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Currently reading this. Truly grand so far. McInerney knows his trade and is much more than the guy who wrote Bright Lights Big City.
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Last night I finished reading Dashiell Hammett's first novel, Red Harvest, almost in one sitting. Worth reading.
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Started The Wee Free Men on hols and it is a very fun book from the Discworld Series 
Before reading this I finished Night Watch which is another Discworld Novel it is a great read and I found it to be one of the best Watch books so far. I just have Thud to read and ive finished the Watch books.
Before reading this I finished Night Watch which is another Discworld Novel it is a great read and I found it to be one of the best Watch books so far. I just have Thud to read and ive finished the Watch books.
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Finished The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. It's pretty nuts and heavily and often cryptically allusive but it's interesting enough that I'd read it again. Probably after I read Gravity's Rainbow.
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Finished The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. It's pretty nuts and heavily and often cryptically allusive but it's interesting enough that I'd read it again. Probably after I read Gravity's Rainbow.
V is another great one by him that you might like.
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Been enjoying some lines recos... 
Candide by Voltaire
A very fresh, fast-paced and enjoyable romp through life's miseries. How bizarre. Our hero remains a hero despite committing despicable acts, but then the world he lives in (drawn from real events like show trial executions etc) is no peach either. Parodying serialised adventures of the time, it seems, it's very readable, and not at all mired in ennui, despite running its rapier wordsmithery over loss, pain, domination and human foolishness.
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Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein
A harrowing but fascinating account of a 'gaijin' growing up in Japan, joining the top newspaper, and getting almost entirely out of his depth. The potentially familiar tale of thankless legwork and experienced eyes becoming jaded is fired through with eccentric incidents, an insider's feeling for Japanese humours, delicacies and oddities, and eventually burns incandescent with rage at a sex-slave industry acting with impunity.
There are restorative elements too, amongst the bruises (as with David Simon's Homicide) when the little guy manages to make a difference, by persisting when others might not have. It is a more egocentric tale in some ways (although self-depreciating with it), wrapped up in our author's arc as much as anyone's, and spread over much of a lifetime. There is also the suspicion in there that he's something of an exuberant storyteller (did the self-immolating man really nearly burn his eyebrows off, etc). Also that he's seeking redemption, perhaps dabbling in some revisionism, when trying to depict his worst decisions. Not that you can blame him though, as he has become entangled in circumstances that are undeniably the stuff of nightmares.
Luckily Jake himself is an intriguing character, and he's not alone. From the grizzled cop mentor who 'out-Yakuzas' the criminals, to female journos fighting their corner, to the vice cop who has 'slept too long with dogs', and the willing and unwilling women wrapped up in the sex trade, there's plenty of human warmth and tragedy to go around.
The underbelly of this curvy, salacious, dirt-digging set of stories also seems to be vibrantly true. (Well, I should follow the journalistic principles laid out in the book and 'triangulate' his truths from other sources, but the tenet about 'good info being good info, even if from a bad source' lays most reservations to rest
). And some might see Jake as bad. Certainly anyone wanting to delve into the book's darknesses should be prepared for regular descriptions of extra-marital fellatio, at the very least. But you should also expect Japanese sayings that glitter with Ghibli-style animism, ironic justice as Yakuza livers fail thanks to tattooing rituals, and a feast of other delights and eye-opening sights to accompany the corruption and perfidy.
+
Candide by Voltaire
A very fresh, fast-paced and enjoyable romp through life's miseries. How bizarre. Our hero remains a hero despite committing despicable acts, but then the world he lives in (drawn from real events like show trial executions etc) is no peach either. Parodying serialised adventures of the time, it seems, it's very readable, and not at all mired in ennui, despite running its rapier wordsmithery over loss, pain, domination and human foolishness.
-
---
Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein
A harrowing but fascinating account of a 'gaijin' growing up in Japan, joining the top newspaper, and getting almost entirely out of his depth. The potentially familiar tale of thankless legwork and experienced eyes becoming jaded is fired through with eccentric incidents, an insider's feeling for Japanese humours, delicacies and oddities, and eventually burns incandescent with rage at a sex-slave industry acting with impunity.
