Vipers

Add ambitious evil spirits to a marathon game of Grand Theft Auto and you have this breakneck made-for-the-movies celebration of bloody carnage and black scheming. An unscrupulous developer's plans to build a mega-casino near the ruins of an abandoned mine hinge on using an unsafe dam to get the land cheaply. Unfortunately for him, his plans have run afoul of a pair of warring supernatural entities who aren't shy about manipulating serpents, online gamers, local stoners, and Russian gangsters to get what they want. Plot takes a backseat to action, and readers unfamiliar with 2008's Veins will have to play catchup, but fans of summer blockbusters will be happy to crunch popcorn through the car chases, explosions, and brutality. (Sept.)