THE TWO HOTEL FRANCFORTS – David Leavitt

Posted by Daniel on September 24, 2018
Posted in: HISTORICAL FICTION, OTHER. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

In 1940 the only neutral port in Europe is in Lisbon, Portugal.  Here two couples meet by chance as they both await safe passage on the SS Manhattan to escape the brewing war.  But Lisbon is filled with refugees and spies and one needs to be careful with whom one confides.  One couple is staying at the Hotel Francfort while the other is staying at the Francfort Hotel.  What are the chances? Well…good, actually since both hotels exist in town.  But it’s a conversation starter and the couples are able to find some comfort in sharing their pining with one another, eager to get away.

Julia Winters and her husband Pete harbor some fears of the Nazis who are around as Julia is Jewish.  They left their Parisian home and are hoping to get to America as soon as they can.

Edward and Iris Freleng, wealthy bohemians, just want to continue their lifestyle without fear of the Nazis.

An affair blossoms from among the couple, but not quite what one might typically expect.  It is a homosexual affair between Pete and Edward. Though not homosexual, Pete can’t help but be excited by the sexual attention and magic of Edward’s presence. Julia slowly begins to expect something, but assumes it’s an affair between Pete and Iris – an affair that Pete can easily deny.

Although this book got a lot of press and acclaim when it first came out (or so I recall), I found this to be rather dull.  Author David Leavitt’s writing is crisp and he captures the sense of 1940’s Europe well, and the two couples are interesting enough to keep turning pages, but the entire book seems to be about a homosexual affair with at least one partner an unlikely participant. That being the case, for me, it held little interest.  I’m not opposed to homosexuality as a concept or in practice, but for me personally it’s not something I care to participate in, even as a voyeur reader.  And really, there was nothing else in the book to appeal.  Yes…there’s more than just the sex, there’s the whole concept of opening up to new horizons and the consternation of cheating on a spouse. But the book sets out to be ‘about’ something, and the big picture here is nothing more than sex between two men.

I’d much rather be reading Hemingway.

Looking for a good book? The Two Hotel Francforts by David Leavitt is a philosophical yearning study of homosexuality in an era of brutality and war.

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

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The Two Hotel Francforts

author: David Leavitt

publisher: Bloomsbury USA

ISBN: 1596910429

hardcover, 257 pages

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THE PLASTIC MAGICIAN – Charlie N. Holmberg

Posted by Daniel on September 21, 2018
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve been quite a fan of the Paper Magician series by Charlie N. Holmberg.  I’ve recommended the series to many people and every one has come back to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed it. Now Holmberg is keeping the series alive with what is part sequel and part spin-off.  There’s still plenty of magic afoot and we’re still following an apprentice, but instead of the erstwhile Ceony, we are now following American, Alvie, as she arrives in England to apprentice with a master plastics magician.

It’s quite a new adventure of Alvie, learning new customs as well as trying to grow in her chosen magic art. Fortunately she is apprenticed to a magician who is as dedicated as she is to improving and finding ways to accomplish her goals.  This magician, Marion Praff, couldn’t be more charming and welcoming to Alvie (and fortunately he’s married!), but not everyone is enthralled by Praff and his continued showings of new magic at the annual conference, which is not too far away.

Alvie is an inventor at heart and when she presents an idea to Praff, and he encourages her and takes it on in order to help develop it for the next conference, Alvie is thrilled.  But a number of magicians in the area are reporting burglaries and Alvie worries that her and Praff’s remarkable invention – which should revolutionize Polymaking – is at risk.  She has no idea just how much at risk her invention – and her life – really is!

I’m thrilled to be back in this world of Holmberg’s.  It’s a great, rather unique, world that she’s created, and while both her leading characters (Ceony and Alvie) are similar in many regards, it’s not surprising since they should be about the same age, being apprentices.  The mentors are different enough (if you’ve read The Paper Magician series, you’ll understand – if not … you should correct that right now!) but both appealing as mentors. (Though it will be delicious when she sometime chooses to write of an apprentice with one of the villainous magicians!)

