Looking For a Good Book

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GONE TO THE WOODS – Gary Paulsen

Posted by Daniel on December 22, 2020
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, OTHER. Tagged: 5 Stars, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, Children's Books, non-fiction, Reviews. Leave a comment

I almost missed reading books by Gary Paulsen. His books came out well after I would have been interested in reading his kind of adventure stories, and my children had interests in other themes and genres. Fortunately there was a teacher or two who required my children (and their classmates) to read Hatchet – and I often tried to read what they were reading (if I wasn’t already familiar with the book) so that we could talk about.

I enjoyed it and quickly read many of his other books. Which of course brings me now to this, Paulsen’s narrative autobiography.

This is one of the most unusual biographies I’ve ever read.  It does not read like a biography. It does not read like a memoir.  This reads exactly like one of Paulsen’s adventure tales.  This means a couple of different things.

First, this means that the book will be easily read and devoured and enjoyed by the same audience that reads Paulsen’s novels This younger audience is already familiar with how he lays out a plot and narrates a story. He spends most of his time here relating about his early years – the same age as Brian from Hatchet or Russel from Dogsong.

The second thing this means is that Paulsen had an extraordinary childhood.  The subtitle, “Surviving a Lost Childhood,” isn’t just hype to make the book sound more interesting.

Before he was even school age, Gary was witness to the horrors of war. He lived in Manilla where his military father was stationed. His father was mostly absent – which was probably a good thing. When he was home, Gary’s parents were abusive alcoholics – worse together than separate. He learns at this time to fend for himself and to not trust adults.

He is shipped off to live with and aunt and uncle – the first time he’s ever shown any warmth or caring – and it is here, through the gruff manner of his uncle that he learns how to venture safely outside in the wilderness.

But just as he is learning to trust in his family foster parents, his mother and father move back to the United States and want him ‘home.’ A young child doesn’t have much say in this, and most would assume that being with his real mother and father is best for him.

Not much has changed in their behavior and when he’s not stuck living in the corner of a cold basement, he is living outside, sleeping under the stars.

Another positive, memorable moment in his early life is when he discovered the public library and the kind librarian (whom at first he didn’t trust because, like all adults, she must have had a secret agenda) who exposes him to the many worlds found in books, and encourages him to write down his own thoughts (when he tells her all the inaccuracies in the books he’s read).

It’s a powerful autobiography, and more than just a little depressing. Paulsen saw, and experienced, more terrible things before he was a teen than most people will in a lifetime.

This will definitely appeal to anyone who’s read a Gary Paulsen book, and it might very well reach a new audience who will come to discover some of his classic books because of this biography.

Looking for a good book? Gone to the Woods, Gary Paulsen’s autobiography is quite possibly more adventurous and frightening, more a tale of survival, than his classic children’s books.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

author: Gary Paulsen

publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

ISBN: 0374314152

hardcover, 368 pages

THE HARP OF KINGS – Juliet Marillier

Posted by Daniel on December 21, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: 4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult. Leave a comment

Liobhan is an eighteen-year-old singer and whistle player.  She is highly skilled and such skill runs in the family as her brother, Brocc, has a meltingly beautiful singing voice and unusually adept skills on the harp. But Liobhan wants more than the life of a performing artist. She wants to be a warrior. She and Brocc train on Swan Island with an elite band of warriors and there they receive a special assignment that is suited specifically to their talents.

A rare harp has gone missing.  It is a symbol of ancient kingship and if it is not played during the coronation ceremony for the new king, the people will not accept his rule as legitimate.

Liobhan and Brocc will go undercover as musicians to perform at the ceremony while they try to find what happened to the harp.  They will find more than they bargained for and Liobhan will find that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ aren’t as cut and dry as she thought and she will have to make some hard decisions in order to follow through on her mission.

I knew nothing about author Juliet Marillier prior to this, but the basic story appealed to me. I’m always a sucker for incorporating music and musicians into a book so this really looked like something I’d enjoy.

