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All posts for the month November, 2014

THE ANGEL TREE – Daphne Benedis-Grab

Posted by Daniel on November 28, 2014
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

In the cozy town of Pine River there is a holiday tradition in which a special Christmas tree is decorated in the town and no one seems to know who is responsible for it.  But what is more amazing is the gift that the tree brings each season.  Over the course of decades it has been that anyone can write down their wish and hang it on the tree and the legend is that everyone’s wish has always come true.  It has been an opportunity for the community to come together to look out for one another.

The story in this book is about four children (Lucy, Joe, Max, and Cami) who act a little “Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys” and decide they need to know who is behind the Angel Tree.  Each of the four sleuths has their own special wish on the Angel Tree.  Lucy, who is blind, wants medical treatment for her guide dog who is dying of cancer.  Joe wants to spend Christmas with his mom, who is in the military and currently stationed over-seas.  Max wants a new house as his recently burned down.  Cami has a gift for music and wants a new instrument as she sold hers

One thing that the book makes evident, is that there are plenty of people who have some mis-fortune.  The four youngster of the story seem to live in poverty in this town that appears to need the Angel Tree.

There is certainly something very nice and touching about the idea of the tree.  Most churches I’ve been in around the holidays have something very similar…pick a name off the tree and try to buy what the family in need have listed on their tree tag.  But the idea of the community coming together to support those in need is clearly a community that most would want to belong to.

What I didn’t care for in this story, however, was the idea that the secret benefactor would be uncovered.  Other than curiosity on the part of the kids, there wasn’t any reason for it.  When someone chooses to do something anonymously, we should honor that desire, not try to make that person public.  That basic premise of uncovering the identity of someone doing something good but wishing to remain unknown, leaves a sore mark for me.  As a book for children, this would suggest that we can intrude on someone’s privacy if we want to do something ‘good’ for them.  I’m not sure I would agree with that.

Looking for a good book?  The Angel Tree is a nice idea, in a cozy little town, but answers a question that wasn’t looking to be answered.

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The Angel Tree

author: Daphne Benedis-Grab

publisher: Scholastic Press

ISBN: 0545613787

hardcover, 256 pages

 

SUNRISE, SUNSET: 52 WEEKS OF AWE & GRATITUDE – Kim Weiss

Posted by Daniel on November 27, 2014
Posted in: NON-FICTION, OTHER, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Sunrise Sunset is both a coffee-table book and an ‘inspirational’ book.  Photographer/editor Kim Weiss pairs her photographs with poetry and reflections meant to capture the awe and gratitude of our lives.

There is much to like here, and this will certainly be treasured by many.  I, however, was a bit underwhelmed.

Enjoying the beauty of a sunrise or sunset is not something I take for granted, and my children could tell tales of our being in a rush to get somewhere and I’ll pull the car over to take the time to sit and enjoy a beautiful sky.  But for the sake of a book, I felt that there was a ‘sameness’ to the bulk of the pictures.  Before turning each page, I could predict where the horizon would be in the photo; where the water-line would end and the tips of trees might be; where the clouds would be in the sky; etc etc etc.  There were some pictures that were breath-taking, but for a book that is essentially a photo-book, I was hoping for a few more.   My favorites were those on pages 78 and 105, mostly because of how different they were from the others.

Were I to read this book in the intended manner … a two-page spread a week … I may not have felt the same-ness.  Instead I read this book over the course of a week and the consistent appearance was very apparent.

The reflective writings were brief and touching and from a wide range of writers, from Reverends to Rabbis.  I’m not one to read devotionals or brief inspirational writings, but I recognize their value to many readers and these seemed generally apt for the book (though occasionally I wondered at why something was chosen).

This is a nice book, and will see its s of readers, but it’s not a book I can rave or recommend.

Looking for a good book?  If you like coffee-table inspirational books, this is the just the sort you’re looking for.

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Sunrise, Sunset: 52 Weeks of Awe & Gratitude

author: Kim Weiss

photographer: Kim Weiss

publisher: Health Communications

ISBN: 0757318088

paperback, 115 pages

THE ONLY LIVING BOY – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on November 26, 2014
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I’m not sure where I got this book … it doesn’t appear to have come from NetGalley or Edelweiss (two organizations from whom I receive Advance Readers Copies of books) … but I’m very glad that I got it and read it because it was really delightful.