I did feel that things went a little too smoothly for lucky Alvie. She doesn’t seem to have to work too hard for her glory. Even when things go terribly wrong, she manages to get away and run into good people who trust and believe her immediately. Though the climax scenes during her trouble is well written and quite exciting.

It will be interesting to see what Holmberg comes up with next for the series, and I will continue to count myself as a fan, though this book didn’t quite live up to the excitement and thrill of the first series.

Looking for a good book? The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, is a follow-up/spin-off to the Paper Magician series and while it doesn’t have quite the excitement, it is still an enjoyable story.

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

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The Plastic Magician

author: Charlie N. Holmberg

series: The Paper Magician #4

publisher: 47North

ISBN: 1503951774

hardcover, 236 pages

DEPTH OF WINTER – Craig Johnson

Posted by Daniel on September 19, 2018
Posted in: MYSTERY, Uncategorized, WESTERN. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Depth of Winter is the fourteenth book in the Walt Longmire series.  I haven’t read all the books in the series yet, though I am working on it.  Why?  Because they are entertaining. Generally a quick read, with appropriate machismo and suspense. This one fits well alongside the others in the series quite well.

Sheriff Walt Longmire’s daughter, Cady, has been kidnapped by one of the most ruthless drug cartels in Mexico.  What they want is Walt, and he’s prepared to give himself to them in order to save Cady. But the U.S. government is in some tricky negotiations with the Mexican government and Walt isn’t authorized to cross the border.  In fact, the local lawmen do everything they can to stop him.  But Walt Longmire is committed to facing the drug cartel on their own ground as long as it will bring his daughter to safety.

The cartel’s plan has been to bring together some of the most ruthless, despicable men who’ve ever crossed paths with Longmire (and there have been a few) and let them bid on Cady and Walt.  Winning bidder gets to do as he pleases (and we see a man auctioned off and then shot point-blank in the head just prior to Cady’s auction).

But Walt is a clever man, with friends and resources wherever he goes, but following him and learning of his resources along the way is a great part of the fun of reading a Longmire book.

What surprised me with this book is his almost superhero-ness.  The amount of beatings/shootings he takes and keeps coming at the bad guys is overwhelming.  Having only read a few Longmire novels, I was also a little surprised at how often Cady needs Walt’s oversight.  This is perhaps unfair since I haven’t read all fourteen novels and possibly I’ve read the two main books that have Cady at the center. But all-in-all, it is a good read.  A ‘beach read’ perhaps.  It’s not the sort of book that will sit with you long after you’ve read it, but it will be engrossing and heart-racing while you’re in it.

The Longmire books are a nice combination of modern western romance and mystery, featuring one tough sheriff.

Looking for a good book? The fourteenth book in the Walt Longmire series, Depth of Winter, by Craig Johnson, is a powerhouse of action from start to finish, with Walt’s and Cady’s lives on the line.

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

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Depth of Winter

author: Craig Johnson

series: Walt Longmire #14

publisher: Viking

ISBN: 0525522476

hardcover, 304 pages

MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM – Grady Hendrix

Posted by Daniel on September 17, 2018
Posted in: HUMOR, ROMANCE, Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I didn’t have a clue what to expect when I went in to this book, but I sure as heck didn’t expect this!

How to describe this book…?  I think the best description is that this is a ‘buddy book.’  Take a look at the title, My Best Friend’s Exorcism.  The word “Exorcism” is likely to be the word that attracts attention to the potential reader, and certainly let’s a potential audience know what they’ll be facing within the pages, but it’s the term “best friend” that defines the story.