The music and spy aspects of the story blended together better than I expected they would. We get both stories (talented music/clever spies) and Liobhan and Brocc navigate back and forth easily. Music is a deep part of who they are as people, and the spying is their profession. Marillier keeps the reader well mindful of what is happening and what our protagonists are thinking and planning.

Though there is a solid story here, this definitely seems to be more of a character-driven book rather than story-driven … which I like. Connecting with these characters (specifically Liobhan) brought me deeper into the story.

There was some cleverness to the mystery and wonder behind the missing harp, but for the most part this plot point just felt – “eh.” It’s a good thing we care about the characters!

The book seems to be written for young adults.  There’s nothing wrong with that, other than it doesn’t get too deep into anything and there has to be some sort of romance that comes front and center at some point.

I enjoyed this and I’d read more.

Looking for a good book? The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier is a YA fantasy blending music and spy/thriller themes for a fast-paced story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, thought Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Harp of Kings

author: Juliet Marillier

series: Warrior bards #1

publisher: Ace Books

ISBN: 0451492781

paperback, 448 pages

INTO THE DARK – Claudia Gray

Posted by Daniel on December 18, 2020
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: 4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children's Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult. Leave a comment

Padawan Reath Silas has a lot to learn, and he’d really prefer to stay at the Jedi temple on Coruscant to keep studying, but as a padawan, he’s at the mercy of the Jedi and they’ve determined that he has to visit an un-(or under-)developed area farther out. But the trip goes awry when a galactic-wide disaster knocks the ship out of hyperdrive and Reath and his his traveling companions seek refuge on an abandoned space station but soon find themselves in the center of some serious action. The High Republic is a glorious era, but a new enemy threatens the peace.

This middle-grade reader is an exciting foray into the ‘new’ world of the High Republic.  The book works quite well on a couple of different levels. First, it is a really nice introduction to this High Republic era. Disney is doing well to keep the franchise alive and staying current to attract new readers.

But I think this is even more successful purely as an adventure story.  Author Claudia Gray has captured the spirit of a middle-schooler quite well and although training to be a Jedi Knight, Reath feels like an ‘everyman’ character – someone young readers will connect to and identify with. His struggles aren’t just the unique challenges facing a Padawan, but often they are thoughts and worries that strike most youngsters as they transition from puberty to adulthood.  Reath is full of questions and self-doubt, but learns to trust himself (and the Force) and those he’s chosen to surround himself with.

Overall, this was a lot of fun and full of exciting adventure.  It will do well to keep interest high in the Star Wars franchise and will keep younger readers interested in checking out the local bookstores for new Star Wars titles.

Looking for a good book? Into the Dark, a Star Wars: The High Republic novel by Claudia Gray is an exciting story in the new Star Wars world of the High Republic.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Into the Dark

author: Claudia Gray

series: Star Wars: The High Republic

publisher: Disney LucasFilm Press

ISBN: 1368057284

hardcover, 352 pages

THE WISDOM OF PICARD – Chip Carter, editor

Posted by Daniel on December 17, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, Uncategorized. Tagged: 3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Star Trek. Leave a comment

Let’s be honest.  If you are thinking of buying this book, it’s because you are already a big Star Trek fan (or at least a Picard/Next Gen fan).  You are probably interested in buying it because you are a Trek/Picard fan, or you’re thinking of it as a gift for a Trek fan. In any case, a review is not likely to sway you one way or the other.

This book is filled with quotes, spoken by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in any of his television or film appearances.  Well … not filled with quotes exactly. More like – there is a smattering of quotes within.  Sometimes there may be two quotes on a page.  But that almost makes up for the pages of photos rather than quotes.

At best this is a coffee-table type of book.  It’s something you leave out so that guests know you’re a Star Trek fan and that they can thumb through while you’re getting drinks or chips.

At less than best, it’s a bathroom reader.  Something that you won’t get too involved in and that you can put away easily.  The only problem with this as a bathroom reader is that it won’t tide you over very long because there’s not much to this book.