There is a quality about the boy that reminds me of the best of Edgar Rice Burroughs, in which a human has to come to terms with being among an alien race and taking decisive action, yet still not necessarily being a victor in all combat.

The art in this comic book (and this is a single issue of a book and not a complete graphic novel) is fabulous.  It, too, harkens back to a an earlier era of books… of comic books that were drawn with care and talent and not thrown-together-sketch art as I’ve seen too often in books lately.  Look at the cover as presented above.  Each panel of art manages to capture this same look and feel.

I should also point out that the publisher has understood the value of the two-page spread and for each two-page spread, has put both pages on the viewing screen (for the digital edition, of course).  There is still some need on the part of the reader to adapt in order to read the page(s), but it allows for better viewing of the artwork and better understanding of how the pages should be read.  Kudos to Noise Trade!

The story of Erik Farrell waking up, lost and alone, the only living boy on the planet, is exciting and captivating.  The art is glorious.  This is a book that I want to keep reading!

Looking for a good book?  The Only Living Boy #1 is an excellent comic that deserves to be purchased and read by lovers of the genre and may bring in new comic book readers.

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The Only Living Boy #1

author: David Gallaher

artist: Steve Ellis

series: The Only Living Boy comic

publisher: Noise Trade

ebook, 49 pages

 

THE WHISPERING SKULL – Jonathan Stroud

Posted by Daniel on November 25, 2014
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

Jonathan Stroud has done it again … he has written a spell-binding, terrifying novel in a world where ghosts are real and quite threatening.

In The Whispering Skull, book two of Lockwood & Company, our intrepid ghost hunters Lucy, Lockwood, and George investigate the hauntings of a Victorian doctor who raided graveyards and built a special ‘bridge’ between the living world and the dead world, with the bones of the dead.  In order to get through this mystery, Lockwood & Co. will need to follow the advice of a ‘Type 3’  skull who talks only to Lucy, and they’ll need to work with agents from the Fittes Agency, which may be more difficult than facing death by ghosts!

Jonathan Stroud has really created a marvelous alternative world, and I still feel that he has done for ghosts what Anne Rice and then Charlaine Harris did for vampires, and The Walking Dead and Max Brooks and Mira Grant have done for zombies.  He has created a world, with rules, that are completely acceptable and will become the ‘bible’ for future ghost stories.

The story alternates between fast-paced, breath-taking action and a flow of story-line information, seeded with an appropriate amount of humor to relieve tension.  No one is super-heroic and thus everyone is completely believable as a unique individual.

One of the really nice aspects is that in addition to a really good ghost story, we have a story in which the characters grow, as people.  They learn from mistakes, show a human side, and are completely ‘real’ to the reader.

I would give a slight edge to the first book, perhaps because it completely caught me off-guard and with this second in the series, I knew what I was going in to.  But I think that Stroud has done a most remarkable job of world-building, character-creating and story-telling and I will buy every book in this series, to share with friends and family, to hopefully get them hooked as well.  I am most eager for book three!

Looking for a good book? The Whispering Skull is a great book.

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The Whispering Skull

author: Jonathan Stroud

series: Lockwood & Co. #2

publisher: Disney Hyperion

ISBN: 142316492X

hardcover, 435 pages

BUBBLE – Anders de la Mott

Posted by Daniel on November 24, 2014
Posted in: MYSTERY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Finishing off the trilogy that was started with Game, and followed up with Buzz, Bubble wraps up some loose ends and sees a conclusion to ‘the game.’

The first book, Game, started off quite well, but Buzz didn’t meet with expectations or even pave the way for the final book.  Bubble follows Henrik “HP” Petterson, living off-the-grid, as he works with a group of former Game players to seek out the Game Master and bring an end to the Game, while HP’s sister, Rebecca Normen works her way back into a security force which is charged with protecting a Swedish princess at her up-coming wedding.

Although author de la Motte tries to continue misleading the readers with some red herrings as to the Game Master’s true identity, it comes across a little heavy-handed.  So much so, that it was clear, very early, that it most-likely wouldn’t be the person de la Motte was presenting.

One problem I’ve had with the entire trilogy is the relationship between HP and Rebecca.  It’s completely acceptable to have a brother and sister with a dysfunctional relationship, but this relationship is beyond dysfunctional.  There seems to be no reason to have these characters related, other than an attempt to create a little more conflict, specifically with Rebecca.  This attempt is forced and never feels believable.  I can buy into the idea that they aren’t close, but at the same time we have to accept that they are close enough to look out for each other.  De la Motte switches points of view between Rebecca and HP quite a bit.  We can presume that the stories will intersect, and yet despite this switching back and forth and the fact that they are siblings, they have no contact with one another through the bulk of the book.