There are restorative elements too, amongst the bruises (as with David Simon's Homicide) when the little guy manages to make a difference, by persisting when others might not have. It is a more egocentric tale in some ways (although self-depreciating with it), wrapped up in our author's arc as much as anyone's, and spread over much of a lifetime. There is also the suspicion in there that he's something of an exuberant storyteller (did the self-immolating man really nearly burn his eyebrows off, etc). Also that he's seeking redemption, perhaps dabbling in some revisionism, when trying to depict his worst decisions. Not that you can blame him though, as he has become entangled in circumstances that are undeniably the stuff of nightmares.
Luckily Jake himself is an intriguing character, and he's not alone. From the grizzled cop mentor who 'out-Yakuzas' the criminals, to female journos fighting their corner, to the vice cop who has 'slept too long with dogs', and the willing and unwilling women wrapped up in the sex trade, there's plenty of human warmth and tragedy to go around.
The underbelly of this curvy, salacious, dirt-digging set of stories also seems to be vibrantly true. (Well, I should follow the journalistic principles laid out in the book and 'triangulate' his truths from other sources, but the tenet about 'good info being good info, even if from a bad source' lays most reservations to rest
). And some might see Jake as bad. Certainly anyone wanting to delve into the book's darknesses should be prepared for regular descriptions of extra-marital fellatio, at the very least. But you should also expect Japanese sayings that glitter with Ghibli-style animism, ironic justice as Yakuza livers fail thanks to tattooing rituals, and a feast of other delights and eye-opening sights to accompany the corruption and perfidy. +
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Last edited by Golgot; 05-19-10 at 02:40 PM.
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Nice choice; he's one of my favorite writers. Definitely read Gravity's Rainbow, it's terrific.
V is another great one by him that you might like.
V is another great one by him that you might like.
@Golgot: glad you enjoyed the books. Adelstein definitely is a diligent marketer, but one of the things I really liked about Tokyo Vice is how humorous and blunt he is about exploiting his sort of wrapper narrative and role of loner-vs.-the-mob while at the same time balancing it with some serious storytelling. He's a really good writer.
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Yeah exactly, I think he managed the balance really well in the end. The fact that it reads like a really good noir, and that he's 'embedded' in the story, makes the big fact slabs even more of a slap in the face when they loom up and flatten protagonists left right and centre. (And at the end of the day, all journalism is subjective, so at least he's up front about his views and foibles etc). Add in all the cultural colour and it's a quality 'tale', no doubt.
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Finished Anna Karenin and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
These were both a lot of fun, and Anna was particularly awesome.
These were both a lot of fun, and Anna was particularly awesome.
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The mysteries of Pittsburgh - Michael Chabon
You can tell a young and inexperienced author wrote it but it's interesting as one of the first books I've read involving a bisexual main character. His later stuff is much better, 'specially The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
Also finished Speak Memory by Nabokov which was pretty great and rekindled my love for him after then snoozefest of Pnin.
And I've read A man without a country by Vonnegut which was an easy yet thought provoking read. Before that I read Slapstick, which I didn't enjoy much and Jailbird which saw him getting in his stride again. I plan to read everything by him this year. Only a few more to go...
Oh and the first volume of the collected short stories of Phillip K. Dick which was on a whole pretty amazing. And I read Confessions of a crap artist which was also pretty good especially since it isn't sci-fi (what other work of his isn't sci-fi, there so much of it to go through?).
You can tell a young and inexperienced author wrote it but it's interesting as one of the first books I've read involving a bisexual main character. His later stuff is much better, 'specially The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
Also finished Speak Memory by Nabokov which was pretty great and rekindled my love for him after then snoozefest of Pnin.
And I've read A man without a country by Vonnegut which was an easy yet thought provoking read. Before that I read Slapstick, which I didn't enjoy much and Jailbird which saw him getting in his stride again. I plan to read everything by him this year. Only a few more to go...
Oh and the first volume of the collected short stories of Phillip K. Dick which was on a whole pretty amazing. And I read Confessions of a crap artist which was also pretty good especially since it isn't sci-fi (what other work of his isn't sci-fi, there so much of it to go through?).
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Last edited by adidasss; 05-26-10 at 05:58 PM.
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@ adidasss re: philip k. dick, i don't remember it all that well but of dick's "major" novels the 'transmigration of timothy archer', and for that matter the rest of the valis cycle as well, was one of the least genre-sci-fi books that he wrote. nowhere near as normal as confessions of a crap artist but they might fit. he also wrote a few non-sci-fi novels that were published posthumously, and that i haven't read.
I copy-pasted a bibliography from this page, which lists the books I just mentioned (as well as A Scanner Darkly) under "Basically Non-SF Novels Lightly Disguised as SF", and also mentions some that are "closely related" to his non-sf work.
