Poetry
6 Stars
Autobiography of Red is the very best in narrative prose and retells the story of Geryon and Herakles told in modern vernacular. What a wonderfully full voice Anne Carson possesses. She manages to fill a classical story with poetry, prose, narration, fable, emotion, love, desire, loss, and every one of the myriad of human emotions into a single touching account. This is one story that will stick with you forever…
6 Stars
Autobiography of Red is the very best in narrative prose and retells the story of Geryon and Herakles told in modern vernacular. What a wonderfully full voice Anne Carson possesses. She manages to fill a classical story with poetry, prose, narration, fable, emotion, love, desire, loss, and every one of the myriad of human emotions into a single touching account. This is one story that will stick with you forever…
Science Fiction
6 Stars
Roadside Picnic, while written in 1971, feels like it somehow belongs to the Golden Age AND the Modern Age of Science Fiction. Based on the after effects of an alien visitation Roadside Picnic feels like it could have been written in the 1930’s. However, the language and the way the strange occurrences are handled are definitely modern. This is some of the wittiest, humorous, and downright scariest Science Fiction to come around in a long time. (Psssst, it’s scary as hell because it reads real…)
6 Stars
Roadside Picnic, while written in 1971, feels like it somehow belongs to the Golden Age AND the Modern Age of Science Fiction. Based on the after effects of an alien visitation Roadside Picnic feels like it could have been written in the 1930’s. However, the language and the way the strange occurrences are handled are definitely modern. This is some of the wittiest, humorous, and downright scariest Science Fiction to come around in a long time. (Psssst, it’s scary as hell because it reads real…)
The Wasteland Saga: Three Novels: Old Man and the Wasteland, The Savage Boy, The Road is a River by Nick Cole
Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
6 Stars
For readers who thought Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was the best work on the post-apocalyptic world – you’d be wrong. The Old Man and the Wasteland, the first story in the collection, is poignant, poetic, beautifully written, and full of emotion. It is hands-down the very best Post-Apocalyptic story I’ve ever read (and trust me, I’ve read them all.) The gloom, depression, and emotional heartbreak of losing everything are found embedded in every poetic line written here. Nick Cole, in my opinion, has created a modern masterpiece. Everyone should be reading him…
Official Nick Cole Website http://nickcolebooks.com/
6 Stars
For readers who thought Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was the best work on the post-apocalyptic world – you’d be wrong. The Old Man and the Wasteland, the first story in the collection, is poignant, poetic, beautifully written, and full of emotion. It is hands-down the very best Post-Apocalyptic story I’ve ever read (and trust me, I’ve read them all.) The gloom, depression, and emotional heartbreak of losing everything are found embedded in every poetic line written here. Nick Cole, in my opinion, has created a modern masterpiece. Everyone should be reading him…
Official Nick Cole Website http://nickcolebooks.com/
Science Fiction/Fantasy
6 Stars
Every once in a while a book comes around that just floors me. (i.e. Dhalgren, More Than Human, Gateway, Perdido Street Station, Cloud Atlas) and I know that it'll be one of those books I will read over and over again. The World of he End is just such a book. It's a strange story of love, death, death again, life after death, cheating death, staying dead, and our perceptions of others. Did I mention death?
6 Stars
Every once in a while a book comes around that just floors me. (i.e. Dhalgren, More Than Human, Gateway, Perdido Street Station, Cloud Atlas) and I know that it'll be one of those books I will read over and over again. The World of he End is just such a book. It's a strange story of love, death, death again, life after death, cheating death, staying dead, and our perceptions of others. Did I mention death?
Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
6 Stars
Surviving a pandemic is one thing but holding off the looters, cannibals, and crazies is another. When Hig hears a random transmission on the radio of his Cessna he takes it upon himself to see if paradise is really out there. What he finds is much more than he bargained for and better than he could have ever hoped. But in a world gone mad sacrifices must be made…
Official Peter Heller Website http://www.peterheller.net/the-dog-stars/
6 Stars
Surviving a pandemic is one thing but holding off the looters, cannibals, and crazies is another. When Hig hears a random transmission on the radio of his Cessna he takes it upon himself to see if paradise is really out there. What he finds is much more than he bargained for and better than he could have ever hoped. But in a world gone mad sacrifices must be made…
Official Peter Heller Website http://www.peterheller.net/the-dog-stars/
Science Fiction/Monster Hunting
6 Stars
Got an infestation of monsters, vampires, goblins, shape shifters, shades, succubus, or werewolves? No worries, Monster Incorporated’s professionally trained monster exterminators will take care of those unwanted beasties. With the bounty on monsters hundreds of times that of bail skippers who wouldn’t strap on an RGP and head out to the nearest vampire nest? But not monsters are created equal and Owen Pitt is soon to find out that Heroes aren’t either!
Official Larry Correia Website http://monsterhunternation.com/
6 Stars
Got an infestation of monsters, vampires, goblins, shape shifters, shades, succubus, or werewolves? No worries, Monster Incorporated’s professionally trained monster exterminators will take care of those unwanted beasties. With the bounty on monsters hundreds of times that of bail skippers who wouldn’t strap on an RGP and head out to the nearest vampire nest? But not monsters are created equal and Owen Pitt is soon to find out that Heroes aren’t either!
Official Larry Correia Website http://monsterhunternation.com/
Literature/Adventure
6 Stars
The Goldfinch is one of the finest and most engaging stories I’ve read in the past ten years. Full of adventure and emotion The Goldfinch is a coming of age story like no other. Loss, drug and alcohol addiction, ambiguous morality, and urgency drive this story into unexpected places. Donna Tartt’s voice is both unique and poetic and has been added to my “Author’s you must buy” list. What might a lost masterpiece broker on the black market? And how many hands will it touch before someone dies?
Donna Tartt Shrine http://www.languageisavirus.com/donna_tartt/
6 Stars
The Goldfinch is one of the finest and most engaging stories I’ve read in the past ten years. Full of adventure and emotion The Goldfinch is a coming of age story like no other. Loss, drug and alcohol addiction, ambiguous morality, and urgency drive this story into unexpected places. Donna Tartt’s voice is both unique and poetic and has been added to my “Author’s you must buy” list. What might a lost masterpiece broker on the black market? And how many hands will it touch before someone dies?
Donna Tartt Shrine http://www.languageisavirus.com/donna_tartt/
Poetry
Throughout the reading of The Glass Essay, the first narrative poem in this book I couldn't help but think what a truly gifted poet Carson is. Even more compelling is the fact that the entire narrative centers on lost love and the complex emotions felt in the midst of that experience. Every word in this much too short work is impactful and moving and I felt every word of it. I now have a new favorite poet!
Throughout the reading of The Glass Essay, the first narrative poem in this book I couldn't help but think what a truly gifted poet Carson is. Even more compelling is the fact that the entire narrative centers on lost love and the complex emotions felt in the midst of that experience. Every word in this much too short work is impactful and moving and I felt every word of it. I now have a new favorite poet!
Nox by Anne Carson
Poetry
Nox is a peculiar work of art in both form and content. Created as an homage to the author’s brother it is a tribute to a family member lost much too early. Nox is a facsimile of a handmade, accordion-style journal Carson created after the death of her brother. More than poetry, it is a physical artifact of love and one of the most poignant reading experiences I’ve ever encountered. Collage, letters, photographs, and poetry create a unique glimpse into the life, and death of someone truly loved.
Nox is a peculiar work of art in both form and content. Created as an homage to the author’s brother it is a tribute to a family member lost much too early. Nox is a facsimile of a handmade, accordion-style journal Carson created after the death of her brother. More than poetry, it is a physical artifact of love and one of the most poignant reading experiences I’ve ever encountered. Collage, letters, photographs, and poetry create a unique glimpse into the life, and death of someone truly loved.
Cyber Science Fiction
In the future, the meaning of love and the finality of death are more complicated than ever. When Rob accidentally runs over a jogger and kills her he sacrifices everything he owns to visit her to ask for her forgiveness. What happens next is a romance at Minus Eighty.
