Ends of the Earth by Tim Downs Published by: Thomas Nelson Publishers (2009) 356 pages Rating: 8/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Tim Downs: Head Game First the Dead

Our beloved medium (books, that is) is changing. Sure, we can still buy all the "dead tree" editions that we want and line our shelves with them. But more and more, people are starting to lean toward electronic books, such as those on Amazon's Kindle device. Even for those of us who don't wish to make that change, there are new twists in this Information Age that are intriguing, somewhat controversial perhaps, and definitely multiplying.

Perhaps the biggest interactivity combination with books came when Randy Singer posted a poll on his website allowing readers to vote on the outcome of a court case in his novel, The Justice Game. Ted Dekker regularly asks the opinion of his fans on his Facebook page. And, of course, there are constant previews and even trailers for upcoming novels all over the web.

Tim Downs jumps firmly into this interactivity with the somewhat maddening last page of Ends of the Earth. A decision of major importance to the life of his central protagonist, Nick Polchak, is left hanging... and readers are encouraged to hasten to Downs' website to express their opinion of how Nick should choose. (umm... please don't do that until you've actually read the book...)

That alone makes this book quite fascinating, but that's not all at work here. As usual, fans of the Bug Man, Polchak, get a ton of quirky behavior, gross details about insects, and a suspenseful story that definitely goes in a new direction both for this series and the genre as a whole in some ways.

We've seen literally hundreds of novels about various forms of terrorism. Bio-terrorism has always been a big one, and eco-terrorism has popped up now and then, but usually in the form of environmentalists seeking to punish mankind. This time around, it's more of... agroterrorism. My spellcheck won't recognize that as a real word, but I'm pretty sure it is.

If you've enjoyed the Bug Man novels, this is the best one to date. If you haven't enjoyed them, or you're squeamish in any way... well... maybe it's not for you. But for everyone else, this is definitely Recommended.