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The non-science fiction novels written by Philip K. Dick during the 1950s
1942: Return to Lilliput.
Juvenilia, lost manuscript.
194850: The Earthshaker.
Lost manuscript, perhaps never completed.
19523: Voices from the Street.
Manuscript in Fullerton Library. Recently published? Not sighted.
**** 19534: Mary and the Giant.
Victor Gollancz 0-575-04243-5; 1988; 230 pp.
St. Martin's Press, 0312033982; 1991; 240 pp.
1955: A Time for George Stavros.
Lost manuscript.
Known to have been recast as Humpty Dumpty in Oakland.
1956: Pilgrim on the Hill.
Lost manuscript.
**** 1956: The Broken Bubble of Thisbe Holt.
As The Broken Bubble: Morrow 1-55710-012-8; 1988; 246 pp.
**** 1957: Puttering About in a Small Land.
Academy Chicago Publishers 0-89733-149-4; 1985; 291 pp.
Academy Chicago Publishers 0-89733-384-5; 1992; 291 pp.
*** 1958: In Milton Lumky Territory.
Victor Gollancz 0-575-03625-7; 1985; 213 pp.
Also had a British paperback (Paladin?).
**** 1959: Confessions of a Crap Artist.
Entwhistle Books; 1975; 171 pp.
Vintage 0679741143; 1992.
Had an American paperback release (1978, also from Entwhistle Books) and one British paperback release during the late 1970s or early 1980s.
*** 1960: The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike.
Paladin 0-586-08563-7; 1986; 256 pp.
First edition (USA): Mark V. Ziesing; 1984 (this edition not sighted).
*** 1960: Humpty Dumpty in Oakland.
Victor Gollancz 0-575-03875-6; 1986; 199 pp.
No other edition sighted.
I copy-pasted a bibliography from this page, which lists the books I just mentioned (as well as A Scanner Darkly) under "Basically Non-SF Novels Lightly Disguised as SF", and also mentions some that are "closely related" to his non-sf work.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The non-science fiction novels written by Philip K. Dick during the 1950s
1942: Return to Lilliput.
Juvenilia, lost manuscript.
194850: The Earthshaker.
Lost manuscript, perhaps never completed.
19523: Voices from the Street.
Manuscript in Fullerton Library. Recently published? Not sighted.
**** 19534: Mary and the Giant.
Victor Gollancz 0-575-04243-5; 1988; 230 pp.
St. Martin's Press, 0312033982; 1991; 240 pp.
1955: A Time for George Stavros.
Lost manuscript.
Known to have been recast as Humpty Dumpty in Oakland.
1956: Pilgrim on the Hill.
Lost manuscript.
**** 1956: The Broken Bubble of Thisbe Holt.
As The Broken Bubble: Morrow 1-55710-012-8; 1988; 246 pp.
**** 1957: Puttering About in a Small Land.
Academy Chicago Publishers 0-89733-149-4; 1985; 291 pp.
Academy Chicago Publishers 0-89733-384-5; 1992; 291 pp.
*** 1958: In Milton Lumky Territory.
Victor Gollancz 0-575-03625-7; 1985; 213 pp.
Also had a British paperback (Paladin?).
**** 1959: Confessions of a Crap Artist.
Entwhistle Books; 1975; 171 pp.
Vintage 0679741143; 1992.
Had an American paperback release (1978, also from Entwhistle Books) and one British paperback release during the late 1970s or early 1980s.
*** 1960: The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike.
Paladin 0-586-08563-7; 1986; 256 pp.
First edition (USA): Mark V. Ziesing; 1984 (this edition not sighted).
*** 1960: Humpty Dumpty in Oakland.
Victor Gollancz 0-575-03875-6; 1986; 199 pp.
No other edition sighted.
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Way behind on updating this. Read several books since The Road. Don't feel like going through it all in depth, so I'll keep it fairly brief. Oh, and like you, mack, I'm probably starting in on A Brief History of Time shortly. I say "starting" because I haven't entirely made up my mind about whether or not I'll finish it. Don't want to get "stuck" on a particularly difficult book to read at the moment.
