Customer Reviews

Before the Cradle Falls

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished reading this book and it is light years ahead of the author's previous books in terms of the writing. The dialog was much better and flowed more naturally. I was also able to get to know the characters better and become emotionally invested in what happened to them.

I started reading James David with his second book, "Fragments," and then his third, "Ship of the Damned." Over the course of those two books, and now with this one, he has shown a steady improvement in terms of translating an interesting concept into a readable novel. I found myself zipping thru the dialog in much the same way I would with a John Grisham or Stephen King novel.

In terms of the book's resolution, I would've liked to have seen Sherrie's brother and Kyle's partner Mac brought into the final scenes in the epilogue. It would've been nice to know what happened with them. I was also curious to know what Kyle told the Sinclairs about their daughter.

Overall, though, a good job by James David. This is a book to be proud of.

There are some books that you have to allow a few pages or chapters to "get into" it; this book grabbed me from the first page. Something is always happening, but it's not confusing or overwhelming - the characters are easy to get to know and easy to distinguish. I really appreciated the personal tone of the story - I enjoyed "getting to know" the characters and their feelings, thoughts and motivations; it just adds a new dimension to the story to be able to see what's going on from the different viewpoints of the characters involved (not just to see one person's "side"). There's Cradle Robber, an elusive monster (who doesn't see himself as a monster, but as a kind minister who saves children from inevitable pain had they continued living) who has been traveling from city to city, suffocating young children in their beds and leaving a small baby toy in the dead child's hand. There's Detective Kyle Sommers, who has recently returned to work after taking a leave of absence to recover from his young daughter's death. Kyle feels an especially urgent interest in solving the Cradle Robber case because every time a child dies, his daughter's death hurts that much more. There's Sherrie Nolan, a dynamic woman in a wheelchair who believes in time travel and who puts herself on the line to help Kyle, young children, and people she's never even met. And there is the mysterious and elusive man in the hat and overcoat, who witnesses say has blue skin... why is his skin blue, and why is he showing up at numerous catastrophes, all involving children, in the nick of time to lend a hand in saving lives, but then disappearing before anyone can speak with him? Who is he, why does he leave newspaper-like columns for the detective to find that contain incorrect information about a crime or tragedy that has just occurred where he has intervened, and what is he trying to do? When the mystery man crosses Cradle Robber's path, a chain of events is set in motion that threatens to not only change the past and the future, but to destroy the present world as Kyle knows it.

I think I'm an addict. Once I start reading a James F. David novel, I can't put it down. After reading his first 3 novels (Footprints of Thunder, Fragments, Ship of the Damned), I knew this one would be edge-of-your-seat action mixed with creative plot twists, and I was right!

In my opionion, David has the perfect blend of paranormal/sci-fi and mystery/action/thriller down pat! As with his other novels, David takes a standard sci-fi theme (in this case time travel), and presents it in a way I have never read before, with interesting theories to back it up. I have no idea how scientific said theories are and don't really care. They're fun and unique.

One of the things I really enjoy about his books are the settings. Before the Cradle Falls is set in current day Portland, Oregon, my hometown. James F. David, who lives in nearby Tigard, is very familiar with Portland and uses real landmarks, Parks and businesses for much of the book. A few things are made-up (our real newpaper is the Oregonian, not the Oregon Chronicle), but for the most part, Portland is exactly as he describes it. It gives me the feeling that I could step out my door one day and see Kyle Sommers driving by in a police car...

Bravo to Mr. David for a fast-moving, highly involving time-travel thriller. With the grim subject matter (child murders, gang wars, etc.), you'd expect more explicit gore and street language, but there isn't much of that here, and there doesn't need to be -- David's story is quite compelling as is. Who is "Cradle Robber"? Who is the "Blue-Skinned Man" who interferes with his murder spree? And will Kyle Sommers catch either of them and learn their secrets?

Unlike a lot of sci-fi I've read, character development is well-done here. The prose is a little shaky at first -- repetitive and awkward in places, but once he finds his groove in the third or fourth chapter, David keeps the story chugging along, sometimes in unexpected directions.