I love quotes – pearls of wisdom in a simple statement or sentence. I collect quotes (I’ve shared a few through my blog) and I have picked up more than a few books of quotes and honestly, I was hoping for something here that was either essay-like, taking a look at the Wisdom of Picard, or, if going with the quote idea, a heftier collection categorized by type. 

To be fair, editor Chip Carter does give us five ‘chapters’ with specific themes to the included quotes. We have Philosophy and Humanity; History and Science; Literature and the Arts; Exploration and Adventure; and Politics, Leadership, and Diplomacy.  The chapters have between 26 and 35 quotes each, and a small handful of photos.

Aside from the sparseness of the book, I was a bit disappointed that while Carter gives credit to the episode in which the quote was delivered (and the season and episode number of the show, he doesn’t give any credit to the writers … the people who put that wisdom into Picard’s mouth!  (I know I could look it up pretty easily, but in that case I could just watch the episodes and not bother picking up this book, too.

To say I was disappointed would be putting in gently.  This feels like just another attempt to make a buck off of Star Trek fans who will often buy things just because it says “Star Trek” or “Picard” on it.  I’d rather save my money for a replica phaser.

Looking for a good book? The Wisdom of Picard, edited by Chip Carter, is a wise way to relieve some Trek fans of their money.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Wisdom of Picard: An Official Star Trek Collection

editor: Chip Carter

publisher: Adams Media

ISBN: 1507214731

hardcover, 208 pages

CALVIN GETS THE LAST WORD – Margo Sorenson

Posted by Daniel on December 15, 2020
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Calvin loves words.  Really loves words. So much so, that Calvin, a young elementary school student, carries an encyclopedia around with him wherever he goes. Calvin wants the right word for things. He can find that right word in his dictionary … for most things.  But he can’t quite figure out the right word for his rascally brother who makes him snort milk out his nose and maybe picks on him at times.  But at home at night. with the two of them laughing over a prank Calvin manages to pull on his brother, the right word comes to him.

The book definitely has a cute theme and ends on the appropriately touching note, but for the most part, I really didn’t find this very enjoyable.

The familial relationship between the brothers is definitely honest and true.  I really like how this captures a child’s life with siblings.

But the book is also teaching the reader/listener new words.  These words are bold and in color, so we know these are the words to learn with the book.  And these words are: Revenge, Mayhem, Bewilderment, Subterfuge, Courageous, Pulverize, Retaliation, Slumber, Prank, and Hilarity.  Really?  Six of the ten words are aggressive – typically toward another person.  Are these really the words to be teaching young readers?  They’ll grow to know them, but I don’t think I agree that these are the lessons to teach in a picture book.

And honestly, I was a little disheartened at the two-page spread (this is only a 30 page book) of the school bus.  Using the chaos on the bus (“everyone is pushing and hollering and shouting, running up and down the aisle, throwing backpacks”) for the word “mayhem” might be appropriate for the word, and while it’s been a few years since my kids were school bus age, I know that in our area at least there has been a concentrated effort to not have mayhem on a bus for safety reasons.  Running up and down the aisles on a moving bus?  Is that still allowed?  Could we not have had mayhem on a playground?

What rescues this book, somewhat, for me are the pictures.  Mike Deas’ art is perfect for this type of picture book.  It is realistic but whimsical and actually manages to tone down the aggressiveness of the story.  I love the cutaway view of the house at night.  I could easily see my kids – pre-reading age – thumbing through this just for the art.

But if I was in a bookstore, looking for a new picture book to buy for my family, or for friends with children, being a lover of words, I would probably pick this up, give it a read, then put it back on the shelf and look for something else.

Looking for a good book? Calvin Gets the Last Word by Margo Sorenson, with art by Mike Deas, is a picture book that maybe unintentionally gives some inappropriate consideration to aggressive behaviors.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Calvin Gets the Last Word

author: Margo Sorenson

artist: Mike Deas

publisher: Tilbury House Publishers

ISBN: 0884488225

hardcover, 32 pages

THE RUSSIAN CAGE – Charlaine Harris

Posted by Daniel on December 14, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: 3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, science fiction. Leave a comment

I jumped into this series three books in, and I think that was a mistake! Sometimes you can pick up a book in the middle of a series and still get everything you need to know about the characters and relationships and the world in which it is set.  And sometimes each book relies so heavily on the previous books that you might easily become lost if you haven’t read the previous installments.  This books leans toward the latter.