Official Will McIntosh Website http://willmcintosh.net/
In the future, the meaning of love and the finality of death are more complicated than ever. When Rob accidentally runs over a jogger and kills her he sacrifices everything he owns to visit her to ask for her forgiveness. What happens next is a romance at Minus Eighty.
Official Will McIntosh Website http://willmcintosh.net/
Science Fiction/Comedy
Do Earth’s copyright violations count in outer space? The visiting extraterrestrials think so and the illegal downloading (since 1977) of every pop song ever by everyone in the entire universe is bound to bankrupt even the most remote galactic bank and ice farmer in the universe. Perhaps copyright lawyer Nick Carter (the other Nick Carter) can figure a way out before the aliens decide it’s just easier to destroy the earth.
Official Rob Reid Website http://readrobreid.com/
Do Earth’s copyright violations count in outer space? The visiting extraterrestrials think so and the illegal downloading (since 1977) of every pop song ever by everyone in the entire universe is bound to bankrupt even the most remote galactic bank and ice farmer in the universe. Perhaps copyright lawyer Nick Carter (the other Nick Carter) can figure a way out before the aliens decide it’s just easier to destroy the earth.
Official Rob Reid Website http://readrobreid.com/
Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
Book 1 of Legends of the Duskwalker is a wild romp through a broken world full of genetically diseased monsters, cannibals, and enhanced human beings. Can Three, bounty hunter extraordinaire, return a very “special” child back to his home?
Official Jay Posey Website http://jayposey.com/
Book 1 of Legends of the Duskwalker is a wild romp through a broken world full of genetically diseased monsters, cannibals, and enhanced human beings. Can Three, bounty hunter extraordinaire, return a very “special” child back to his home?
Official Jay Posey Website http://jayposey.com/
Urban Science Fiction
Criminals acquire animal familiars (it happens right after the crime is committed) and most acquire a unique “gift”, as well. Zinzi can track items but can she track a missing person? Does she even want to? From the slums to high society she must find the girl or live in debt the rest of her life.
Criminals acquire animal familiars (it happens right after the crime is committed) and most acquire a unique “gift”, as well. Zinzi can track items but can she track a missing person? Does she even want to? From the slums to high society she must find the girl or live in debt the rest of her life.
Biography
Crusoe is beautiful mix of biography, detective story, and the history of the first recorded men to be stranded on tropical islands. One of the very best biographies I’ve ever read it follows the lives of Daniel Defoe, Crusoe’s author, and Robert Knox, a real sailor stranded for 19 years on the tropical island of Ceylon.
Crusoe is beautiful mix of biography, detective story, and the history of the first recorded men to be stranded on tropical islands. One of the very best biographies I’ve ever read it follows the lives of Daniel Defoe, Crusoe’s author, and Robert Knox, a real sailor stranded for 19 years on the tropical island of Ceylon.
Fiction/Murder Mystery
Classical Greek literature and language students in the pursuit of true Bacchanalia commit a murder, then another. But why? The Secret History is a suspense novel that reads like poetry yet contains all the best elements of a Greek tragedy.
Donna Tartt Shrine http://www.languageisavirus.com/donna_tartt/
Classical Greek literature and language students in the pursuit of true Bacchanalia commit a murder, then another. But why? The Secret History is a suspense novel that reads like poetry yet contains all the best elements of a Greek tragedy.
Donna Tartt Shrine http://www.languageisavirus.com/donna_tartt/
Adventure
Despite a very unattractive cover The Return is pure adrenaline, high suspense, and is full of unexpected twists, turns, and scenes of violence and action. This one had me by the throat from page one and never let go (even though I was losing consciousness). Endorsed by Stephen King this was action packed and thrilling cover to cover.
Official Michael Gruber Website http://michaelgruberbooks.com/
Despite a very unattractive cover The Return is pure adrenaline, high suspense, and is full of unexpected twists, turns, and scenes of violence and action. This one had me by the throat from page one and never let go (even though I was losing consciousness). Endorsed by Stephen King this was action packed and thrilling cover to cover.
Official Michael Gruber Website http://michaelgruberbooks.com/
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Literature/Murder Mystery
Suspense, archaeology, and a well written mystery and the search for Plato’s lost city of Atlantis. Sprawling scenery, secretive characters, and an archaeological dig on the brink of being closed down by the Greek government make Travels in Elysium a compelling read.
Suspense, archaeology, and a well written mystery and the search for Plato’s lost city of Atlantis. Sprawling scenery, secretive characters, and an archaeological dig on the brink of being closed down by the Greek government make Travels in Elysium a compelling read.
Mystery
Very little exposition is required to lend that uncanny feeling that something very bad is going to happen in a book entitled Asylum. And indeed, we are not disappointed in this debut Young Adult novel.
Madeleine Roux Official Website http://www.madeleine-roux.com/blog/
Very little exposition is required to lend that uncanny feeling that something very bad is going to happen in a book entitled Asylum. And indeed, we are not disappointed in this debut Young Adult novel.
Madeleine Roux Official Website http://www.madeleine-roux.com/blog/
Science Fiction
It was only a matter of time: Robot love but with a very human touch. Makes me wonder about the evolution of Artificial Intelligence and the inevitable "Artificial" being that can feel emotions. How Clarke handles the subject of unrequited love makes this a masterful work.
Cassandra Rose Clarke Official Website http://www.cassandraroseclarke.com/
It was only a matter of time: Robot love but with a very human touch. Makes me wonder about the evolution of Artificial Intelligence and the inevitable "Artificial" being that can feel emotions. How Clarke handles the subject of unrequited love makes this a masterful work.
Cassandra Rose Clarke Official Website http://www.cassandraroseclarke.com/
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas
Story by Gerard Way
Art by Gabriel Ba
Volume 02 Dallas
Cover Art by Tony Ong
Trade Paperback
192 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics; First Edition
Publication Date: September 16, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1595823458
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas is a follow-up to Apocalypse Suite and is every bit as good as the introductory story. The compelling evil-doers in Dallas are Hazel and Cha-Cha two psychotic, time-travelling serial killers in oversized cartoon masks who capture The Séance and kill him in an attempt to convince Number Five to return to 1963 to finish The Kennedy Assassination. The young and old Number Five (paradox be damned) meet in the Dallas Book Depository where everything ends (although convoluted) as it should.
Plot devices include Viet Cong Vampires, a time machine disguised as an ambulance, death and resurrection, a quick thinking waitress, dismemberment, and God as the Marlboro Man. Oh, and the world ends in nuclear detonation… But that’s another story.
As I mentioned, the Umbrella Academy is a strange and beautiful graphic novel so entertaining you’ll beg for more.
5 out of 5 stars
File with: Graphic novels, unique powers and characters, My Chemical Romance, Grant Morrison, Doom Patrol, Pat McEwon, Zombieworld: Champion of the Worm, Edvin Biukovic, Grendel Tales, superheroes, aliens, science fiction, the apocalypse, time travel, and comics.
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Story by Gerard Way
Art by Gabriel Ba
Volume 02 Dallas
Cover Art by Tony Ong
Trade Paperback
192 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics; First Edition
Publication Date: September 16, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1595823458
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas is a follow-up to Apocalypse Suite and is every bit as good as the introductory story. The compelling evil-doers in Dallas are Hazel and Cha-Cha two psychotic, time-travelling serial killers in oversized cartoon masks who capture The Séance and kill him in an attempt to convince Number Five to return to 1963 to finish The Kennedy Assassination. The young and old Number Five (paradox be damned) meet in the Dallas Book Depository where everything ends (although convoluted) as it should.
Plot devices include Viet Cong Vampires, a time machine disguised as an ambulance, death and resurrection, a quick thinking waitress, dismemberment, and God as the Marlboro Man. Oh, and the world ends in nuclear detonation… But that’s another story.