Playing a bigger role in this book are some of the secondary characters from the first two books.  I most definitely was interested in both Uncle Tage and HP’s friend, the enigmatic Mange.

Neither Buzz, nor this novel, Bubble, manage to reach the excitement that de la Motte achieved with Game, though this one at least manages to have a strong focus, even if that focus is generally split between the two main characters.  There is a lot of set-up to the final scene, and sometimes the action drags a bit, as though there wasn’t quite enough material to fill a third novel and it was padded just a bit.

Overall, not a bad read, but it still doesn’t reach the level of intrigue built in the Game.

Looking for a good book?  Bubble ends The Game trilogy and has a few surprises, but it doesn’t quite live up to the first book.

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Bubble

author: Anders de la Motte

series: The Game #3

publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

ISBN: 1476712948

paperback, 480 pages

MINDSET LIST OF THE OBSCURE – Tom McBride and Ron Nief

Posted by Daniel on November 21, 2014
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I really like bathroom-reader type books, and that’s what this is.  Miscellaneous information given in short, easy to read snapshots.

Young Mr. McBride and Mr. Nief made two mistakes with this book… first, not all of these seventy-four articles are obscure (as the title says), and second, these are not “forgotten” — at least not to some of us who remember many of these.

But other than what I might consider a tad bit of a misleading title, this book is a wonderful glimpse at pop culture and history.  While not everything here is forgotten or obscure, they certainly run the risk of being so, and McBride and Nief do well to remind us of these gems from our past.

The factual aspects appear well researched, but the attempts to be ‘cute’ or funny, particularly with the “Hypothetical Usage in a Sentence by the Old and Settled,” which ends each section fall short.  The “Hypothetical Usage” doesn’t read as ‘real’ nor as funny and I would have been fine without it.

Looking for a good book?  The Mindset List of the Obscure is good bathroom reading and a nice way to stay current with the past.

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The Mindset List of the Obscure: 74 Famously Forgotten American Icons From A To Z

authors: Tom McBride and Ron Nief

publisher: Sourcebooks

ISBN: 1402293461

paperback, 304 pages

GAHAN WILSON’S CRACKED COSMOS – Gahan Wilson

Posted by Daniel on November 20, 2014
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, GRAPHIC NOVEL, SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A BOOK FROM MY SHELF 

book cover CRACKED COSMOS

In the mid-1970’s if I ever thought of cartoons, one name came to mind…Gahan Wilson.  His wit was wicked and his drawings deliciously simple but a tad off-beat.

Reading through a Gahan Wilson book is for adults who enjoy speculative fiction, what reading through The Far Side comics is for others: fun, unexpected, and the sense that you are ‘in’ on something slightly ‘naughty’ and that only you and Mr. Wilson understand.  Sometimes this felt a little dated, though I’m not entirely sure why

This brought back fond memories as I read through it, undoubtedly for the first time since I bought it in 1975.

Looking for a good book?  If you can find a copy of Gahan Wilson’s Cracked Cosmos, you are in for a treat.

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Gahan Wilson’s Cracked Cosmos

author/artist: Gahan Wilson

publisher: Ace Books

ISBN: 0448121026

paperback, 160 pages

UNDERTOW VOLUME 1 – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on November 19, 2014
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Atlantis.  Atlanteans exploring the surface world (in water-filled ‘space’ suits).  Mammoths.  Crazy gods.  And the search for a DNA key that might bridge the gap between the under-water dwellers and the surface-walkers.  This sounds like an ambitious, high adventure book, which is what had me request it.  Unfortunately, it’s a bit too ambitious and lacks support to pull it off.

It’s nearly impossible to talk about this book without first discussing the art.  The art is poor.  In my digital edition, the inks and colors are muddy and it is often difficult to tell the characters apart.

The over-all concept is interesting.  A race of Atlanteans, more advanced and pre-dating humans and the quest to find a way to survive on land.  But the political tensions and social status of the characters seemed to drag down the story.  I quickly became bored, and, as stated earlier, there was no support (art) to keep me interested.