Lizbeth Rose is a woman on a mission.  She is traveling from Texas to California to rescue Prince Eli, her partner.  Except that they aren’t “Texas” and “California” anymore.  They are Texoma and the Holy Russian Empire.

Looking at the map provided in the book, Canada has expanded its territory and has taken over some the former United States’ northern states.  Mexico’s boarder with the U.S. has changed a bit, and the United States has been divided into five countries: Britannia, Dixie, Texoma, New America, and Holy Russian Empire.  Why?  I’m not sure.  Either that information was provided in an earlier book, or it hasn’t been given yet.  But what’s clear is that this is an alternate future and not all the territories are on good terms with one another.

We get the impression that Lizbeth is a fighter, a gunslinger. The few times that she is not permitted to carry a gun (or even a knife), she feels lost, uncomfortable.

Prince Eli is being held captive inside the Holy Russian Empire and Lizbeth manages to stop an assassination attempt on the HRE empress and gains an audience with the tsarina.  She also manages to visit a school where her younger sister, Felicia, is studying. She finds she will need Felicia’s help navigating through the HRE.

The tsar and tsarina had no idea that Prince Eli Savarov was being held captive – by their own guards – and promise to get him released.

Lizbeth and Felicia have ‘Grigori’ powers.  They are descendants of Grigori Rasputin and now they are being hunted since Rasputin died.  Rasputin’s blood was keeping the Tsar alive.  With Rasputin gone, the Tsar’s only hope is that blood of his descendants will have the same powerful effect.

Charlaine Harris is a very good writer (I’ve enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse books I’ve read, as well as the Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, and Midnight, Texas books) and there is a lot going on in this book.  But I definitely felt  behind when I started this, and even further behind the more I read. I’d like to go and read the first two books in the series and see if this all makes more sense.

Looking for a good book? The Russian Cage, by Charlaine Harris, looks to be an exciting series, but as a stand-alone book, you can’t help but feel you’ve missed something really important to understanding the story. Try the first book before reading this.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Russian Cage

author: Charlaine Harris

series: Gunnie Rose #3

publisher: Gallery / Saga Press

ISBN: 1481494996

hardcover, 304 pages

THE THIEF OF WORLDS – Bruce Coville

Posted by Daniel on December 11, 2020
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: 5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children's Books, Mythology/Legend, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult. Leave a comment

Bruce Coville has a new book?!  This is big news!  Why haven’t I seen this on CNN or Bloomberg TV (I’m pretty sure I know why it wasn’t on Fox)?

Hurricane is a twelve-year-old boy who got his name because he was born during a hurricane. Perhaps it was that birth, but beyond the name, Hurricane has always felt a special connection with the wind.

A global catastrophe strikes and it affects Hurricane deep in his core. The wind has stopped and as a result, temperatures have risen and it is harder to breathe which has people flooding into hospitals.  Hurricane’s mother is among them. But what can a twelve-year-old boy do when all the adults have struggled to find an answer? When your name is Hurricane, quite a lot.  He will visit new worlds, make unusual and unique friends, while on a quest to recover a magic horn that might solve the problems.

It’s hard to describe how excited I am to read a new Bruce Coville book.  I don’t think anyone writes for middle-schoolers (and younger) better than Coville.

One of the aspects that really makes Coville unique is his ability to connect the reader with the characters. Although Hurricane is unique in his name and his connection to the wind, he is also just like every other 12 year old – full of questions and energy.  He is, at the same time, both eager to be needed for a special quest, and afraid of it (afraid of failing or not being up to the challenge).  Walk into any middle school in the country and you’ll meet hundreds of ‘Hurricanes.’ And because he is so easily recognizable, it makes it so much more fun to read about him.

