Words Devoured: The Curiosity

When I started reading The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan, it was slow-going for me. I stuck to my guns, though, and really enjoyed it quite a bit. It offers some interesting science ideas, and poses some head-scratching questions as well.

The chapters of the novel are point-of-view, featuring three characters (at first): Kate Philo, a biologist; Daniel Dixon, a reporter; and Erastus Carthage, an incredibly rich man who backs a scientific endeavor.

This endeavor involved reanimating life found flash frozen in icebergs. On one expedition, a human being is found inside of one. This human was a judge from 1908 named Jeremiah Rice (who also happens to be the fourth point-of-view character).

Rice is brought back to life, though it is unknown how to keep him alive. His metabolism is in overdrive and he is capable of just burning out. With opposition from Carthage, Kate seems to fall for him, so a love story develops as well.

The ideas behind the science are more realistic/believable than, say, Jurassic Park. They make you think about what modern science is capable of. Could we reanimate someone who has been frozen (the novel speaks of a freezing process that is different than cryonics)?

Then that leads to the question (though I don't believe in God) should we play "God" and reanimate people, or should the dead stay dead? The question of the ethics is raised by protesters in the novel.

Kiernan handles the science well, and the character development, too.


Jeremiah is an intriguing character, because he comes from a time long before our own. Seeing him "catch up" on years of history is great, if heartbreaking.

Seeing his relationship with Kate, Dixon, Carthage (and the others) sets him into contrast with them. His ideals are quaint, and make for fresh storytelling.

I really enjoyed The Curiosity, and am glad I stuck with it. No matter how slow-going it seemed, it picked up and moved along at a rather good clip. I definitely recommend it!

Words Devoured: Shot All to Hell

A couple months ago I finished reading Shot All to Hell, by Mark Lee Gardner. Here's what I thought:

I chose this book because the synopsis seemed really interesting. It was more interesting than the synopsis lead me to believe. To be honest, the synopsis did draw me in, but then I thought to myself, "This is going to be bland..." as history-based books are wont to be. I was wrong. (Please note I did not judge the book by it's cover!)

This book covers what leads up to, and the aftermath of, the last bank robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang. The James Gang were responsible for quite a few robberies, and netted themselves some good spoils. Sometimes they didn't net so much...

Gardner gathered the facts, and represented them well, even giving them somewhat of a "story" kind of spin in parts. Some of it was story, really, when it features the wives of some of the people robbed, wondering what happened to their families. I am sure accounts were taken from them, but it still lends itself to being a story.

I knew little of the James gang before reading this, and little of where Jesse and his brother began. Gardner shed some light on those two, and the other members of the gang that committed the last robbery. The members of his gang (aside from his brother, Frank) I knew nothing about. Learning about them, and their backgrounds, were just as interesting as learning more about the Jameses.

Gardner tells the tale well, even getting information from the residents of Northfield, Minnesota (where the robbery took place). Seeing how some of the residents acted to what happened in their town was quite interesting. People actually stepped up, and helped to keep some of James' gang at bay.

I would definitely love to pick up an actual biography of Jesse James, after reading Shot all to Hell! I think you guys might enjoy it, as well!

Words Devoured: Paper

Paper, by Ian Sansom, isn't a history of paper--so he says in the beginning of the book. Rather, Paper is a look at how something as taken-for-granted as paper is, it remains one of the most important substances mankind has created on this Earth.

In the first chapter of Paper, Sansom describes creation of paper at it's beginning, then goes on to outline how paper was created then and now. It's a remarkably similar process, just...updated.

After the discussion of how paper is created, each chapter of Paper is based on one of it's myriad uses. Uses that the average person--i.e. me, the reader--mightn't know existed in the paper world. I mean, who knew that there was a paper clothing phase in the US? I knew that some Japanese wear, even through today, are sometimes made of paper. But here? Interesting.

Paper does more than just tell the reader about the uses of paper. It also stresses the importance of paper. How you, the human being is as much paper, as paper is you. If that makes sense. If not, it basically means you exist on paper--and because paper says so, as proof--and this paper is you. It contains everything about you, more or less.

Many people believe that this digital age we live in spells the death of paper, but Sansom does not. I tend to believe along the same lines as he does. Paper is as important now as it ever was, it's just... as I said before... taken for granted.

Anyone who is interested in reading about the importance of such an innocuous product as paper, should think about picking up Ian Sansom's book. Paper was an interesting read, and should not be passes by because it seems to be a "boring" subject.

Words Devoured: NOS4A2

I’ve decided that I was going to post this review of Joe Hill’s (amazing!) novel NOS42 both here, and on my Pickle Spectrum blog. This poor blog has been neglected, and needs to see some reviews posted. I'll begin again, and keep 'em coming!