There is a one-two punch ending, one part of which I saw coming (but thoroughly enjoyed) and the other, not as satisfying, but _Before the Cradle Falls_ is definitely worth reading, and one of the better crafted time travel tales out there.

Having read James F. David's previous books (Footprints of Thunder, Fragments & Ship of the Damned) I knew that I would be reading his latest, and with 'Before The Cradle Falls' David has come up with his most creative and entertaining tale yet.

The story begins full force with Detective Kyle Sommers getting a surprise phone call in the middle of the night to come take a look at a murder scene. Kyle is surprised to get this call for one major reason: since his daughter's death and subsequent divorce, he hasn't been doing well -- what with the extended drinking and hallucinations and all. Almost immediately things look a little funny. A young girl is murdered, and left in her hand is a toy rattle...the signature of a serial child killer known as the 'Cradle Robber' who started his sickening spree in San Diego and has steadily moved up the West Coast until arriving in Portland, Oregon. But an odd note left by an old man wearing an overcoat and a large hat has cast a large and strange shadow over the investigation. In the cryptic note, it gives details about the crime, but some did not happen the way it actually panned out.

Before long, the old man with the coat and hat show up at various near-tragedies in and around the Portland area seemingly bent on stopping crimes BEFORE they happen. As Kyle is put in charge of the 'Cradle Robber' task force, he realizes that many in the department have lost all faith in his ability to do good police work, so he is the first to reject the time traveler theory when it first comes to light. But how can you explain the sudden appearance of the old man in so many places where crimes are JUST about to happen? Is he causing the so-called coincidences himself? Is he the Cradle Robber, or is he working together with him to throw the police off track?

VERY interesting theories, and one incredibly engaging plot keep this story moving along in several directions at once, but don't worry, David keeps a tight reign on everything and he knows exactly where to take us. Kyle's reluctant sidekick, Sherrie Nolan provides us with plenty to think about as well as comic relief. Time Travel just isn't possible, according to a Professor at Portland State University, but the more Kyle & Sherrie probe into the Cradle Robber case, the more it seems impossible NOT to believe. Why is the old man being such a Good Samaritan in the first place...and if he can travel back and do some good at this point, why can't he put this same technology to use and go back and save Kyle's daughter, Shelby from her own tragic death? According to Sherrie, altering the time-line can and WILL have catastrophic effects on the environment -- on the scale of a nuclear explosion. The major problem that Kyle is having with the time-line theory is that it's just a THEORY. Since time travel is not even supposed to be possible, how can anyone propose a theory about altering the time-line when traveling through it isn't even possible? A LOT of questions like this are raised along with some moral questions about helping someone live when without the interference of time travel they would have otherwise died. Can we and should we do something if we know that we could avert a disaster? 'Before The Cradle Falls' is a great amusement park ride with all the thrills and chills in all the right places, and I might add, a very nice ending to boot.

On a side note, having grown up near the Portland area, I was VERY pleased how the city itself became a character in the story...everything from the locations to the local mini-marts that are exclusive to the Portland area. It put a smile on my face several times while reading this great tale. HIGHLY recommended.

See storyline above.

One of the main characters in this novel has traveled back in time to save childrens lives. One of those is his own daughter. What James F. David has put together in this novel, will entertain anyone who likes supernatural thrillers. With a serial killer on the loose and a mysterious time traveler, you know you'll be in for a fun ride. Throw in a detective who is hot on their tale, and it's well worth the price. Well written and laced with humor.

Highly recommended.

This is the first book I've read by James F. David. I'm off now to order the other ones. Terrific murder mystery, I was hooked from the first page. Loved the characters, the "McKenzie pool" is pure genius. I'd love to see another book based on the same group of detectives. If you like John Sandford, you'll love this book!

What do you get when Sci-Fi meets Thriller? Another masterpiece by James F. David!