Anyway...in rough order (two of them might be transposed; not sure):
Perelandra
by C.S. Lewis
This is a re-read, as I first read it years ago (and have re-read some passages since). It's the second book in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, and it's the most purely philosophical. I don't want to give too much away, but...well, I can't even tell you the premise without giving away some of the book's revelations. Suffice to say it has a major theological bent, but its insights are sharp and eloquent, and its prose is just as good. It's as creative as it is thoughtful, even though I tend to feel many books make me choose between one or the other.
There are scenes in this book that, when I visualized them the first time I read it, actually gave me chills. There are terrifying sequences, beautiful sequences that will make you wish you lived in the world it depicts, and moments of intense intellectual illumination. This is one of my favorite books of all time.
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
by Stephen King
Normally when I read a movie's source material, I expect (and find) that it expands on the story and offers more depth and nuance than whatever I'd seen on screen. This expectation is precisely why I decided to read this story. Strangely, the reality here is completely flipped; it's the film that feels more fleshed out, and the book that feels more abridged.
From this vantage point, I have a whole new level of appreciation for The Shawshank Redemption. The adaptation is absolutely stunning now that I see its source. It consolidates characters in an extremely sensible way, shifts dialogue here and there, plays some events up (and others down), and reorders some of the events. The film flows perfectly, even though the story its based on is a bit more uneven. Every change makes complete sense to me. So-so book, but boy, does it enhance my appreciation of the film.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
by G.K. Chesterton
A collection of eight short stories (each about 15-20 pages in length) about Horne Fisher, the titular "Man Who Knew Too Much." He's an aristocratic detective who knows the ins and outs of high society and politics, and is extremely droll and unambitious because of this knowledge. He "knows too much" in that he sees the depressing truths of the world, and has an appropriately detached demeanor as a result. Sure comes in handy for solving murders, though.
Reasonably fun, and very well-written, as is always the case with Chesterton. The man can make words do whatever he wants them to, it seems, and this collection is no exception to his rule over the language.
Some of the stories, of course, are better than others. "The Bottomless Well" is probably the best of them, and would make for a lovely short film, too. The character is never as fleshed out as he could be (though the second-to-last story near the back of the book appropriately provides some, well, back story), and the mysteries are too short to be hugely enthralling, but they all have at least one clever twist or observation, and the quality of the writing is as high as it gets.
That covers the last month and a half, I think. Got a slow start on my reading this year, but since Crime and Punishment I've been making very steady progress. It's nice that life has slowed down just enough after the move that I can enjoy the pleasures of reading regularly again. I did miss it.
Anyway...in rough order (two of them might be transposed; not sure):
Perelandra
by C.S. Lewis
This is a re-read, as I first read it years ago (and have re-read some passages since). It's the second book in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, and it's the most purely philosophical. I don't want to give too much away, but...well, I can't even tell you the premise without giving away some of the book's revelations. Suffice to say it has a major theological bent, but its insights are sharp and eloquent, and its prose is just as good. It's as creative as it is thoughtful, even though I tend to feel many books make me choose between one or the other.
There are scenes in this book that, when I visualized them the first time I read it, actually gave me chills. There are terrifying sequences, beautiful sequences that will make you wish you lived in the world it depicts, and moments of intense intellectual illumination. This is one of my favorite books of all time.
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
by Stephen King
Normally when I read a movie's source material, I expect (and find) that it expands on the story and offers more depth and nuance than whatever I'd seen on screen. This expectation is precisely why I decided to read this story. Strangely, the reality here is completely flipped; it's the film that feels more fleshed out, and the book that feels more abridged.
From this vantage point, I have a whole new level of appreciation for The Shawshank Redemption. The adaptation is absolutely stunning now that I see its source. It consolidates characters in an extremely sensible way, shifts dialogue here and there, plays some events up (and others down), and reorders some of the events. The film flows perfectly, even though the story its based on is a bit more uneven. Every change makes complete sense to me. So-so book, but boy, does it enhance my appreciation of the film.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
by G.K. Chesterton
A collection of eight short stories (each about 15-20 pages in length) about Horne Fisher, the titular "Man Who Knew Too Much." He's an aristocratic detective who knows the ins and outs of high society and politics, and is extremely droll and unambitious because of this knowledge. He "knows too much" in that he sees the depressing truths of the world, and has an appropriately detached demeanor as a result. Sure comes in handy for solving murders, though.
Reasonably fun, and very well-written, as is always the case with Chesterton. The man can make words do whatever he wants them to, it seems, and this collection is no exception to his rule over the language.