And just as he is accomplished at characters, Coville’s story-telling is well above par. Our story is set up nicely and there isn’t a lot of preamble trying to create the worlds. We get what we need to know to move forward with the story.

The story moves along swiftly, though we never feel rushed, and young readers especially will enjoy the pace of the book.

Though it’s been many years now, I once heard Bruce Coville speak at a Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference where he talked about the idea that books for this age reader should have a high CTPP quotient.  That’s “Cool Things Per Page.” Of course Coville’s books always stand up well to this and we start right on the first page with a cool name and back story about being born during a hurricane and we wind up meeting aliens on different worlds.  How cool is that?

Perhaps what I liked most about The Thief of Worlds is the sense that Coville has created a new mythology. This wasn’t just an exciting story of magic and fantasy, but a story of gods and legends completely new to us.

This was such a fun, exciting book, it almost made me wish I was twelve again, myself.  But fortunately you don’t have to be a middle schooler to enjoy a good story.

Looking for a good book? The Thief of Worlds by Bruce Coville is a high adventure fantasy for young readers that infuses some modern mythology and is sure to keep readers turning pages all the way to the end.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Thief of Worlds

author: Bruce Coville

publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 0385392524

hardcover, 288 pages

MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER – T.A. Willberg

Posted by Daniel on December 10, 2020
Posted in: MYSTERY, Uncategorized. Tagged: 3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews. Leave a comment

Twenty-three-year-old Marion Lane lives a rather ordinary, quiet life in 1958 London.  The toughest part of her day is living with her mother.

Marion works as an Inquirer-in-Training … a sort of detective intern at Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries.  

When a filing clerk, Michelle White, receives a note that something terrible is about to happen and she goes off to investigate.  She finds an empty room, but at the stroke of the hour when the note said something would occur, she is struck dead.  All signs point to the murderer being someone familiar with Miss Brickett’s … most likely an employee.  But when Marion Lane’s mentor is accused, she knows she has to investigate.

I was attracted to the book by the hype that this mystery is solved using cunning and gadgets by a highly secretive, underground detective group. Ummm.  Maybe.  There is a highly secretive, underground (both literally and figuratively) group, but they aren’t really as exciting as the hype implies. And the gadgetry?  It sort of comes across as steampunk-ish.  Or maybe not.  Is it futuristic?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  What era is this?

In fact, this is one of my biggest issues with the book … the setting. The book seems to try to capture the mood and feel of a Victorian era novel, maybe the early 1920’s mood.  And occasionally, as I read, I would stop and think “Did they have that capability back then?” then remember that it was set in the late 1950’s and not when it felt like it was set.

There are definitely moments that I really enjoyed.  Marion’s invitation to a job at a bookstore, which turns out to be a ruse and a test of her skills, was fun and I definitely wanted to get more of this sort of action which I felt was missing overall.

I like the idea of this story, but it only promises exciting fantastical elements and fails to deliver on that promise.  Purely as a ‘locked room’ mystery, this stands tall and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t gone in with some expectations based on PR.

Looking for a good book? Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg is a decent locked room mystery and has the potential to be a decent series, but this first volume is only just fine.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder

author: T.A. Willberg

publisher: Park Row

ISBN: 0778389332

hardcover, 352 pages

SEEKING AN AURORA – Elizabeth Pulford

Posted by Daniel on December 8, 2020
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: 4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children's Books, Picture books, Reviews. Leave a comment

A father wakes his child late at night and together they get dressed to go outside, walk through frosty fields with the child watching quietly, wondering where they might be going, until the father stops and they quietly share the wonder of looking at an owl  the beautiful aurora borealis.

For those of us who’ve read a few children’s books, this story is almost page-by-page similar to the modern classic, Owl Moon. Comparisons are going to be made.

But what matters isn’t so much what we adults, who are familiar with a few more books, might think.  What matters is how much our children and grandchildren will enjoy having the book read to them. And children will enjoy this.