It is the 1980’s. Abby and Gretchen are best friends and have been since elementary school. But once they get to high school something changes.  Gretchen isn’t herself.  She hangs with a different crowd.  She teases Abby.  She’s clearly … well, possessed. Why else would a best friend act so differently, right?  But only Abby seems to see the difference in Gretchen … the possession. Until, that is, a troupe of evangelists visit the school and the entire student body is required to sit and listen to their presentation and one of the troupe members points … directly at Gretchen! … and says that he knows she is possessed.

It’s all the proof Abby needs to focus her attention on getting Gretchen – her best friend! – the help she deserves. But by doing so, Abby’s grades drop.  She is accused of malicious activities herself – activities that she has difficulty proving she didn’t commit – and it is Abby who appears to have changed upon entering high school, and not Gretchen.  Not only must Abby fight for her friend, she will suffer to do so.

The story rambles just a little bit as we wonder if this is a horror novel? A YA brooding story of lost friendships? Something else entirely?  We spend just a little too much time getting the gist of Abby’s obsession with ‘fixing’ Gretchen and the effect it is having on her own life.  This probably could have been cut in half and had the same effect.

But the ending … man, this ending is strong!  Tear-jerker strong! And completely unexpected.

Grady Hendrix’s writing is solid and let’s the reader immerse him/herself in the world.  Some lines may seem a little heavy-handed when read alone, but in the context of the story are just powerful:

“You keep rescuing me and I don’t know why … But every day I tell myself life must be worth something because you keep saving it.”

…

“You’re my best friend, and my mirror, and my reflection, and you are me, and you are everything I love and everything I hate, and I will never give up on you.”

The scenes of the evangelist working to exorcise the demon from Gretchen are comic and heart-warming.  I could only picture John Candy from the 80’s playing this role.  And Hendrix plays this perfectly because we needed a little comic relief at this moment, but it never loses the integrity of the story or the sense of drama occurring during the scene.  It’s a tricky bit of writing and Hendrix navigates it well.

This is easily one of the best surprises I’ve come across in my reading in some time.  It falls just shy of five stars because of the too-long set-up of Abby being consumed by the need to save her friend.

Looking for a good book? My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix is a powerful, touching drama with a hint of supernatural that will have you reaching for tissues as you get to the end.

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

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My Best Friend’s Exorcism

author: Grady Hendrix

publisher: Quirk Books

ISBN: 1594748624

hardcover, 336 pages

BLOOD’S A ROVER – Harlan Ellison

Posted by Daniel on September 14, 2018
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I was reading both this book, and one other book by Harlan Ellison, when Harlan passed away.  While I am always reading more than one book at a time, it’s rare that I am reading more than one by the same author (that other book is Ellison’s original teleplay of “City on the Edge of Forever” … review to come), so there was some strange sort of kismet happening here for me.

Blood’s a Rover is a collection of stories featuring Vic and Blood, together chronologically so that they tell a novel-length story. Perhaps Ellison’s most famous short story is “A Boy and His Dog” about the intelligent, telepathic dog Blood and his human cohort, Vic, scrounging and surviving a post-apocalyptic world. (Yes, there was a movie featuring Don Johnson [of Miami Vice fame] but you probably saw it only if you’ve spent much time at sci-fi conventions or browsing YouTube for B movies.)

Though I’ve read a lot of Ellison’s work over the course of many decades, I don’t think I’ve read all of these stories, so it was nice to get the full story, from start-to-end in one volume this way.

However…!

Though billed as a novel, this is NOT a novel.  This is most clearly and obviously a collection of material put together sequentially.  It may tell one long story (“may”), but it is definitely not a novel, which is what I was hoping for since that was how it was advertised.  I’d hoped that Ellison (or someone of his approving) had filled out the spaces between stories to really make this one long story.  But not only is this not a novel, but the final story is included as a film script – the way Ellison wrote it, hoping for it to be filmed.