Interestingly, the book includes some illustrated short stories.  The art is much more sketch-like … simple and lacking great detail … but much more interesting and easier to follow.  The stories are likewise more enjoyable and actually managed to have me interested in the book.

Looking for a good book?  There isn’t much to recommend for this graphic novel.

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Undertow Volume 1: Boatman’s Call

author: Steve Orlando

artist: Artyom Trakhanov

publisher: Image Comics

ISBN: 1632150131

paperback, 192 pages

SNOWBLIND – Christopher Golden

Posted by Daniel on November 18, 2014
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve said it before … sustaining horror/terror through an entire novel is extremely difficult.  Author Christopher Golden works hard to create a unique horror story, is often successful, but over-all the book felt a bit flat.

A dozen years ago, a small New England town was hit with a tremendous storm in which people went missing and stories swirled of icy figures haunting in the snow.  Now, as another snow strikes the city some citizens are thinking back to previous storm, when Detective Joe Keenan wasn’t able to save a young boy, and Jake Shapiro lost his little brother, and petty thief Doug Manning thinks to the mysterious death of his wife.  The snow and the wind make it a bitter storm, but there’s something else out there.  An icy, alien form that hungers to for the warmth of a human life.

Golden brings the storm to life and does a wonderful job of setting the mood and the tone of the storm.  He also is fantastic with the horror of the unknown forms .  The tension and suspense built well when the character of the storm was the focus.

But the set-up was slow and the back story of all the players took me out of the story rather than bringing me further in.  Instead of building the story, it bounced around, making it challenging to follow at times.  Manning’s story never felt fully connected to the rest of the book and the supernatural aspect felt a little tacked on at the end.

Looking for a good book?  At times, Snowblind, was captivating and frightening, and at other times slow and meandering.

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Snowblind

author: Christopher Golden

publisher: St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 1250015316

hardcover, 320 pages

DON’T HURRY ME DOWN TO HADES – Susannah J. Ural

Posted by Daniel on November 10, 2014
Posted in: NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment

I am not an expert on the Civil War (or any sort of history), but I have a slightly better than average knowledge of the Civil War thanks to some research for various projects I’ve worked on. Fortunately, for those interested in the Civil War, there is a treasure-trove of material out there, some still waiting to be mined, as evidenced by Ural’s noting of the discovery of a chest full of letters from the time. It is such finds that keeps me interested and reading books like this.

Given the subtitle, “The Civil War in the Words of Those Who Lived It,” I really was expecting something a little different from what Ural presents. I expected to read entire letters and correspondence between soldiers and those still at home. I thought we’d get photographs of letters, and perhaps memorabilia or good-luck charms that may have been sent to soldiers. But what we get are snippets of correspondence and Ural’s well-researched explanations of what was happening in and around the areas that the writers write about.

There is some information which was new to me, or at least presented in a new way that struck me, but for the most part I never really felt that I was getting that unique story, the one that you can only get from the person who was in the middle of it. There are other books about the Civil War that have actually given me a better impression of what it was like.

If I were researching for information about the Civil War, I would certainly include this book, but I wouldn’t say that this was the best book, or the only book anyone should read to get a feeling of what it was like for the men and women who lived (and died) in America’s Civil War.

Looking for a good book? Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades is a good start for anyone interested in learning more about the Civil War.

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Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades: The Civil War in the Words of Those Who Lived It

author:  Susannah J. Ural

publisher: Osprey Publishing

ISBN: 1849085900

hardcover, 312 pages

THE CUTTING ROOM – Ellen Datlow, editor

Posted by Daniel on November 7, 2014
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Editor Ellen Datlow puts together some really good books and this might be one of my favorite to date.  Dark fantasy/horror stories strung along a theme of films and filmmaking.  What a brilliant concept.

There are some well-known authors included here (such as Dennis Etchison, F. Paul Wilson, Peter Straub, and Laird Barron) as well as some names that are new to me.  But all the stories are well done and many of them manage to capture a film-noirish feel.  It’s difficult to choose only one or two favorites in this collection.  Some of the stand-outs to me were:

THE HANGED MAN OF OZ by Steve Nagy is creepy in that ‘make-you-look-over-your-shoulders’ sort of way.  I want to watch The Wizard of Oz now, just to look for these things!

DEAD IMAGE by David Morrell isn’t as dark as some of the others, but I was quickly hooked on the story and Morrell’s story-telling.