Most adults I know still get excited to see the aurora borealis.  There is a majesty about these glowing green and pink lights in a night sky that has us stop and stare or even seek them out if we know conditions are ‘right’ for them.  So imagine the sense of awe for a child.

Nothing can beat seeing them for real, of course, but this little book is a wonderful way to get a child excited about the idea of seeing auroras.

The true test for a children’s book, is will a child want the book to be read to them again and again and again (and will the adults be up for multiple readings of the book)? My guess is yes.

Looking for a good book? Elizabeth Pulford’s picture book, Seeking an Aurora, is a good book to have (or to give) for anyone with young children.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Seeking an Aurora

author: Elizabeth Pulford

artist: Anne Bannock

publisher: Blue Dot Kids Press

ISBN: 1733121277

hardcover, 32 pages

THE WALLED CITY – Ryan Graudin

Posted by Daniel on December 7, 2020
Posted in: HISTORICAL FICTION, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: 4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviews, Young Adult. Leave a comment

Jin and her sister, Mei Yee, were taken and sold and then sent to the lawless Walled City to serve as prostitutes or slaves to anyone willing to pay. Jin managed to escape her captivity, but not the Walled City and she now lurks about, disguised as a boy and is trying to track down the brothel where her sister is still captive. Jin will work odd delivery jobs to earn a small bit of money and hopefully have a legitimate means of coming in contact with her sister’s captors.  This is how she meets up with Dai, a mysterious boy who has somehow managed to avoid running with any of the gangs in the city but he seems to have his own unusual connections, which Jon could desperately use if she has any hope of finding Mei Yee. But Dai has his own desperate needs.

The story is told from the different perspectives of each character and we do bounce around quite a bit as the chapters are generally short. This never bothered me, which is slightly unusual as often I find this technique to be distracting. But it works here because author Graudin has done a wonderful job of creating these characters uniquely and distinctly. Getting a view of this unusual city from three different points of view is really quite interesting.

The ‘walled city’ is Kowloon, which, according to Wikipedia:

Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned, densely populated settlement in Kowloon City, Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the Walled City became an enclave after the New Territories were leased to the UK by China in 1898. Its population increased dramatically following the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. By 1990, the walled city contained 50,000 residents[1][2] within its 2.6-hectare (6.4-acre) borders. From the 1950s to the 1970s, it was controlled by local triads and had high rates of prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse.

But of course this is more than an observation about an unusual city – this is a story of ordinary individuals caught up in the ‘prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse’ mentioned in the Wikipedia article.

And what is most odd (and gratifying) here is that Graudin has managed to write an engaging, informative story for young (high school?) readers about some rather disturbing issues without getting too graphic and without sugar-coating anything. It’s a really fine line to toe, but Graudin has handled it skillfully.

I enjoyed this, and I would enjoy reading more by Ryan Graudin.

Looking for a good book? If you want a historical adventure, with plenty of interest and action, written for YA readers, then pick up Ryan Graudin’s The Walled City. You won’t be disappointed.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Walled City

author: Ryan Graudin

publisher: Little, Brown

ISBN: 0316405051

hardcover, 424 pages

DYING IS EASY – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on December 4, 2020
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: 3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels. Leave a comment

Syd Homes.  Former cop, now possibly a felon, and definitely a very bitter stand-up comic.

Carl Dixon. An up and coming comic ready to do whatever it takes to become a comic superstar, and known among the other comics for stealing jokes.

So it isn’t a surprise when another comic asks Syd, off-handedly, how much it would cost to have Carl Dixon killed.

After the set, Syd is out back having a cigarette with Dixon and takes offense at the fact the Dixon stole some of Syd’s jokes. “I wrote three months for fifteen minutes of good material. I wrote it for me, not you …,” says Syd and then proceeds to beat the crap out of him and leaves Dixon puking in the street.

But the next morning, Dixon is found dead where Syd beat him, and now Syd is the prime suspect. Syd will need to call up his former police skills to find the real killer to clear his name.  Possible suspects?  Only every comedian in the country.