As I mentioned, the Umbrella Academy is a strange and beautiful graphic novel so entertaining you’ll beg for more.
5 out of 5 stars
File with: Graphic novels, unique powers and characters, My Chemical Romance, Grant Morrison, Doom Patrol, Pat McEwon, Zombieworld: Champion of the Worm, Edvin Biukovic, Grendel Tales, superheroes, aliens, science fiction, the apocalypse, time travel, and comics.
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Book Reviews - The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite and The Umbrella Academy: Dallas by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
The Umbrella Academy
Story by Gerard Way
Art by Gabriel Ba
Volume 01 Apocalypse Suite
Cover Art by James Jean
Trade Paperback
192 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st edition
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-1593079789
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way (lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance) is a weirdly beautiful concept and story. A group of seven gifted orphans have been collected after their birth by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a.k.a. “The Monocle” to save the world from evil threats. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
Spaceboy has enhanced physical strength and a human head grafted onto the body of a Martian gorilla; The Kraken, a Batman-like superhero can hold his breath indefinitely and is an expert knife thrower; The Rumor can alter reality by lying; The Séance can levitate, talk to the dead, and use telekinesis but only when barefoot; Number Five (The Boy), is considered to be “The perfect assassin” since he has the DNA of the best killers in history, he can time travel too; The Horror, possesses monsters from another dimension under his skin and is dead; and The White Violin who shows no visible powers but is believed to be the most powerful of all the members of the Umbrella Academy, she’s capable of releasing destructive waves of energy when she plays her violin.
Together the seven adopted siblings of show more the Umbrella Academy defend Paris against the Zombie Robot attack of Gustave Eiffel, save the world from “The Conductor” of “The Orchestra Verdammten”, defeat Dr. Terminal’s Terminauts, stop the final apocalypse, and fight (like siblings do) each other. Like I said, weirdly beautiful…
One note about the characters and their abilities; creatively speaking the names and abilities of most of the superheroes in the Umbrella Academy are mostly unique. We’ve all seen super strong and time travelling superheroes in the comics before, but this cast of characters is so flawed in so many ways that they go around the bend from weird and slingshot back to normal again. Gerard Way has an active and seriously warped and wonderful imagination and I hope he continues to create graphic novel stories for a long time to come.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
The Umbrella Academy
Story by Gerard Way
Art by Gabriel Ba
Volume 01 Apocalypse Suite
Cover Art by James Jean
Trade Paperback
192 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st edition
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
ISBN-13: 978-1593079789
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way (lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance) is a weirdly beautiful concept and story. A group of seven gifted orphans have been collected after their birth by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a.k.a. “The Monocle” to save the world from evil threats. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
Spaceboy has enhanced physical strength and a human head grafted onto the body of a Martian gorilla; The Kraken, a Batman-like superhero can hold his breath indefinitely and is an expert knife thrower; The Rumor can alter reality by lying; The Séance can levitate, talk to the dead, and use telekinesis but only when barefoot; Number Five (The Boy), is considered to be “The perfect assassin” since he has the DNA of the best killers in history, he can time travel too; The Horror, possesses monsters from another dimension under his skin and is dead; and The White Violin who shows no visible powers but is believed to be the most powerful of all the members of the Umbrella Academy, she’s capable of releasing destructive waves of energy when she plays her violin.
Together the seven adopted siblings of show more the Umbrella Academy defend Paris against the Zombie Robot attack of Gustave Eiffel, save the world from “The Conductor” of “The Orchestra Verdammten”, defeat Dr. Terminal’s Terminauts, stop the final apocalypse, and fight (like siblings do) each other. Like I said, weirdly beautiful…
One note about the characters and their abilities; creatively speaking the names and abilities of most of the superheroes in the Umbrella Academy are mostly unique. We’ve all seen super strong and time travelling superheroes in the comics before, but this cast of characters is so flawed in so many ways that they go around the bend from weird and slingshot back to normal again. Gerard Way has an active and seriously warped and wonderful imagination and I hope he continues to create graphic novel stories for a long time to come.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Book Review - We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
We are all completely beside ourselves
Karen Joy Fowler
Trade Paperback
Publisher: A Marian Wood Book/Putnam
Publication Date: May 30, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0399162091
320 pages
Uncorrected Proof - Advance Reader’s Copy
Karen Joy Fowler writes some of the oddest fiction I’ve ever read. And when I say odd I mean brilliant in a slanted, quirky way. When she writes a nostalgic scene you will think of your childhood home, your grandparents, and those you loved, laughed, and played with when you were growing up. When she wants you to laugh at yourself or teases your sensibilities you will find the humor hidden in all the little crevices of humanity. When she holds up the mirror of sentiment and emotion you will see yourself in her story.
We are all completely beside ourselves is a story of love, family, devotion, separation, and the dichotomy of life and the biased memories we make in our own minds concerning our pasts. But more than that it’s a story of social interaction and how we act, react, and interact through emotionally stressful and confusing times.
One undeserved criticism Fowler sometimes receives is that her characters are unfinished, furtive, and difficult to connect to. Many of her characters are mysteriously, and I think, intentionally, incomplete and here’s why I think it’s the perfect approach to creating a superior character, especially in the emotionally-driven narratives Fowler show more creates. Humans are enigmatic and unknown even to themselves sometimes. We are flawed, we are duplicitous, and we are opinionated and often change our attitudes. We occasionally don’t know our own minds or the real reasons we say or act the way we do. We are hurtful yet full of kindness. We are truthful but lie to preserve our own slanted images of ourselves and we confuse emotions with obsessions. Karen Joy Fowler’s characters then, mirror the gaps and holes in us all. In essence she writes enormously realistic characters that remind us of our own strengths, failings, assets, and ambiguities. Simply put, she writes convincing characters as compassionate, flawed, emotional human beings.
This is the second novel by Karen Joy Fowler I’ve reviewed. I gave the first, Sarah Canary, a high overall review rating for originality, style, and content. We are all completely beside ourselves is no less creative than Sarah Canary and is, in my opinion, a superior read well worth the time.
File with: mysteries, animal rights, emotionally-driven narratives, the human condition, love, loneliness, and social interaction.
4 ½ out of 5 Stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
We are all completely beside ourselves
Karen Joy Fowler
Trade Paperback
Publisher: A Marian Wood Book/Putnam
Publication Date: May 30, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0399162091
320 pages
Uncorrected Proof - Advance Reader’s Copy
Karen Joy Fowler writes some of the oddest fiction I’ve ever read. And when I say odd I mean brilliant in a slanted, quirky way. When she writes a nostalgic scene you will think of your childhood home, your grandparents, and those you loved, laughed, and played with when you were growing up. When she wants you to laugh at yourself or teases your sensibilities you will find the humor hidden in all the little crevices of humanity. When she holds up the mirror of sentiment and emotion you will see yourself in her story.
We are all completely beside ourselves is a story of love, family, devotion, separation, and the dichotomy of life and the biased memories we make in our own minds concerning our pasts. But more than that it’s a story of social interaction and how we act, react, and interact through emotionally stressful and confusing times.
One undeserved criticism Fowler sometimes receives is that her characters are unfinished, furtive, and difficult to connect to. Many of her characters are mysteriously, and I think, intentionally, incomplete and here’s why I think it’s the perfect approach to creating a superior character, especially in the emotionally-driven narratives Fowler show more creates. Humans are enigmatic and unknown even to themselves sometimes. We are flawed, we are duplicitous, and we are opinionated and often change our attitudes. We occasionally don’t know our own minds or the real reasons we say or act the way we do. We are hurtful yet full of kindness. We are truthful but lie to preserve our own slanted images of ourselves and we confuse emotions with obsessions. Karen Joy Fowler’s characters then, mirror the gaps and holes in us all. In essence she writes enormously realistic characters that remind us of our own strengths, failings, assets, and ambiguities. Simply put, she writes convincing characters as compassionate, flawed, emotional human beings.