SHE DRIVES MEN TO CRIMES OF PASSION by Genevieve Valentine was beautiful and haunting.

I tend to think Laird Barron is one of the best dark fantasy writers since Robert Aikman (who I thought was pretty spectacular) and his story ARDOR will help cement his reputation for strong writing.

ILLIMITABLE DOMINION by Kim Newman manages to be humorous, engaging, and slightly dark and is a great way to end the collection.

I personally feel that short fiction is the ideal format for horror and dark fantasy literature and the theme of film/film-making is absolutely brilliant and Datlow collects a very nice assortment.  This collection is highly recommended.

Contents are:

Introduction: Genevieve Valntine
Preface: Ellen Datlow
“The Cutter” : Edward Bryant
“The Hanged Man of Oz” : Steve Nagy
“Deadspace” : Dennis Etchison
“Cuts” : F. Paul Wilson
“Final Girl Theory” : A.C. Wise
“Lapland, or Film No” : Peter Straub
“The Thousand Cuts” : Ian Watson
“Occam’s Ducks” : Howard Waldrop
“Dead Image” : David Morrell
“The Constantinople Archives” : Robert Shearman
“each thing I show you is a piece of my death” : Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer
“Cinder Images” : Gary McMahon
“The Pied Piper of Hammersmith” : Nicholas Royle
“Filming the Making of the Film of the Making of Fitzcarraldo” : Garry Kilworth
“Onlookers” Gary A. Braunbeck
“Recreation” : Lucy A. Snyder
“Bright Lights, Big Zombie” : Douglas E. Winter
“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!” : Genevieve Valentine
“Even the Pawn” : Joel Lane
“Tenderizer” : Stephen Graham Jones
“Ardor” : Laird Barron
“Final Girl II: the Frame” : Daphne Gottlieb
“Illimitable Dominion” : Kim Newman

Looking for a good book? The Cutting Room is an excellent collection of dark stories around a film theme.

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The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen

editor: Ellen Datlow

publisher: Tachyon Publications

ISBN: 1616961678

paperback, 384 pages

THE LAST TEMPTATION (20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION) – Neil Gaiman graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on November 6, 2014
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, GRAPHIC NOVEL. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Neil Gaiman has the Midas touch when it comes to anything in the publishing industry, graphic novels in particular.  Of course he’s earned that through hard work and awesome writing.  But even Midas had his early years.

I really respect Gaiman’s work, though I wouldn’t count myself among his most ardent fans (perhaps because I haven’t read every word he’s written) and I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of the music of Alice Cooper by any means (though who can’t sing the refrain to “School’s Out”?).  Yet I can see where the two might go hand in hand.

The partnership appears to have been instigated by Alice Cooper, and Gaiman, early in his career (this is a 20th Anniversary Edition), was accommodating.  The sense of Gaiman’s story-telling is obvious.  The magic.  The sense of a reality beyond what the average person sees is very much in evidence.  The use of a child, or young teen, is very much in evidence.  As is the swirling dark, magical world that would appeal to fans of Gaiman and Cooper both.

What there isn’t, is much of a story.  This is 100 pages of figurative trick-or-treating.  A Showman (Cooper) trying to trick a youngster (though there really is no reason for it), who turns the tables, but is never the victor.  Does this make sense?  It doesn’t need to.  It’s really all about Alice Cooper appearing in a comic book/graphic novel and Neil Gaiman getting to play in his fantastic world.  For these two things, this book works.  For a good, strong story?  not so much.

The art is broodingly dark and appropriate though not always clear.  The youths are not drawn as sharp and as consistently as the rest of the characters or scenery.  But the opening panels of autumn leaves and the crow are outstanding and really prepared me for an awesome work.

I would like to have liked this a little more.  It’s certainly interesting from a Neil Gaiman retrospective standpoint, but not so much as a current work.  This reissued, deluxe edition includes a copy of Gaiman’s ‘original outline’ for the story, and about 40 pages of script for the book.  Interesting, but every other graphic novel is doing this and it no longer seems like much of a bonus but an expected part of the experience.

Looking for a good book?  Neil Gaiman fans and Alice Cooper fans might really enjoy the chance to read this book, The Last Temptation, but it’s not a particularly strong story on its own.

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Neil Gaiman’s The Last Temptation 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

author: Neil Gaiman (with Alice Cooper)

artist: Michael Zulli and Dave McKean

publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

ISBN: 1606905368

hardcover, 168 pages