I had just finished author Joe Hill’s graphic novel Basketful of Heads when I saw this and since I really liked Basketful, I was looking forward to this.

Unfortunately, this one doesn’t have the same magic.

This story is darker – which is a little strange to say since Basketful has multiple murders and a good bit of supernatural. It is darker because of the tone. Syd’s attitude is dark and foul, and Martin Simmonds’ art accentuates this mood.

I don’t mind a dark story, but there needs to be something about the story that keeps the reader’s interest, and unless you really enjoy cranky old guys with bitter jokes that don’t feel much like jokes, then there’s not much else here to dig in to.  There is the mystery, but that’s not really Joe hill’s strong suit – telling mysteries. Hill’s best at creating characters who navigate dark worlds.  He’s done that again here, but he’s taken the easy road by making our main character a comic to explain his dry humor.

Simmons’ art is equally moody and dark.  It’s not my favorite style – sort of a sketch quality rather than finished lines and clear pictures, but it works about as well with the story as any style would.

There are moments that remind me why I like Joe Hill’s work:

“I thought you said I could get a ‘Rican to kill him for forty. How the price go up just to punch him in his joke-stealing mouth?”

“It’s hazard pay. You don’t have to touch him to shoot him. …”

But at the close of the book the feeling is still just, “Eh.”

Looking for a good book? Dying is Easy by Joe Hill and Martin Simmonds is a dark graphic novel that doesn’t have much going for it other than the fact that Joe Hill’s name is attached to it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Dying is Easy

author: Joe Hill

artist: Martin Simmonds

publisher: IDW Publishing

ISBN: 1684057035

hardcover, 128 pages

THE FUTURE IS YOURS – Dan Frey

Posted by Daniel on December 3, 2020
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: 4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy. Leave a comment

Teddy Chaudry is a tech genius on a scale so high that he doesn’t fit in even with other tech geniuses. Ben Boyce is Teddy’s best friend, who has rescued him periodically and helped pave the way Teddy to navigate the tech world (including helping him get a job with an industry giant). When Chaudry tells Ben that he’s developed software that allows a user to access information one year in the future.

 
Knowing that Teddy is not one for hyperbole, Ben forms a company, begins fund-raising for the device, and convinces Teddy to quit his job at a tech giant to focus on what Teddy is calling a Time Machine.  And as with any tech, Teddy begins work on the next upgrade before they are even live with the one-year-in-the-future tech. Peeking two years in the future seems possible, and Teddy even hints that it might be possible to use the same process to actually send a person forward in time, but that’s got a lot more research to look into.
 
It all seems pretty golden, but there are some problems.  When someone searches their own name and reads an obituary, depression can set in and more than one person commits suicide based on what the see in the future. And when there are deaths related to new, high-profile technology, the government steps in, and Chaudry and Boyce are called before Congress for investigation.  Except no one knows where Teddy is.
 
Books about time travel are nothing new – there will be a lot of them in the future! – and I’ve read some of the best of them, and they all have a huge challenge of making this credible and dealing with some of the conundrums of meeting a future or past self.  This gets around some of that by having the time travel be digital rather than physical.
 
The story is told through multiple sources – congressional hearing transcripts, emails, news clippings.  There is no narrator other than Boyce’s testimony to congress.
 
For me, the problem with this kind of story-telling is that it’s hard to really build excitement and energy this way.  Just as we maybe start to get interested in what we’re reading, we change formats and point of view.  It makes for chopping reading.  While author Dan Frey writes in this style about as well as anyone could, it still just lacks energy.  
 
Noting at the end that Frey is a screenwriter suddenly makes sense.  There are very few screenwriters who are also successful novelists (there are some, but they are few and far between) because the formats of story-telling are so different.  
 
Overall, this was a decent read, but there’s nothing too new or exciting here to make it a ‘must read.’
 
Looking for a good book? The Future is Yours by Dan Frey is a decent by not overly exciting novel of time travel via software.
 
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Future is Yours

author: Dan Frey

publisher: Del Rey Books

ISBN: 0593158210

hardcover, 352 pages

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