What can be said about NOS4A2? I mean, the title alone is great. It’s a freaking license plate that reads Nosferatu! I am quite partial to the film Nosferatu—though this novel isn’t based on it, the main antagonist is somewhat vampiric—and find Nosferatu to be one of my favorite types of vampires.

(You see, when I was younger, I used to love making characters for the role playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. Nosferatu was a kind of species of vampire modeled after Count Orloff in the silent film.)

Here’s a rundown on what happens, I’ll be spoiler-light here:

The novel hinges on two people, an antagonist named Charles Manx, and a protagonist named Victoria McQueen. These characters have special abilities that allow them to use their minds to create links to special places Manx calls inscapes.

When we meet Manx in the opening of the novel, he is all but dead in a prison hospital in Colorado. This is because he is a convicted child-killer and kidnapper. He doesn’t remain in this state very long.

We meet Victoria McQueen at a young age, and touch on her at different points throughout her life. Her abilities allow her to find lost objects, or meet people—as long as they aren’t on the move. She does so by way of (at first) her Raleigh Tuff Rider bicycle.

(This bicycle is called a”knife” by another character. I like to believe this is a reference to Philip Pullman’s subtle knife in the novel that bears that title.)

Victoria rides her bike, lost object in mind, and recreates a bridge she has seen—the Shorter Way Bridge—from wherever she happens to be, to wherever said item is. No matter if it’s across the country, or down the block.

Manx has his own “knife” in the form of a 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith. This car (bearing the NOS4A2 license plate) allows him to take abducted children to a place of his own creation: Christmasland. Though this may sound like a cheerful place, it really isn’t.

Manx kidnaps children who he believes will suffer at the hands of their parents. With the help a sidekick (a character we meet named Bing Partridge who becomes known as The Gasmask Man) Manx abducts children from bad parents, and the parents are…well…dealt with.

On the road to Christmasland, through Manx’s inscape, the children are drained of everything about them that’s human, and Manx’s fragile hold on life—he’s very old, you see—is restored to him.  

At one point in her teenage life Victoria, after an argument with her mother, rides her bicycle in search of trouble. When the Shorter Way Bridge appears, she crosses it and lands (literally) in Manx’s back yard.

After a run-in with Manx—that burns down his “Sleigh House”—and a barely human kidnapped child, Victoria is rescued by a man on a motorcycle, a man name Lou Carmody. They travel to a store to inform the police of Manx’s kidnapping of the child, only to have Manx arrive.

With his wicked Wraith—his “knife” and its abilities—he kills those who confront him. Police arrive, and haul him to prison. When his Wraith it taken away and scrapped, Manx enters a coma and ends up in the Colorado prison hospital. Ultimately he “dies”.

Victoria, in the meantime, pushes all her memories—even those of her abilities—back into her mind. She has a child with Lou, a son named Wayne. She tries to live her life, ignorant of what she used to be able to do.

That is until she begins receiving calls from the children inhabiting Christmasland. They miss their “father” Manx, and blame Victoria for his disappearance.

Manx is revived when his Wraith is rebuilt by an unknowing man. He then decides to get his revenge on Victoria McQueen by kidnapping her son Wayne and taking him to Christmasland. The rest of the novel is a struggle for Victoria to find her son, and evade police as well.

Part of what I dislike about reviewing is deciding when I have shared enough. What I have shared here takes up a bulk of the first two-and-a-half (or so) quarters of the novel. It’s all great exposition, and shows the reader how flawed (in a good way) these characters are.

Hill writes really interesting characters. 

Victoria is an unlikely heroine, not just because of her “mental” setbacks. She's a tattooed motorcycle riding mother who writes children's books!

Manx is a delightfully giddy type of villain, and he’s a little easy to sympathize with—not wanting to see children suffer.  It’s odd to say that, really.

Bing is child-like in his own right. He’s a bit mentally stunted, but able to live on his own.

Lou is a fat guy, a real geek, and easily one of my favorite characters. Finally, I am represented in a novel, and even slightly heroic!

The stories of these characters are riveting, really.  And they weave together really well, culminating in a really interesting way. Even if it is a bit sad. (Again, no spoilers here.) The pacing of the novel is great as well. I didn’t get bored at all, and the near 700 pages seemed like half that!

What I loved is the geekery included throughout. References to comic book characters (Victoria’s son is Bruce Wayne Carmody, though he goes by Wayne), TV shows (like Firefly!), movies (like Star Wars)and even a nod to Cloud Atlas (Frobisher’s sextet is mentioned) make this a geeks paradise in novel form!

Also, anyone who name drops my hometown (Plattsburgh, New York) in a novel gets big props. We’re really underrepresented in modern works (though Vonnegut did mention the Ausable Chasm in one of his, it’s in Ausable…but I’ll take it!)

I really really really enjoyed this and think you will, too!