Fortunately I don’t mind reading scripts – I read them all the time for work – but not everyone who reads stories and novels is accustomed to the format of film or television scripts. And the inclusion of a script as part of our story really serves to remind us that this is not a novel of Vic and Blood, it is a collection of their adventures.  As such (a collection of adventures), it is well worth reading.  Some of the work definitely feels dated, especially given the volume of post-apocalyptic novels and stories available today, and at times Ellison goes a little over the top trying to remind us how smart he is (Blood) and how stupid the rest of us are (Vics), but I’d still rather read some works of Ellison than just about any other author today.

In the introduction, editor Jason Davis writes about the reissue of Richard Corben’s visual adaptation of Vic and Blood:

In his introduction, the creator of the dystopian duo noted that “The final, longest section is in screenplay form…and one of these days before I go through that final door, I’ll translate it into elegant prose, and the full novel will appear.”

If only we could hold Ellison to those words.

How sad that when I began this book, I had some hope that there might be some new Vic and Blood stories on the horizon but as I finished the stories Ellison’s death closed the book on any future stories by the master.

Looking for a good book? Blood’s a Rover by Harlan Ellison gathers together his collection of stories and screenplays about the adventures of Vic and Blood (from “A Boy and His Dog”) and provides the opportunity to read the stories sequentially, which is well worth doing.

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

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Blood’s a Rover

author: Harlan Ellison

publisher: Subterranean Press

ISBN: 159606868X

hardcover, 232 pages

TOO TABOO – anthology

Posted by Daniel on September 12, 2018
Posted in: ROMANCE. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve been fascinated by the increased interest (judging by sales and the numbers of books available in the genre) in ‘erotic romance’ books.  That’s what they’re calling this … “An Erotic Romance Anthology.”  But as I’ve said before… ‘erotic romance’ seems to be nothing more than a ‘polite’ way to say “porn.”  After all, women wouldn’t want to read porn … right?  And most men would rather admit to reading an erotic romance than a porn novel, right?

I don’t request these types of books very often, though I certainly could, judging by how many titles are available through my advance reading copy resources.  I pick them somewhat randomly and fully admit that I don’t really have a very good handle on what I will be getting until I start reading.  Too Taboo sounded interesting since it didn’t seem to me that there were many things that were considered taboo in this genre.  And with three longer stories included, I figured it was a good way to get some variety.

The first story, “Absolve Me” by Morgaine Cameron, was quite interesting and well written.  Here a sex therapist who works as a sexual surrogate accepts a new client from a fellow therapist.  She isn’t told too much about him except that he’s struggling with sex and sexuality. She takes him through a session, gaining more fulfillment and enjoyment herself than she allows herself for work, to discover that his issue stems from his being a priest. He’s trying to decide if giving up sex for the priesthood is the right thing for him.  Shocking!  But it doesn’t stop her from continuing her education for him.  In fact she brings out some strong fantasies of his, which include strong dominating of his partner.

But suddenly he stops and though she’d fallen quite madly in love with him, she realizes he must have decided to commit to the priesthood.  When her fellow therapist recommends another client, she doesn’t want to take anyone on, but the friend insists and when the new client appears … ta da! … it’s the priest, who is willing to give up the priesthood and serve his god in other ways, because the sexual bond (pun intended) between them was so great!

“Twice as Hard” by Amber Bardan throws a lot of curve balls at the reader and we’re never quite sure where the story is going until the end … and even then …?

I don’t want to give too much away for those who might actually want to read the story (the stories are available from the publisher separately as well as in this anthology), though this was my least favorite of the trio.  Suffice it to say that a woman is dominated by two men.

Domination … ah … I see the recurring theme.  But domination doesn’t seem ‘taboo’ any more.  It’s become rather prevalent, though I suppose it’s still not considered completely acceptable even among consenting adults.

Although the language in “Absolve Me” is graphic and blunt, it somehow seemed harsher and more jarring in “Twice as Hard.”