This is the second novel by Karen Joy Fowler I’ve reviewed. I gave the first, Sarah Canary, a high overall review rating for originality, style, and content. We are all completely beside ourselves is no less creative than Sarah Canary and is, in my opinion, a superior read well worth the time.
File with: mysteries, animal rights, emotionally-driven narratives, the human condition, love, loneliness, and social interaction.
4 ½ out of 5 Stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Book Review - Donnybrook by Frank Bill
Donnybrook
Frank Bill
Trade Paperback
Publisher: FSG Originals
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0374532895
256 pages
don·ny·brook/ˈdɒniˌbrʊk/[don-ee-brook] an inordinately wild fight or contentious dispute; brawl; free-for-all. Also called Donnybrook Fair.
- www.dictionary.reference.com
The Orange County, Indiana Donnybrook Fair is a three day all-out no-holds barred fist-fight featuring pugilists, bare-knuckle fighters, self-defense experts, martial artists, and hand-to-hand combatants from all walks of life. It’s the rowdiest and most physically violent party you’ll find anywhere in America. One hundred brave men vie for $100K in cash prizes and thousands of spectators come to watch, bet on their favorite fighters, carouse, argue, ingest drugs, get drunk on moonshine and cheap beer, and get laid. It is, in fact, what Jarhead Earl, a bare-knuckle fighter, reasons is the only redemption he’s ever likely to find.
Jarhead has seen better days. He has no job, no money, and no prospects for the future and with two young mouths to feed and a woman with an Oxycontin monkey on her back he sets off from Kentucky to the Donnybrook to stake his claim. But before he can enter the fight Jarhead needs the $1,000 entry fee and a man with nothing to lose will do just about anything to get back to square again, including robbing a gun shop, for exactly $1,000.
One thing Donnybrook isn't is high literature and thank-goodness show more for that. This imaginative novel is filled with some of the most interesting “language” I've read in a very long time. It is coarse, dark, ribald, dirty, low, and so very crisp. It's colloquial, explicit and beautiful. It is Hunter S. Thompson meets Charles Bukowski meets outhouse scribbling. And that makes Donnybrook all kinds of a great read. The characters are the dregs, drug addicts, and lost souls of an unemployable, broken region of the mid-west. Flawed, American, and itching for a fight every character is as hard as nails and would just as soon throw a punch your way as smile at you. But Frank Bill takes us deep into the heart and soul of the protagonist and we identify with him and are moved by his desire to improve his situation and care for his family, no matter how messed up the methods. And that's what makes this book so entertaining. There's blood and sex and drugs and booze and addiction and cruelty and redemption and love and the complexities of the human condition connecting them all.
Frank Bill has a magnificent gift for creating realistic, layered settings filled with striking language and vivid, poetic succinctness. He can carve an entire Kentucky County in two short sentences, explain the intricacies of bare-fisted fighting in fewer words than I’ve used in this paragraph, and can craft impactful and colloquial dialogue like a veteran writer. In fact, his dialogue reminded me very much of Cormac McCarthy’s homespun language. It’s simple storytelling but expresses the complex emotions and thoughts of desperate, lost characters. And that’s the brilliance of this story. Donnybrook is entertaining, fun, violent, coarse, dirty, addictive and just waiting for a Hollywood producer to turn it into a blockbuster movie. I personally hope a sequel is in the making…
File with: Bare-knuckled fist fights, Raging Bull, pulp fiction, Every Which Way But Loose, The Quiet Man, colloquialism, Fight Club, Snatch, drug and alcohol abuse, The Iliad, Macbeth, Ivanhoe, guns and guts, The Song of Roland, torture, Beowulf, and Suttree, Child of God, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Donnybrook
Frank Bill
Trade Paperback
Publisher: FSG Originals
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0374532895
256 pages
don·ny·brook/ˈdɒniˌbrʊk/[don-ee-brook] an inordinately wild fight or contentious dispute; brawl; free-for-all. Also called Donnybrook Fair.
- www.dictionary.reference.com
The Orange County, Indiana Donnybrook Fair is a three day all-out no-holds barred fist-fight featuring pugilists, bare-knuckle fighters, self-defense experts, martial artists, and hand-to-hand combatants from all walks of life. It’s the rowdiest and most physically violent party you’ll find anywhere in America. One hundred brave men vie for $100K in cash prizes and thousands of spectators come to watch, bet on their favorite fighters, carouse, argue, ingest drugs, get drunk on moonshine and cheap beer, and get laid. It is, in fact, what Jarhead Earl, a bare-knuckle fighter, reasons is the only redemption he’s ever likely to find.
Jarhead has seen better days. He has no job, no money, and no prospects for the future and with two young mouths to feed and a woman with an Oxycontin monkey on her back he sets off from Kentucky to the Donnybrook to stake his claim. But before he can enter the fight Jarhead needs the $1,000 entry fee and a man with nothing to lose will do just about anything to get back to square again, including robbing a gun shop, for exactly $1,000.
One thing Donnybrook isn't is high literature and thank-goodness show more for that. This imaginative novel is filled with some of the most interesting “language” I've read in a very long time. It is coarse, dark, ribald, dirty, low, and so very crisp. It's colloquial, explicit and beautiful. It is Hunter S. Thompson meets Charles Bukowski meets outhouse scribbling. And that makes Donnybrook all kinds of a great read. The characters are the dregs, drug addicts, and lost souls of an unemployable, broken region of the mid-west. Flawed, American, and itching for a fight every character is as hard as nails and would just as soon throw a punch your way as smile at you. But Frank Bill takes us deep into the heart and soul of the protagonist and we identify with him and are moved by his desire to improve his situation and care for his family, no matter how messed up the methods. And that's what makes this book so entertaining. There's blood and sex and drugs and booze and addiction and cruelty and redemption and love and the complexities of the human condition connecting them all.
Frank Bill has a magnificent gift for creating realistic, layered settings filled with striking language and vivid, poetic succinctness. He can carve an entire Kentucky County in two short sentences, explain the intricacies of bare-fisted fighting in fewer words than I’ve used in this paragraph, and can craft impactful and colloquial dialogue like a veteran writer. In fact, his dialogue reminded me very much of Cormac McCarthy’s homespun language. It’s simple storytelling but expresses the complex emotions and thoughts of desperate, lost characters. And that’s the brilliance of this story. Donnybrook is entertaining, fun, violent, coarse, dirty, addictive and just waiting for a Hollywood producer to turn it into a blockbuster movie. I personally hope a sequel is in the making…
File with: Bare-knuckled fist fights, Raging Bull, pulp fiction, Every Which Way But Loose, The Quiet Man, colloquialism, Fight Club, Snatch, drug and alcohol abuse, The Iliad, Macbeth, Ivanhoe, guns and guts, The Song of Roland, torture, Beowulf, and Suttree, Child of God, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Book Review - The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
The Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker
Trade Paper Back
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0062110831
496 pages
Advance Readers Copy
Golem [goh-luhm, -lem] 1. Jewish Folklore. a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life. 2. a stupid and clumsy person; blockhead. 3. an automaton.
Jinni [ji-nee, jin-ee] Islamic Mythology. any of a class of spirits, lower than the angels, capable of appearing in human and animal forms and influencing humankind for either good or evil. (also, jinn, djinn, djinni)
The Golem and the Jinni is a unique mixture of Hebrew and Arab mythology; a modern telling of stories older than the written word. A golem, a clay woman created to serve as a rich man’s companion, loses its master to a burst appendix on board a steamship headed to America. A jinni, released by an unsuspecting tinsmith from its prison after hundreds of years in captivity, tries to recall its hazy past. For both, finding their way and places in 1899 New York City is both a challenge and a curse. Disoriented and alone they set out to understand the world around them. How do two creatures, neither of them human, fit in to this strange new world?