Words Devoured: The Infernals

I had already read "The Gates", and was thrilled to find a sequel. I must have forgotten about it, or something. "The Infernals" picks up a bit after the events of "The Gates".

Mrs.Abernathy, having harnessed energy from the LHC at CERN after it had been reactivated, brings her hated enemy Samuel Johnson (and his little dachsund Boswell) to Hell to get her revenge.

John Connolly creates demonic hordes very well! His cast of characters--demons and humans alike--are easily loveable/detestable. His worlds are also amazingly rich, and lovingly crafted.

Connolly's writing is hilarious, and the footnotes--often offering the author's own opinions--are well done! I love his writing-style, and this book was just as well done as any of the others he has written

Words Devoured: Redeye

This is the first of Clyde Edgerton's novels that I have read. I must admit...I really enjoyed it. It is presented to readers as a pamphlet/guide explaining a trip that the reader is embarking on. The idea that you, as the reader, are meant to be taking this trip and following the guide written by a company is quite a great one.

He introduces a cast of characters through some of their own journal entries. These characters all took, at a point in the novel, the same trip the reader is about to take.  The, in some cases epistolary, nature of these entries is quite an interesting way to further the book.

On their trip, a first for all of them, there is a tragedy that is hinted at; a shoot-out. The novel leads to this moment, and doesn't fail to entertain along the way. All the characters get to give their input on the trip, and how they feel, etc. It's a great way to get insight into the characters without some sort of omnipotence.

Edgerton's cast is varied, and well-realized. As a western novel, most of them are quite colorful! There is a bounty hunter and his mean catch dog, the titular Redeye, some Mormons, an anthropologist, a couple women, and some Indians that serve as "guides'. The place they live, a western front in Colorado, is just as colorful, everything you'd expect a western city in a western story to be.

I greatly enjoyed this funny western jaunt. The characters were engaging and believable, as were their surroundings. I definitely look forward to checking out other works by Edgerton!

Words Devoured: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This was my first foray into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. I've always intended on reading these novels, I just hadn't had a chance to get around to it until I got my Kindle Touch. As one of the many free classics on Amazon, I was eager to download any of the Holmes novels I could find.

While this was my first of Doyle's novels, I have always been a fan of mysteries--including the fantastic Vish Puri series of mysteries by Tarquin Hall. Hall's rotund Indian crime is often called the Indian Sherlock Holmes, and I definitely see a resemblance now that I have read some of the Holmes series.

Sherlock Holmes is an instantly recognizable character. Many people know him through various movies, etc. Others know of him because he is such an iconic character. That I knew of him before I read the novel really helped me get into the work easily. He was already quite familiar.

Holmes is perspicacious, witty and incredibly smart. He notices things that his friend John Watson does not. It's incredibly astounding when Holmes wraps up his cases, and explains exactly what happened, and how it happened. I also greatly enjoy Holmes' analyses of the people he meets; his ability to tell what the person does and where he or she might be from. I wish I could be so astute!

For many of the stories--this is a collection of short words--I had no clue how Holmes figured out what he did, but when he explains it all it seems...well...not obvious... I enjoy that the stories are short within this novel. It allows for many mysteries in one handy package!

Something else I enjoyed is that these stories are case files, compiled by Watson. To the reader, this fact gives a nice insight into someone who spends his time with Holmes. It allows us to view Holmes through someone else's eyes, and gives us another viewpoint of him.

My favorite case in the novel is hard to narrow down. It is either "The Five Orange Pips" or "The Adventure of the Speckled Band". "Pips" was interesting because it was never truly solved as most of the cases have been. "Speckled Band" is truly mind-boggling, that is, until Holmes solves the case.

I have two other Holmes novels to read, and cannot wait until I have a chance to start them! I look forward to further adventures with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson!

Words Devoured: Archon: The Books of Raziel

Angela Mathers is plagued by visions of angels, supernatural creatures who haunt her thoughts by day and seduce her dreams by night. Newly released from a mental institution where she was locked away for two years, she hopes that her time at the Vatican’s university, the West Wood Academy, will give her a chance at a normal life. Unlike ordinary humans, Angela is a blood head — a freak, a monster, the possible fulfillment of a terrifying prophecy of overwhelming death and destruction. Only in Luz, the Vatican’s wondrous enclave, are blood heads accepted and encouraged to discover what kind of powers or special abilities they might possess.

But within West Wood, a secret coven plots, and demons and angels roam the streets searching for the key to open Raziel’s book — a secret tome from a lost archangel. Some are determined to destroy Raziel, while others, like the beautiful Supernal Israfel, one of the highest of the high, wish to free him. And when the Archon — the human chosen to possess the spirit of a dead angel — rises as foretold, they will control the supernatural universe.

Torn between mortal love and angelic obsession, Angela holds the key to Heaven and Hell — and both will stop at nothing to possess her.