The final selection is “Seduction Squad: Captured” by Amanda Stewart.  This story seemed the most laughable (yes, more than the seduction of a priest) as a female spy who has been captured is being interrogated by the hunky enemy officer.  She’s known to be a part of the ‘seduction squad’ – a team of women well-known for their sexual prowess and ability to turn the strongest man’s legs to jelly by finding his deepest most secret fantasy and toying with him.  But she’s been captured, surely she can’t use her wiles against a big, strong man … right?

Do you see where this is going? But which one of them will be the more satisfied?  The captured, tied-up woman, or the man who dreams of the captured, tied-up woman?

The book, I believe, does what it intends to do.  It helps some readers to experience certain ‘taboo’ sexual fantasies, vicariously. Some moments were indeed sexually exciting, though I imagine I’m a little too ‘vanilla’ for this taboo series. But I’m still fascinated by the idea that we can call porn by another name – erotica – and it’s suddenly more acceptable.  But I’ll admit that this is a case where having a Kindle is of great relief because no one had a clue what I was reading, and I wanted to keep it that way!

Looking for a good book? Too Taboo is an anthology of ‘erotic romance’ stories for those with a dominant/submissive kink.

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

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Too Taboo: An Erotic Romance Anthology: Absolve Me\Twice as Hard\Seduction Squad: Captured

authors: Morgaine Cameron, Amber Bardan, Amanda Stewart

publisher: Carina Press

ASIN: B01N74MIJV

Kindle Edition, 294 pages

HAUNTED NIGHTS – Ellen Datlow & Lisa Morton, editors

Posted by Daniel on September 10, 2018
Posted in: Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

You know that when you pick up a book edited by Ellen Datlow you’re bound to get some really nice fiction.  This volume is no exception.

Haunted Nights is a collection of short stories with a Halloween theme. That’s a pretty narrow window for reading on a theme (it’s not like Christmas when people typically begin around Halloween) but fortunately the horror story genre doesn’t confine itself to Halloween.

Although I think it’s true that you can be pretty confident about your selection when you pick up a book by Datlow, I’ve also found that I’m rarely ‘wow’ed by any one particular story or stories.  A lot of them a good to very good but nothing spectacular.  That holds true here as well.

The best of the book are saved for the very end.  Pat Cadigan’s “Jack” is probably my favorite of the collection. Cadigan has a strong writing style and she delivers sentences that just absolutely suck you in…

Every year, there are a few days when the border between the natural and the supernatural worlds gets less solid, less real, less … there, and nobody knows why.

and

I once overheard a woman who’d just been to a funeral say something to the effect that the dead person’s troubles were over. I didn’t even have to look at her to know she lived only in the natural world.

I definitely need to read more Pat Cadigan.

I also enjoyed John Langan’s “Lost in the Dark” and John R; Little’s “The First Lunar Halloween”.  The latter of course not being set on earth was clever and fun. Langan’s story rises to a different level as it is a horror story about horror films.

I had expected to fall in love with Seanan McGuire’s story as I relish her novels, but this time I wasn’t as moved by her work.

This book contains the following:

Introduction by Lisa Morton
“With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds” – Seanan McGuire
“Dirtmouth” – Stephen Graham Jones
“A Small Taste of the Old Country” – Jonathan Maberry
“Wick’s End” – Joanna Parypinski
“The Seventeen-Year Itch” – Garth Nix
“A Flicker of Light on Devil’s Night” – Kate Jonez
“Witch Hazel” – Jeffrey Ford
“Nos Galen Gaeaf” – Kelley Armstrong
“We’re Never Inviting Amber Again” – S. P. Miskowski
“Sisters” – Brian Evenson
“All Through the Night” – Elise Forier Edie
“A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds” – Eric J. Guignard
“The Turn” – Paul Kane
“Jack” – Pat Cadigan
“Lost in the Dark” – John Langan
“The First Lunar Halloween” – John R. Little

Looking for a good book? Haunted Nights is a collection of Halloween themed short stories edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton and will give you shivers any time of year.

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

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Haunted Nights

editors: Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton

publisher: Anchor Books

ISBN: 1101973838

paperback, 352 pages