The golem begins her independent life as a baker and the Jinni as an apprentice tinsmith. Completely unknown to each other, the two creatures of ancient lore explore the unfamiliar and very human city. The golem, taken in show more by a kind, old rabbi, is tormented by the desires and wishes of others, which she can hear in her mind. Ahmad, named by the tinsmith who released him from his captivity, has no patience for the dreariness of humans. Both must work to create a place for themselves in America, and develop relationships with the humans who surround them.
And then, one cold, wind-swept night, they unexpectedly cross paths.
File with: One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, mythology, folk lore, Scheherazade, fantasy, and social outcasts.
4 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
The Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker
Trade Paper Back
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0062110831
496 pages
Advance Readers Copy
Golem [goh-luhm, -lem] 1. Jewish Folklore. a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life. 2. a stupid and clumsy person; blockhead. 3. an automaton.
Jinni [ji-nee, jin-ee] Islamic Mythology. any of a class of spirits, lower than the angels, capable of appearing in human and animal forms and influencing humankind for either good or evil. (also, jinn, djinn, djinni)
The Golem and the Jinni is a unique mixture of Hebrew and Arab mythology; a modern telling of stories older than the written word. A golem, a clay woman created to serve as a rich man’s companion, loses its master to a burst appendix on board a steamship headed to America. A jinni, released by an unsuspecting tinsmith from its prison after hundreds of years in captivity, tries to recall its hazy past. For both, finding their way and places in 1899 New York City is both a challenge and a curse. Disoriented and alone they set out to understand the world around them. How do two creatures, neither of them human, fit in to this strange new world?
The golem begins her independent life as a baker and the Jinni as an apprentice tinsmith. Completely unknown to each other, the two creatures of ancient lore explore the unfamiliar and very human city. The golem, taken in show more by a kind, old rabbi, is tormented by the desires and wishes of others, which she can hear in her mind. Ahmad, named by the tinsmith who released him from his captivity, has no patience for the dreariness of humans. Both must work to create a place for themselves in America, and develop relationships with the humans who surround them.
And then, one cold, wind-swept night, they unexpectedly cross paths.
File with: One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, mythology, folk lore, Scheherazade, fantasy, and social outcasts.
4 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Book Review - The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch
The Hangman’s Daughter
Oliver Pötzsch
Kindle Version
Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Publication Date: December 7, 2010
Source ISBN: 054774501X
Print Length: 448 pages
A murder mystery set in 17th Century Bavaria told from the perspective of an executioner? How creative is that? Yes, I understand that Oliver Pötzsch gleaned a lot of this story from his own genealogical background, but still… I love all the originality that came out of his family history research. Believe me when I tell you that most family history study is rather boring (dates and names and full of dull farmers and peasants and such) so a truly original idea stemming from that exploration is extremely interesting to me. Had he only written this one book I might have attributed it to a flash-in-the-pan but interesting. That Pötzsch was able to add to the story for an additional three more books is an amazing accomplishment.
The Hangman’s Daughter is a dark and grisly tale told from the viewpoint of Jacob Kuisl, the local Hangman, who is not at all like what executioners have been portrayed in film and fiction over the years. Kuisl is not a cold, heartless killer hiding behind a mask. He’s a real, loving, caring person that understands his role as village executioner and sets out to complete his every duty to keep his family in beets and mutton. But Jacob is also a kind-hearted, compassionate, and logical-minded man that understands the harsh show more realities of the world he lives in even if he has to break a few noses to get to the truth. And the tortures and executions he must commit in the name of the village leaders are sometimes burdens he has difficulty shouldering, especially when he doesn’t agree with the judgments handed down by the town burghers. It doesn’t happen often but when it does it puts Kuisl in a precarious situation. Like when the midwife that delivered his children is accused of witchcraft.
I think that the logical, caring, scientific man behind the mask is the main reason this story worked for me. Yes, you could argue that the language or phrases could not have come from the 17th Century (but really, what fun would that read be?) You could also argue that there’s too much implied violence here (especially the torture of a witch and the murder of children) but the sad reality is that the world was a very cruel place when this fictional account happened and Pötzsch does an excellent job of setting the tone for his historic scenes, which is another reason I rated this story high. But the main reason I enjoyed this story so much was that I valued the characters. The Hangman with a secret heart of gold and a fist of fury, his daughter, Magdalena, trapped by circumstance of birth to marry an executioner herself and filled with melancholy and stubbornness because of it, the town doctor’s son, Simon, a new physician himself, who despises the old medicinal practices of blood letting and purging, and the accused witch who is nothing more than an innocent midwife with a few herbal remedies made The Hangman’s Daughter a very enjoyable read. The character development was beautifully paced and the antagonist cleverly conceived and I began to care about the characters very quickly; a sure sign of a well-written story to me.
The Hangman’s Daughter was a comparatively quick read for me and I enjoyed every moment of it very much. As a matter of fact, I appreciated The Hangman’s Daughter so much that I purchased the Kindle versions of the other two available books in the series, The Dark Monk and The Beggar King and pre-ordered the forth-coming fourth book in the series The Poisoned Pilgrim, due out later this year.
File with: Historical fiction, murder mystery, Jesse Bullington, horror, history, executioners, Ellis Peters, hangmen, and witchcraft.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
Hangman's Daughter Series
1. The Hangman's Daughter (2010)
2. The Dark Monk (2012)
3. The Beggar King (2012)
4. The Poisoned Pilgrim (2013) show less
The Hangman’s Daughter
Oliver Pötzsch
Kindle Version
Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Publication Date: December 7, 2010
Source ISBN: 054774501X
Print Length: 448 pages
A murder mystery set in 17th Century Bavaria told from the perspective of an executioner? How creative is that? Yes, I understand that Oliver Pötzsch gleaned a lot of this story from his own genealogical background, but still… I love all the originality that came out of his family history research. Believe me when I tell you that most family history study is rather boring (dates and names and full of dull farmers and peasants and such) so a truly original idea stemming from that exploration is extremely interesting to me. Had he only written this one book I might have attributed it to a flash-in-the-pan but interesting. That Pötzsch was able to add to the story for an additional three more books is an amazing accomplishment.
The Hangman’s Daughter is a dark and grisly tale told from the viewpoint of Jacob Kuisl, the local Hangman, who is not at all like what executioners have been portrayed in film and fiction over the years. Kuisl is not a cold, heartless killer hiding behind a mask. He’s a real, loving, caring person that understands his role as village executioner and sets out to complete his every duty to keep his family in beets and mutton. But Jacob is also a kind-hearted, compassionate, and logical-minded man that understands the harsh show more realities of the world he lives in even if he has to break a few noses to get to the truth. And the tortures and executions he must commit in the name of the village leaders are sometimes burdens he has difficulty shouldering, especially when he doesn’t agree with the judgments handed down by the town burghers. It doesn’t happen often but when it does it puts Kuisl in a precarious situation. Like when the midwife that delivered his children is accused of witchcraft.
I think that the logical, caring, scientific man behind the mask is the main reason this story worked for me. Yes, you could argue that the language or phrases could not have come from the 17th Century (but really, what fun would that read be?) You could also argue that there’s too much implied violence here (especially the torture of a witch and the murder of children) but the sad reality is that the world was a very cruel place when this fictional account happened and Pötzsch does an excellent job of setting the tone for his historic scenes, which is another reason I rated this story high. But the main reason I enjoyed this story so much was that I valued the characters. The Hangman with a secret heart of gold and a fist of fury, his daughter, Magdalena, trapped by circumstance of birth to marry an executioner herself and filled with melancholy and stubbornness because of it, the town doctor’s son, Simon, a new physician himself, who despises the old medicinal practices of blood letting and purging, and the accused witch who is nothing more than an innocent midwife with a few herbal remedies made The Hangman’s Daughter a very enjoyable read. The character development was beautifully paced and the antagonist cleverly conceived and I began to care about the characters very quickly; a sure sign of a well-written story to me.