Some of the stories, of course, are better than others. "The Bottomless Well" is probably the best of them, and would make for a lovely short film, too. The character is never as fleshed out as he could be (though the second-to-last story near the back of the book appropriately provides some, well, back story), and the mysteries are too short to be hugely enthralling, but they all have at least one clever twist or observation, and the quality of the writing is as high as it gets.
That covers the last month and a half, I think. Got a slow start on my reading this year, but since Crime and Punishment I've been making very steady progress. It's nice that life has slowed down just enough after the move that I can enjoy the pleasures of reading regularly again. I did miss it.
Last edited by Yoda; 06-03-10 at 11:08 AM.
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Heartbreak and Triumpth The Shawn Michaels Story. - If your a wrestling fan, read the book. It offers a unique perspective on how the business works from the point of view of one the best there ever was and ever will be. From growing up, the screw job (that really was a screw job) to just the journey of life. Not to say the book isn't a great autobiography for those into life stories but any true wrestling fan or even those like myself with just a slight interest will have a real time trying to put it down.
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Finished some small things and one big one recently:
Slaves of Spiegel by Daniel Pinkwater
A teen novella about fat space pirates from the planet Speigel. I like that it's told in multifarious ways - official speeches by the pirate leader, statements both private and public by a pair of chefs from a Hoboken greasy spoon who are abducted to cook for the pirates, a chapter that transcribes the sounds of eating and a bunch others. The ending is a bit of an anticlimax, which is part of the joke, and it's good but never comes close to the heights of Alan Mendelsohn, Boy From Mars. Still have 3 more to go in this collection.
In Praise of Darkness and The Maker by Borges
These two brief collections, containing some stories as well as parables and reflections are some of the most direct and personal things I've read by the author so far. A fact that is readily apparent in his prayer and reflections on the loss of sight. Pretty good stuff.
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
I might write more about this at some point after I think about it a bit more, it's got a bit of everything: anthropology, epidemiology, politics, ancient and modern history and prehistory of human civilization on every continent, and very ambitious in that it attempts to synthesize vast areas of expertise into an elegant explanatory scheme of how some civilizations are able to conquer others and why specifically European ones have done so for most of recent history.
Diamond's answers seem to boil down to things like population density, which in turn boils down to things like geography and pressures that necessitated farming as a form of subsistence for a given population. You end up with a lot of unanswered questions, but how could it be otherwise with a book of this scope. Anyway, interesting book.
Slaves of Spiegel by Daniel Pinkwater
A teen novella about fat space pirates from the planet Speigel. I like that it's told in multifarious ways - official speeches by the pirate leader, statements both private and public by a pair of chefs from a Hoboken greasy spoon who are abducted to cook for the pirates, a chapter that transcribes the sounds of eating and a bunch others. The ending is a bit of an anticlimax, which is part of the joke, and it's good but never comes close to the heights of Alan Mendelsohn, Boy From Mars. Still have 3 more to go in this collection.
In Praise of Darkness and The Maker by Borges
These two brief collections, containing some stories as well as parables and reflections are some of the most direct and personal things I've read by the author so far. A fact that is readily apparent in his prayer and reflections on the loss of sight. Pretty good stuff.
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
I might write more about this at some point after I think about it a bit more, it's got a bit of everything: anthropology, epidemiology, politics, ancient and modern history and prehistory of human civilization on every continent, and very ambitious in that it attempts to synthesize vast areas of expertise into an elegant explanatory scheme of how some civilizations are able to conquer others and why specifically European ones have done so for most of recent history.
Diamond's answers seem to boil down to things like population density, which in turn boils down to things like geography and pressures that necessitated farming as a form of subsistence for a given population. You end up with a lot of unanswered questions, but how could it be otherwise with a book of this scope. Anyway, interesting book.
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An odd cyberpunk-ish book set in a world where resurrection technology is a reality. Not too far along yet, but it's good so far!
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Catching up on what I've read since Fingersmith by Sarah Waters which is a brilliant novel set in Victorian times vying with Dickens for it's plotting.
then The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz a colourful energetic book that follows the lives of a Dominican family living in New Jersey. The story begins being narrated by Oscar an overweight geek, and jumps to his sister and over to the Dominican Republic for the story of his mother. All the recent history of the Republic is here but so interspersed into the lives of the family that you absorb it by osmosis. The language drops into Spanish, words, whole sentences, speeches yet somehow the skill of the writer makes you able to understand it miraculously! Came out the other end thinking I might be able to speak Spanish
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Narrated by Balram a poor village man from a low caste family who is taken on as a driver by one of the rich families and taken to the big city.A well written, powerful book that highlights the poverty in India and the constant fight to make a living in spite of terrible prejudice against low born families.