(book description from its entry at Goodreads)

Normally I would describe the novel myself but, to be honest, I was a bit confused at the beginning. Of course I got less confused as I read, but the description above is a hell of a lot better than I could do in describing what the book was about.

I have no religious faith, so this book was tough for me to get into. It was a well written story, no matter how tough I found it to get into. It was an original premise at a time when there are so few really original ideas out there these days.

My issue with the book--and it's semi-big here--was that most of the characters were... kind of flat. I wanted to care about them more than I did. I just couldn't, for some reason...the investment on my part just wasn't there.

All-in-all I enjoyed the book for what it was: a nice diversion. Would I read other entries into the Books of Raziel series? Perhaps, if I found time to. I am not telling you to stay away. There may be people that enjoy on a different level than I do. Seek it out, and see what you think.

You can purchase Archon: The Books of Raziel at Amazon, or other retailers.

Words Devoured: Demi-Monde: Winter

 

When I received the e-mail from Morrow Publishing (part of Harper Collins) to choose novel(s) for review, the first one that caught my eye was this one.  The Demi-Monde: Winter.  The blurb offered to reviewers reeled me in, and I couldn't wait to start reading.

Having just finished it (last night) I am thrilled that I did get a copy.  Author Rod Rees has an well thought out, well written, and expansive story here.

The Demi-Monde: Winter takes place in the not-too-distant future.  The United States of America has created a cyber world for the Army to train in.  This world, the Demi-Monde, is populated by sentient copies of some of the worlds most brilliant--and some of the most evil--historical figures.

The Demi-Monde is a scaled-down version of our world.  Split into sectors--such as The Rookeries, which contains Berlin, Washington and London--different beliefs are rampant in the entirety of the Demi-Monde.  However, the SS under the command of Reinhard Heydrich (a copy of the man behind the Holocaust in our world) is intent on cleansing the Demi-Monde of all undesirables.

When Norma Williams, daughter of the President of the United States, is trapped there it's up to an 18 year-old woman, Ella Thomas, to save her.  Thomas is an African American girl (because she is a dead ringer for a backdoor programmed Dupe--the name for the Demi-Monde avatars) who is thrust into a volatile world, set with a near-impossible task.

Rod Rees has created a believable world for his characters to inhabit.  The Demi-Monde itself (represented by a map in the novel) is a steampunk, shrunken, version of the world we live in today. Just a handful of cities set into different sectors is all that makes up the world. The decision for the Demi-Monde to be...restricted (development-wise) to the late 1800s helps to fuel the steampunk atmosphere.

That the Demi-Monde is a copy of our world, not one that is fantastical--set in another world somewhere--really made me believe in its characters.  They weren't uber-powerful super humans, they were normal human everyday humans.  Very easy to believe in.

The story itself is well-planned.  Rees keeps a number of plot lines running throughout the novel, and they intertwine, and separate, and intertwine again.  Eventually, they all come to their own conclusions.  Or, in the case of the end of the novel, they all come to a point where a conclusion will eventually come.  Say, in the form of the next novel.

Also, there are a lot of terms created by the author for use in Demi-Monde: Winter.  They all have some sort of real world basis, and can usually be easily figured out.  He does include a glossary at the end, which I didn't know about until I was nearly done with the novel itself.

I reiterate, I was glad I actually received a copy of this novel to review.  It was a well written story, and it left me wanting more, and caring about its characters.  I will be sure to pick up a copy of The Demi-Monde: Spring when it is released.  Perhaps it will even come up as a review copy!  That would be wonderful!

The Demi-Monde: Winter is available for sale now.  You can find it in local bookstores, or order it from Amazon here: The Demi-Monde: Winter, a novel by Rod Rees

Words Devoured: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories

Good news!  I received my review copy tonight!  I was totally thrilled when I opened the mailbox and found the envelope waiting for me inside.

This is The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, and it lives up to it's name in that it is, indeed, a tiny book.  While the stories contained within are short--a mere handful of sentences each--when accompanied by the beautiful art, they tell tales that are volumes long!  This is an amazing collaborative effort.

Each of the tiny stories is full of emotion.  Many of them made me laugh out loud because they were just surprising.  One or two of them tugged at the heartstrings, honestly.  I find it amazing how such a tiny story can easily move someone.

Since the book itself is so tiny, I don't want to mention in great detail some of my favorite tiny stories because...well...I'd have most of the book covered in this review.  I enjoyed the following story immensely, because it leads you to the only conclusion you can think of--that would happen naturally:

It was the little surprises like this that brought a smile to my face.  I am sure you would come to the same conclusion I did, but no one knows what really happened to the egg.  The open end allows you, the reader, to decide what happens.  I, however, am a bit of a pessimist...  Poor egg!

hitRECord publishing has a charming tiny book here.  The good news is that it's only the first of three planned volumes!  I cannot wait to see more if these great little works!