The Hangman’s Daughter was a comparatively quick read for me and I enjoyed every moment of it very much. As a matter of fact, I appreciated The Hangman’s Daughter so much that I purchased the Kindle versions of the other two available books in the series, The Dark Monk and The Beggar King and pre-ordered the forth-coming fourth book in the series The Poisoned Pilgrim, due out later this year.
File with: Historical fiction, murder mystery, Jesse Bullington, horror, history, executioners, Ellis Peters, hangmen, and witchcraft.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
Hangman's Daughter Series
1. The Hangman's Daughter (2010)
2. The Dark Monk (2012)
3. The Beggar King (2012)
4. The Poisoned Pilgrim (2013) show less
Book Review - The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
The Best of All Possible Worlds
Karen Lord
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: February 12, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0345534057
320 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord is, in my opinion, everything that’s right and good with Science Fiction today. It contains mind-powered space flight, reminiscent of Dune but without the religious/spice-drug aspects. Some of the main characters are humanoid “aliens” like every non-human race in Gene Rodenberry’s alternate Star Trek universe (i.e. Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans, etc.). There is one very dead planet destroyed by a hostile enemy similar to what happens in Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, among others. And, there is futurism but not in a dystopian Brave New World or Hunger Games way but more like Asimov’s Foundation series where science remains one of the more crucial element to the survival of the human race rather than its downfall. But, more importantly than all these other fascinating tropes is that The Best of All Possible Worlds contains social Science Fiction mingled expertly with human interaction, the bonds of friendship and love through difference, and a very modern feel for a style that used to be called classic. There is good reason why I mention some of the greatest contributions and novelists of Science Fiction in the descriptions above and that’s show more because The Best of All Possible Worlds belongs categorized with them. Now, more than ever, we need successors to the hard Science Fiction mentalities of the past fifty years that have disappeared with the passing of the great Science-Fiction writers of the Golden Age. Karen Lord is an obvious front-runner.
A powerful, technologically-minded race of humanoid “aliens,” the Sadiri, suddenly find themselves homeless after their world has been completely destroyed by a planet-busting weapon. In an attempt to integrate themselves into a new society a small group of traveling male survivors seek refuge on the colony planet of Cygnus Beta and are challenged to rebuild their race by locating suitable DNA matches from the women that currently live there. Grace, a Cygnus Betan and a scientist trained in linguistics is assigned as liaison between the local politicians and the Sadiri to help aide them in their search for acceptable female counterparts and to build new settlements to ease their integration into society. Her Sadiri counterpart, Dllenahkh, together, with a small team of representatives from both cultures set off on an expedition across the newly colonized planet. Along the way their close friendship becomes something more than either expected. But with advanced humanoids from the stars what exactly does that mean? And where might it take them?
The Best of All Possible Worlds is a fascinating science-fiction novel that I'd recommend to readers who enjoy character driven stories with a bit of technology, some biology, mystery, alien psychology, and light, non-conventional romantic elements. Lord’s style is both elegant and subtle, her world-building spectacular, and she spends very little time telling the reader the story but rather showing it by engaging our imaginations with her concise and often poetic prose. There is a new, powerful, and creative voice in the realm of Science Fiction. Her name is Karen Lord.
File with: Jack McDevitt, mind-bending space travel, Dune, technology, Star Trek, alien culture, Gene Rodenberry, light Romance, Science Fiction, Kurt Vonnegut, Peter F. Hamilton, planet killers, and futurism.
4 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
The Best of All Possible Worlds
Karen Lord
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: February 12, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0345534057
320 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord is, in my opinion, everything that’s right and good with Science Fiction today. It contains mind-powered space flight, reminiscent of Dune but without the religious/spice-drug aspects. Some of the main characters are humanoid “aliens” like every non-human race in Gene Rodenberry’s alternate Star Trek universe (i.e. Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans, etc.). There is one very dead planet destroyed by a hostile enemy similar to what happens in Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, among others. And, there is futurism but not in a dystopian Brave New World or Hunger Games way but more like Asimov’s Foundation series where science remains one of the more crucial element to the survival of the human race rather than its downfall. But, more importantly than all these other fascinating tropes is that The Best of All Possible Worlds contains social Science Fiction mingled expertly with human interaction, the bonds of friendship and love through difference, and a very modern feel for a style that used to be called classic. There is good reason why I mention some of the greatest contributions and novelists of Science Fiction in the descriptions above and that’s show more because The Best of All Possible Worlds belongs categorized with them. Now, more than ever, we need successors to the hard Science Fiction mentalities of the past fifty years that have disappeared with the passing of the great Science-Fiction writers of the Golden Age. Karen Lord is an obvious front-runner.
A powerful, technologically-minded race of humanoid “aliens,” the Sadiri, suddenly find themselves homeless after their world has been completely destroyed by a planet-busting weapon. In an attempt to integrate themselves into a new society a small group of traveling male survivors seek refuge on the colony planet of Cygnus Beta and are challenged to rebuild their race by locating suitable DNA matches from the women that currently live there. Grace, a Cygnus Betan and a scientist trained in linguistics is assigned as liaison between the local politicians and the Sadiri to help aide them in their search for acceptable female counterparts and to build new settlements to ease their integration into society. Her Sadiri counterpart, Dllenahkh, together, with a small team of representatives from both cultures set off on an expedition across the newly colonized planet. Along the way their close friendship becomes something more than either expected. But with advanced humanoids from the stars what exactly does that mean? And where might it take them?
The Best of All Possible Worlds is a fascinating science-fiction novel that I'd recommend to readers who enjoy character driven stories with a bit of technology, some biology, mystery, alien psychology, and light, non-conventional romantic elements. Lord’s style is both elegant and subtle, her world-building spectacular, and she spends very little time telling the reader the story but rather showing it by engaging our imaginations with her concise and often poetic prose. There is a new, powerful, and creative voice in the realm of Science Fiction. Her name is Karen Lord.
File with: Jack McDevitt, mind-bending space travel, Dune, technology, Star Trek, alien culture, Gene Rodenberry, light Romance, Science Fiction, Kurt Vonnegut, Peter F. Hamilton, planet killers, and futurism.
4 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Death Warmed Over
(Dan Shamble, Zombie PI Series #1)
Kevin J. Anderson
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0758277343
304 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
New Orleans has a tendency to spit out some odd and unsavory characters from time to time but when the undead, including zombies, vampires, werewolves, and a host of other distasteful characters infiltrate NOLA then it can only go from really bad to totally jacked. When the “Big Uneasy” occurred, a mysterious event ten years earlier that released every variety of nightmarish monsters into the real world, one P.I.’s investigative workload took an unusual turn for the bizarre. Dan Chambeaux, Zombie PI, and his ghostly, lounge-singing girlfriend, Sheyenne, take on some of the shadiest cases in the “Unnatural Quarter” including a resurrected mummy suing the museum that put him in their showroom for wrongful imprisonment, two hexed witches filing legal action against a publisher for not using “spell check” on its books of enchantments, and a skittish vampire with a stake phobia. Those cases pay the bills but of greater importance to Chambeaux is who turned him and why? And what’s with the bullet hole through the middle of his head? Twisted, hilarious, and completely entertaining Death Warmed Over is the perfect gift for that murder-mystery ghost-loving undead-zombie-detective-humorist fan in your life. You know who they are!
Death Warmed Over, the first book in show more the Dan Shamble, Zombie PI series by Kevin J. Anderson is a rollicking, dark-humor, supernatural tale that I recommend for pulp, humor, detective, zombie, and murder mystery fans of all ages. (Mostly not for pre-teens, ‘cuz, you know, there’re zombies and mayhem and the unnaturally undead in here. Of course, just by saying this I know it’ll send them all flocking to the nearest library to check it out. If only that were true?) [If you are under 13 and reading this please forget that I wrote the last two sentences. K? BTW, there’s plenty of really excellent YA novels at the library.]
File with: Zombies, the supernatural, zombie private investigator, murder mystery, even more zombies, undead, super-unnatural beings, flesh-eaters, pulp detective/true crime stories, Zombies vs. Vampires vs. Werewolves, a lot more zombies, New Orleans, witches, mummies, curses, and The Walking Dead.