If you think that all police novels are the same, then you haven't read Before the Cradle Falls. David introduces a twist that will have you second-guessing all the others. Truly an original piece that has set the bar at a new level.

But be warned: clear your schedule before you start reading. You will get sucked in, and it will be difficult to put down!

Thank you James F. David once again for reminding me how exciting reading can be.

This review is soley for the novel "Before the Cradle Falls." I happen to consider James F. David a superb suspense writer: "Footprints of Thunder," "Fragments," and "Ship of the Damned" were intriquing and engrossing. "Cradle" is, unfortunately, not.

Kyle Sommers is a police detective who, after the death of his daughter, hid within the bottle. Given a second chance, Sommers finds himself heading the investigation of Cradle Robber, a serial killer who murders random children in the night, thinking he is in fact doing them a favor.

But Sommers is not alone in his investigation. There is another man, who appears to have blue skin, and who knows when children are in danger. He has arrived from the future, intent on saving the children of Portland, Oregon...including his own child...

The plot is a bit ludicrous, but so were those of David's previous novels. What "Cradle" lacks is reality; while occasionally suspenseful, and at times frightening, the novel's characters rarely exceed their two-dimensional forms, and the plot is pretty predictable, not to mention cliche. Though for some it may be a brisk, even entertaining read, fans of David's previous works will find it lacking in quality. Every author writes a book of lesser quality at some point in their career; James F. David has done it with this one. While entertaining to a point, "Before the Cradle Falls" is proof that time travel and police procedural don't mix well.

Taking a cue from the rave reviews I was excited to read Before the Cradle Falls, and even enjoyed myself decently enough for the first 1/3 or so of the novel. Sadly it became progressively worse, bogged down by unrealistic characters, poorly realized "science", bizarre editing decisions, and an uninteresting second-half. SPOILER ALERT, do not read any further than this paragraph to avoid spoilers.

The only other 3-star review summed up with this sentence: "While entertaining to a point, "Before the Cradle Falls" is proof that time travel and police procedural don't mix well."

I actually do not agree. I feel this novel simply was an example of a very generic and lifeless (but decent enough) police procedural, with an insulting and pathetic attempt to mix in some time travel.

Following are some quotes from the book, and some comments from me.

"Worse yet, if he does change the past and takes away the reason he came back, then there will be a temporal paradox," Sherrie said.
"Do you know what that is, Kyle?"
Kyle didn't.

They are talking about time travel, in the year 2002, and he has never heard of a paradox? I wasn't aware his character didn't watch TV or movies, or read books. If he replied out loud that he didn't, that would make sense, because he wants Sherrie to elaborate on the idea in a technical sense. But his ignorance is delivered as omniscient narration, which makes it ridiculous.

"You don't know that," Kyle said.
"I know the universe won't tolerate a temporal paradox. What I don't know is how violent the correction will be. It's hard to know how to put numbers to something like this, but think of the energy that it took to send a man back against the tide of time and then add the energies of all the life paths he's altered--especially those he's saved. If that energy is liberated all at once, it would have to be the equivalent of a fission weapon, or a small fusion bomb." Sherrie said.

This is an example of where bad writing and bad science mix. It is one thing to put incredible events into your books, I love sci-fi and fantasy, and will gladly accept all kinds of crazy fantastical things like time travel in my novels. But this kind of passage (to me) demonstrates a lack of understanding on how to write a student of physics. It is ludicrous that anyone, given the present information, could ever come to this conclusion. How exactly do you use your mental math to estimate the energies of altered life paths? Huh? You can try to explain this away by insisting that there are all kinds of people in the world, and it is not necessarily a plot hole, but I can't see it as anything short of lazy, ignorant writing.

In the end, the frustrations continued growing, and I gradually started forgetting why I had started in the first place. I continued reading until the end because it was a relatively short book and I was curious about where the plot would go and how the mysterious would turn out. Well... now I know better. Everything ended like it started, just kind of uninteresting and incredibly generic.

3 stars because I finished the book, and that's saying something.