Unless by Carole Shields. Reta Winters is a writer and a mother who lives a happy life with her loving husband and daughters in a leafy suburb. She has close friends and a warm relationship with an old lady who she does translation work for. A perfect life, till her eldest daughter withdraws from the world, goes to live in a homeless hostel in the city and sits on the street corner day after day, mute, with a notice around her neck saying 'goodness'. A beautiful, contemplative novel, elegantly written, with Reta questioning her life and the lives of women in general.
then The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz a colourful energetic book that follows the lives of a Dominican family living in New Jersey. The story begins being narrated by Oscar an overweight geek, and jumps to his sister and over to the Dominican Republic for the story of his mother. All the recent history of the Republic is here but so interspersed into the lives of the family that you absorb it by osmosis. The language drops into Spanish, words, whole sentences, speeches yet somehow the skill of the writer makes you able to understand it miraculously! Came out the other end thinking I might be able to speak Spanish
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Narrated by Balram a poor village man from a low caste family who is taken on as a driver by one of the rich families and taken to the big city.A well written, powerful book that highlights the poverty in India and the constant fight to make a living in spite of terrible prejudice against low born families.
Unless by Carole Shields. Reta Winters is a writer and a mother who lives a happy life with her loving husband and daughters in a leafy suburb. She has close friends and a warm relationship with an old lady who she does translation work for. A perfect life, till her eldest daughter withdraws from the world, goes to live in a homeless hostel in the city and sits on the street corner day after day, mute, with a notice around her neck saying 'goodness'. A beautiful, contemplative novel, elegantly written, with Reta questioning her life and the lives of women in general.
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I've also just finished The brief and wondrous life...definitely an engaging read but a little too depressing for me.
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I've also just finished The brief and wondrous life...definitely an engaging read but a little too depressing for me.
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Diving into the Wreck (Kristine Kathryn Rusch, 11/2009) - 4/5
read another well crafted space opera from Rusch, and once again found myself wondering why she doesnt script-write for movies instead. i think of her as a slightly less brilliant female version of Frank Herbert. All she needs to do is get really epic, get slightly more (seriously) mystical/religious, and i think she could rival him in a few years.
Dead & Gone (Charlaine Harris, 4/2010) - 1.5/5
I must say - coming back to the book storyline of "True Blood" after a long hiatus, and having watched S1 and S2 in between....... well. All I can say is: I felt like Harris was ad libbing her way thru the storyline, and kind of making it up as she went along. There were several times during reading that I thought very clearly, "Are we going anywhere, or are we going to keep talking about the weather??" And that's not so bad really, until you get to the part(s) where she obviously places serious emphasis on a place, or someone's clothes or temperament - all of these places and persons having featured in the TV series, True Blood. None of this is problematic, except that it felt like she was pointedly trying to either re-imagine her characters, or course-correct the TV versions by nailing them down into a rigid box. It was kind of pouty. And thin on real plot. The entire book plodded along until it gave a little fizz, and burned out at the ending - certainly not the fireworks you might hope for.
read another well crafted space opera from Rusch, and once again found myself wondering why she doesnt script-write for movies instead. i think of her as a slightly less brilliant female version of Frank Herbert. All she needs to do is get really epic, get slightly more (seriously) mystical/religious, and i think she could rival him in a few years.
Dead & Gone (Charlaine Harris, 4/2010) - 1.5/5
I must say - coming back to the book storyline of "True Blood" after a long hiatus, and having watched S1 and S2 in between....... well. All I can say is: I felt like Harris was ad libbing her way thru the storyline, and kind of making it up as she went along. There were several times during reading that I thought very clearly, "Are we going anywhere, or are we going to keep talking about the weather??" And that's not so bad really, until you get to the part(s) where she obviously places serious emphasis on a place, or someone's clothes or temperament - all of these places and persons having featured in the TV series, True Blood. None of this is problematic, except that it felt like she was pointedly trying to either re-imagine her characters, or course-correct the TV versions by nailing them down into a rigid box. It was kind of pouty. And thin on real plot. The entire book plodded along until it gave a little fizz, and burned out at the ending - certainly not the fireworks you might hope for.
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something witty goes here......
something witty goes here......
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