4 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. Series:
1. Death Warmed over (2012)
2. Unnatural Acts (2012)
3. Hair Raising (2013) show less
(Dan Shamble, Zombie PI Series #1)
Kevin J. Anderson
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0758277343
304 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
New Orleans has a tendency to spit out some odd and unsavory characters from time to time but when the undead, including zombies, vampires, werewolves, and a host of other distasteful characters infiltrate NOLA then it can only go from really bad to totally jacked. When the “Big Uneasy” occurred, a mysterious event ten years earlier that released every variety of nightmarish monsters into the real world, one P.I.’s investigative workload took an unusual turn for the bizarre. Dan Chambeaux, Zombie PI, and his ghostly, lounge-singing girlfriend, Sheyenne, take on some of the shadiest cases in the “Unnatural Quarter” including a resurrected mummy suing the museum that put him in their showroom for wrongful imprisonment, two hexed witches filing legal action against a publisher for not using “spell check” on its books of enchantments, and a skittish vampire with a stake phobia. Those cases pay the bills but of greater importance to Chambeaux is who turned him and why? And what’s with the bullet hole through the middle of his head? Twisted, hilarious, and completely entertaining Death Warmed Over is the perfect gift for that murder-mystery ghost-loving undead-zombie-detective-humorist fan in your life. You know who they are!
Death Warmed Over, the first book in show more the Dan Shamble, Zombie PI series by Kevin J. Anderson is a rollicking, dark-humor, supernatural tale that I recommend for pulp, humor, detective, zombie, and murder mystery fans of all ages. (Mostly not for pre-teens, ‘cuz, you know, there’re zombies and mayhem and the unnaturally undead in here. Of course, just by saying this I know it’ll send them all flocking to the nearest library to check it out. If only that were true?) [If you are under 13 and reading this please forget that I wrote the last two sentences. K? BTW, there’s plenty of really excellent YA novels at the library.]
File with: Zombies, the supernatural, zombie private investigator, murder mystery, even more zombies, undead, super-unnatural beings, flesh-eaters, pulp detective/true crime stories, Zombies vs. Vampires vs. Werewolves, a lot more zombies, New Orleans, witches, mummies, curses, and The Walking Dead.
4 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. Series:
1. Death Warmed over (2012)
2. Unnatural Acts (2012)
3. Hair Raising (2013) show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Dearly, Beloved: A Zombie Novel
Lia Habel
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 25, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0345523341
496 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
Their love knows no end… well, his doesn’t. Can a Steampunk lady from the crusty upper class find unconditional love with a handsome, urban-guerilla zombie?
Dearly Beloved is the sequel to Lia Habel's novel Dearly, Departed which I did not know when I originally made the request for the Advance Reader’s Copy (Yes, I know, shame on me for not doing my homework but the premise sounded good. It was a zombie story! What of it?) At any rate, when I understood that it was the second book in a series it all began to make sense to me. It explains my feeling of being slightly lost, albeit momentarily, through the first chapter or so. This is not the first time I’ve accidently read a story out of series order (probably won’t be the last either) and I apologize to the author for not being able to connect Dearly, Departed (which I did not read) with Dearly, Beloved. It also explains why some of the characters felt, to me, so familiar to each other both in dialogue and action. This is a very good thing for a second book in a series, by the way. You want your characters to interact with familiarity and understand some of each other’s motives and emotions. All that said, this could have been, in my opinion, a stand-alone story on its own merits my confusion not withstanding. Dearly, Beloved is a very good show more story that contains intricate sub-plot twists, a world full of unusual (sometimes bizarre) characters, and multiple political and social points of view. Habel is a competent writer, has exactly the right voice needed to create inventive stories in the genre, and managed to integrate unique and creative ideas into her narrative. Always an advantage in a genre overflowing with overused tropes, memes, and cliché.
The interesting idea here is that zombies can lead fairly normal lives if they reanimate early enough to prevent too much deterioration to the brain and are able to control their animalistic lust for consuming human flesh. And in this world zombies are considered second-rate citizens that many believe should not be afforded the same rights as the living. The socio-political climate is in a delicate balance that’s about to boil over. A dangerous standoff exists between “The Changed,” a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for their survival, and “The Murder,” a squad of paramilitary rebels determined to terminate the living dead and their living allies. Nora Dearly and her zombie boyfriend, Bram, fight together to keep both their worlds from erupting into social unrest and violence while attempting to understand the unique complications of their living/undead new love. Hell of a way to develop a budding relationship!
Those of you familiar with my blog know that the Romance genre is one that I normally do not read or review. This particular book then presented me with a serious review dilemma. Should I read Dearly, Beloved with the pre-formed notion that I’d more than likely rate it low simply because it is a Romance or do I take the chance and hope that the Zombie elements outweigh the endearments? The answer? Dearly, Beloved is, in all actuality, an excellent Zombie novel with interesting and captivating elements of Romance, social reform, violence, and xenophobia deftly woven into the backstory. While not quite the type of story I normally showcase here Dearly, Beloved was a surprisingly intelligent, creative, and entertaining read.
File with: Virus Apocalypse, Neo-Victorian Gothic Romance, Noir Steampunk, zombies, The Walking-Dead meets Romance, high-society, adventure, futuristic thriller, social unrest and reform, commando guerilla zombies, soft porn, and living corpses.
4 stars out of 5
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
Dearly, Departed Series
1. Dearly Departed (2011)
2. Dearly, Beloved (2012) show less
Lia Habel
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 25, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0345523341
496 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
Their love knows no end… well, his doesn’t. Can a Steampunk lady from the crusty upper class find unconditional love with a handsome, urban-guerilla zombie?
Dearly Beloved is the sequel to Lia Habel's novel Dearly, Departed which I did not know when I originally made the request for the Advance Reader’s Copy (Yes, I know, shame on me for not doing my homework but the premise sounded good. It was a zombie story! What of it?) At any rate, when I understood that it was the second book in a series it all began to make sense to me. It explains my feeling of being slightly lost, albeit momentarily, through the first chapter or so. This is not the first time I’ve accidently read a story out of series order (probably won’t be the last either) and I apologize to the author for not being able to connect Dearly, Departed (which I did not read) with Dearly, Beloved. It also explains why some of the characters felt, to me, so familiar to each other both in dialogue and action. This is a very good thing for a second book in a series, by the way. You want your characters to interact with familiarity and understand some of each other’s motives and emotions. All that said, this could have been, in my opinion, a stand-alone story on its own merits my confusion not withstanding. Dearly, Beloved is a very good show more story that contains intricate sub-plot twists, a world full of unusual (sometimes bizarre) characters, and multiple political and social points of view. Habel is a competent writer, has exactly the right voice needed to create inventive stories in the genre, and managed to integrate unique and creative ideas into her narrative. Always an advantage in a genre overflowing with overused tropes, memes, and cliché.
The interesting idea here is that zombies can lead fairly normal lives if they reanimate early enough to prevent too much deterioration to the brain and are able to control their animalistic lust for consuming human flesh. And in this world zombies are considered second-rate citizens that many believe should not be afforded the same rights as the living. The socio-political climate is in a delicate balance that’s about to boil over. A dangerous standoff exists between “The Changed,” a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for their survival, and “The Murder,” a squad of paramilitary rebels determined to terminate the living dead and their living allies. Nora Dearly and her zombie boyfriend, Bram, fight together to keep both their worlds from erupting into social unrest and violence while attempting to understand the unique complications of their living/undead new love. Hell of a way to develop a budding relationship!
