS ARE,

OVO TOPE OCI TEN Perm pert ates Ge PPT Tes AN Ete

pockeroodl

thing vou G nave ta ern pis TO Qu a pake
Curking up with a@ food book is one EIN put at todas sare

TCE DO nt tieal eee

rates tia toe
Dado hk

Tate prices an URWISE PUrChase CHlDateS Ee prospect Gi

any curling but the tetal.

stl trere sno deaving that
toose glistening ranks of lurk!
covers look good. Sinking
graphics, enticing exerpls and
eye-slamming titles that are
masterpieces of bushwacking
brevity fairly scream: “Buy me!"

But how often are we convinced
that we heard a sibilant, mocking
“Ssuucker’’ from somewhere
disconcertingly close to the book
rack as our latest paperback
choice slithers across the check-
out scanner?

Bearing that image in mind, let's
pull on a pair of latex gloves and
examine one of the current
pocketbook offerings from Onyx/
Penguin: Virus.

Author Peter Caine hails from
Australia and quite frankly it looks
as though citizen Caine spent a tad
too much time on the beach. Now
if that sounds a trifle harsh, hold
off a bit and have a took at the
plot.

'n Brisbane (Brisnaneds Gand oF
yellow-robea crackpots ded bv ¢
horibiy dishyurea lormer soap
Opera stan steala supply oF HIN:
contaminated blood irom the
general hospital. Bul wait — thts
isn’t just any old AIDS-ridden
blood. This is new, improved
HIV-4. This stutt will Kill you in
weeks instead of years.

Calling themselves the HiVe
cute, eh?2), all our cultists intend
to infect everyone in the world
with HIV-4. Why? Because they
believe that aliens in the vicinity of
the star Polaris told them to. Why?
Because mankind’s only hope for
evolutionary greatness, they say,
depends on the alleged mutating
properties of HIV-4.

Have ET’s got a sense of humor
or what?

Anyway, all our children believe
this so they set out on a syringe
binge that strikes terror in the
hearts of Brisbanians high and low.

99

- $ Sears reg. 579.99

550 off on VHS VCR with 4
azimutn video heads tor high quality
special effects. 1-year/6-event timer
means you won't miss a thina! 38-but-
ton/30-funcnon remote, #30129

NORTH VANCOUVER, Cupilano Niall, open daily 9:30-5:30, Thurs. and Fri. ti 9,

12's 6 Suars stove near you.. snop today at: Summary

potty tore te

nead dour:

Diecomes Tt oe
SEALE sf TSUG GN skbr betes be
nopt Walbcirant Brogan
Hheep deeypetocrubate

Thee ttest victim or the PEN eG
Was Thomas. a gr ronanne cen e
oper who Gecioes ta Cotetnate
ews ofan ampending dear wath

sex siren he Ras just met an a

MIKE
STEELE gh.

baok review

local lounge. Wes is looking for a
good time; she’s looking for Mr.
Goodvein.

The Thomas sting is quickly
followed by an attack on a young
girl and then a HiVe raid on
teenage swimmers that drastically
shortens the days of their lives.

Meanwhile, public opinion is
turning against Lieutenant Grant;
folks just don’t think he’s par-
ticularly capable of dealing wth
the gory crisis at hand. Neither will

SEARS

thrills

Peathel tas
sen ttamnat fer teres at
sdbssteot
\Nouii Garant
SUISPC tata Ertl Abs Gainer Mae

sadereins Tet,
CHGSON TO Visit a sick sister af tne
Gather endot Austrata in te mid:
dic of the HIVe anvestigiten? WUT
a vigilante vroup hang tie Hive
menibers betore the police ine
advertently discover them or will
they take pity oa readers and
Ivnch the lieutenant? Is cynical
reporter Dabney Layne the hapless
policeman’s guiding light or Jour-
nalism Lite? Is there a cure tor
Virus?

The answers, unfortunately for
us, are ‘no’, ‘no’, ‘no’, ‘both’
and ‘no’.

ese &

And then there’s Seal Books’
Thai Gold, a paperback thriller
that’s so bad that it’s good.

lf that seems paradoxical, con-
sider the incredible variety of
seemingly disparate elements
author Jason Schooner has cram-
med into one book.

Lee Rivers is a famous collector
of rare antiquities who spends
most of his earnings in Bangkok’s
flesh-pots. Rivers braves jungles,

your money's worth...and more

ade
Capdano Mal da 7 722

Prices in etfect until Sunday, Decamber 24

Rirnmond 2785542, Sure

WELL, SOMEWHAT SENSATICNAL

wat ddinadlay dn Aitiner aaa
aeveni Nasty straits of Dhar Vidar
fie wwesboue pe Seas mn TOn Otout
and piewsure, Now hes bot oo ine
trad ot tne tong toast, wold-ang
jewebencrusted head ot Budding.

But Rivers os not alone in this
quest. Stkh terrorists in the pay ol
the KGB want the head, so natu-
rally the CIA does too. Ditta tor
the Golden Triangle’s opium-lord
who stole it, franian fanatics who
tear its impact on tslam, the
larcenous son of a deceased and
larcenous former igh-ranking
Nazi and a few top Buddhists who
are more than a little miffed that
the head was stolen in the first
place.

Add exotic locales, the sexy
daughter of the waslord, drugs,
astronomical profits, nuclear sub-
marines, Filipino pirates and The
Fate of The World Hanging In The
Balance and ...

How all of these bizarre facets
are mashed into one more-or-less
coherent plot is something that has
to be seen to be believed. The

= crazy thing about Thai Gold is that

if you take it as warped parody in-
stead of a straight storyline, it’s ac-
tually fun.

Sun. nven ty 5 am. phone 955-7722