Those of you familiar with my blog know that the Romance genre is one that I normally do not read or review. This particular book then presented me with a serious review dilemma. Should I read Dearly, Beloved with the pre-formed notion that I’d more than likely rate it low simply because it is a Romance or do I take the chance and hope that the Zombie elements outweigh the endearments? The answer? Dearly, Beloved is, in all actuality, an excellent Zombie novel with interesting and captivating elements of Romance, social reform, violence, and xenophobia deftly woven into the backstory. While not quite the type of story I normally showcase here Dearly, Beloved was a surprisingly intelligent, creative, and entertaining read.
File with: Virus Apocalypse, Neo-Victorian Gothic Romance, Noir Steampunk, zombies, The Walking-Dead meets Romance, high-society, adventure, futuristic thriller, social unrest and reform, commando guerilla zombies, soft porn, and living corpses.
4 stars out of 5
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
Additional Reading:
Dearly, Departed Series
1. Dearly Departed (2011)
2. Dearly, Beloved (2012) show less
Book Review - Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton
Great North Road
Peter F. Hamilton
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0345526663
951 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
In Great North Road, Peter F. Hamilton’s epic space opera, clones are featured not as slaves or second class citizens, like in Blade-Runner, Gattaca, or The Island, but as the ruling class. The North family is a large corporation of elite and wealthy clones who have built the most powerful interstellar empire ever conceived. When Sid Hurst, a frazzled but competent homicide detective, is called to investigate the brutal murder of an unidentified North he knows he’s in for a sobering ride. Worse yet, two decades ago another North was slain in the exact same manner but the woman convicted and imprisoned for that murder, Angela Tramelo, has spent the past twenty years proclaiming her innocence and could not have committed the most recent crime.
The murder investigation moves from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to an expedition into the wilderness of the planet St. Libra, light years away. But St. Libra, a sanctuary for one North clan, has never been fully surveyed and the flora and fauna are not only unusual but dangerous. Could an alien killer be hiding on St. Libra? Why would it kill one of the most powerful family members in the known universe? And just what did Angela Tramelo see on the night of the first North murder?
Obvious successor to Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. show more Heinlein, and Philip K. Dick, Peter F. Hamilton is hands down the absolute best world-builder and space-opera writer in the business. And, as in most of his other works, the cast of characters and storylines are legion. However, that is not a criticism. On the contrary, Hamilton integrates storylines and subplots with his characters as skillfully as any writer working today and there is little chance of the reader getting lost or losing the flow of the story. As always, Hamilton presents solid science and great speculative technology into this story. Interstellar space travel, a city covered with a virtual computer mesh that can be re-wound and reviewed for criminal activity, and a complex system of habitable planets are just a few of the Science Fiction themes Hamilton employs in this story.
Great North Road weighs in at an impressive 951 pages so this is not for the quick read or instant gratification Science Fiction crowd. It is a stand alone novel (for the moment) and finishes without that cliff-hanging, sequel-in-the-wings ending that’s so common in today’s serial-minded world. It is typical well-crafted Peter F. Hamilton so if you are already a fan you’ll enjoy this. If you’re not then I suggest you read Great North Road anyway. When you’re done you will be a fan…
File with: Space Opera, Arthur C. Clarke, epic Science Fiction, Robert A. Heinlein, speculative fiction, Jack Chalker, murder mystery, interstellar space travel, Jack McDevitt, speculative technology, planetary expeditions, and clones.
4 ½ out of 5 Stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
Great North Road
Peter F. Hamilton
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0345526663
951 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
In Great North Road, Peter F. Hamilton’s epic space opera, clones are featured not as slaves or second class citizens, like in Blade-Runner, Gattaca, or The Island, but as the ruling class. The North family is a large corporation of elite and wealthy clones who have built the most powerful interstellar empire ever conceived. When Sid Hurst, a frazzled but competent homicide detective, is called to investigate the brutal murder of an unidentified North he knows he’s in for a sobering ride. Worse yet, two decades ago another North was slain in the exact same manner but the woman convicted and imprisoned for that murder, Angela Tramelo, has spent the past twenty years proclaiming her innocence and could not have committed the most recent crime.
The murder investigation moves from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to an expedition into the wilderness of the planet St. Libra, light years away. But St. Libra, a sanctuary for one North clan, has never been fully surveyed and the flora and fauna are not only unusual but dangerous. Could an alien killer be hiding on St. Libra? Why would it kill one of the most powerful family members in the known universe? And just what did Angela Tramelo see on the night of the first North murder?
Obvious successor to Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. show more Heinlein, and Philip K. Dick, Peter F. Hamilton is hands down the absolute best world-builder and space-opera writer in the business. And, as in most of his other works, the cast of characters and storylines are legion. However, that is not a criticism. On the contrary, Hamilton integrates storylines and subplots with his characters as skillfully as any writer working today and there is little chance of the reader getting lost or losing the flow of the story. As always, Hamilton presents solid science and great speculative technology into this story. Interstellar space travel, a city covered with a virtual computer mesh that can be re-wound and reviewed for criminal activity, and a complex system of habitable planets are just a few of the Science Fiction themes Hamilton employs in this story.
Great North Road weighs in at an impressive 951 pages so this is not for the quick read or instant gratification Science Fiction crowd. It is a stand alone novel (for the moment) and finishes without that cliff-hanging, sequel-in-the-wings ending that’s so common in today’s serial-minded world. It is typical well-crafted Peter F. Hamilton so if you are already a fan you’ll enjoy this. If you’re not then I suggest you read Great North Road anyway. When you’re done you will be a fan…
File with: Space Opera, Arthur C. Clarke, epic Science Fiction, Robert A. Heinlein, speculative fiction, Jack Chalker, murder mystery, interstellar space travel, Jack McDevitt, speculative technology, planetary expeditions, and clones.
4 ½ out of 5 Stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin show less
The Epiphanist
William Rosecrans
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Derby Books
Publication Date: May 11, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0615649962
360 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
The Epiphanist, the debut novel by William Rosencrans, centers around Vladimir, a teenage boy brought up on a prison plantation on Haven Island which is anything but a sanctuary. Because of the statistical likelihood he’ll commit an act of violence before coming of age Vladimir is sentence to a life of labor at Assuncao's Manor. In a world where everyone is genetically engineered the rejects are sentenced to Haven to spend their lives in physical servitude. The island is populated by an unsavory collection of genetic experiments gone wrong – aberrations, cripples, mutants, and lunatics. But Vladimir’s record is spotless and he has been nominated for parole by the authorities. A quick exam and a life of quiet comfort in the Holy City awaits him. When war breaks out and destroys his home his plans for independence are crushed and he must now fight his way to freedom through a nightmare world of feudal cruelty and nanotech marvels. With the help of his visions and a strange band of nanite allies; a fly, a satyr, and a female known as Viryx he must navigate the dangers of the jungle and a maze of political scheming to regain his rights.
File with: China Mieville, Jack Chalker, fantasy, Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, and genetic engineering.
3 ½ stars out of 5
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
William Rosecrans
Trade Paperback
Publisher: Derby Books
Publication Date: May 11, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0615649962
360 pages
Advance Reader’s Copy
The Epiphanist, the debut novel by William Rosencrans, centers around Vladimir, a teenage boy brought up on a prison plantation on Haven Island which is anything but a sanctuary. Because of the statistical likelihood he’ll commit an act of violence before coming of age Vladimir is sentence to a life of labor at Assuncao's Manor. In a world where everyone is genetically engineered the rejects are sentenced to Haven to spend their lives in physical servitude. The island is populated by an unsavory collection of genetic experiments gone wrong – aberrations, cripples, mutants, and lunatics. But Vladimir’s record is spotless and he has been nominated for parole by the authorities. A quick exam and a life of quiet comfort in the Holy City awaits him. When war breaks out and destroys his home his plans for independence are crushed and he must now fight his way to freedom through a nightmare world of feudal cruelty and nanotech marvels. With the help of his visions and a strange band of nanite allies; a fly, a satyr, and a female known as Viryx he must navigate the dangers of the jungle and a maze of political scheming to regain his rights.
File with: China Mieville, Jack Chalker, fantasy, Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, and genetic engineering.
3 ½ stars out of 5
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin