Snuff-Chuck Palahniuk

I can't decide whether or not Chuck Palahniuk's writing fascinates me or disgusts me. It's usually a mixture of both. I've read a couple of his books (Haunted, Choke-which is now a movie, and Diary), and I always have the same reaction. It's the old "can't look away from the scene of an accident" cliche.

Of course, the subject of this book doesn't help matters. As you may guess from the title and the cover, Snuff deals with the porn industry. Specifically Cassie Wright, who is looking to break the all-time gang bang record by taking on 600 men. An open casting call is announced via magazines and internet ads, and the story is told from the point of view of three "actors", Mr. 72, who believes he is the son that Cassie gave up for adoption and wants to save her, Mr. 137, a washed-up TV actor who is trying to prove he is not homosexual, and Mr. 600, a washed-up porn star who may or may not be the father of the son Cassie gave up for adoption. We also get narratives from Sheila, AKA the talent wrangler. She mostly tells Cassie's story.

Right off the bat, the description of the men waiting to be called is enough to put you off your feed. Picture if you will half naked men wandering around a dingy basement, grazing the cheese popcorn and potato chip buffet with the same hands they're using to keep themselves primed. Only Chuck's description is much better. Or worse.....There is also the threat of death in the air. Cassie could potentially die from a vaginal embolism. Will she? Or is Mr. 72 going to save her in time?

The one problem I had is with the characters. They all seemed to have the same voice. I kept having to flip to the beginning of the chapter to figure out whose point of view I was getting. They all also seemed to know a lot of trivia about movies and sex. At one point, I thought the book was written just so Chuck could show off some knowledge.

Overall, while this wasn't the best one he's written, this was a pretty good book. If you can't find Lullaby or Hauted, pick this one up instead.

The Devil You Know-Mike Carey

The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey, is a mystery with a twist. Ghosts and other creatures such as succubae, demons and loup-garous(shape-shifting creatures similar to werewolves) exist in this version of London. The main character, Felix Castor, is an exorcist, but he is not affiliated with any church. He is simply an exorcist-for-hire.

Felix needs to make his rent payment, and his landlady is starting a kid’s party planning business. She sends him out to work as a magician, but this backfires when he discovers a ghost haunting the family (the result of a kid’s prank gone tragically wrong). Instead of getting paid, Felix is shown the door. In the meantime, Felix had turned down a random job offer, but after the fiasco at the birthday party decides to take it instead.

Instead of a routine haunting, Felix starts realizing that something suspicious is going on at the Bonnington Archive, a sort of repository/scholarly library of antique documents. However, the ghost does not necessarily behave like a “normal” ghost, and he also experiences hostility from a couple of the employees. This causes Felix to wonder about the circumstances surrounding the ghost.

In the course of unraveling the mystery of the ghost’s existence, Felix begins to question the validity of what he does. When he performs an exorcism, does the ghost move on to heaven or hell, or does it cease to exist? This dilemma causes Felix to start thinking less about performing an exorcism and more about finding out about the ghost. As his investigation wears on, he meets some unsavory characters and finds his life in the balance. He is also tempted with the answers to his questions about the existence of ghosts, but that might come with too high a price tag.

There are two more Felix Castor novels which may continue on some of the themes and characters in this first book (although I think only one is available in the US right now). It will be interesting to read them and see how Felix progresses. He is compelling enough, and his evolving struggle with what he is doing is a classic “tortured superhero” role. Of course, this may have something to do with Mike Carey’s background as a comic book/graphic novel author. The only things that could trip up a potential reader were the British pop culture references. However, if the reader doesn’t understand the exact reference, it’s usually enough to get the point across.

If you don’t mind a little supernatural flare with your mystery, visit your local library or bookstore and spirit away a copy of The Devil You Know.

Tricky Business-Dave Barry

I was in between books and unable to make it to the library, so I decided to pull Dave out of my library and give this book a re-read. Tricky Business is a comedic crime novel set somewhere on Florida's Atlantic coast. The Extravaganza of the Seas is an offshore gambling boat that also doubles as a drug smuggling operation. When a tropical storm blows in, the boat goes out anyway in and all heck breaks out as a drug deal goes bad.

The characters are all pretty nutty. There's Fay, a cocktail waitress who's trying to make a better life for her and her daughter. If only her mother would stop comparing her to her perfect sister and her perfect sister's perfect family, life would be a little easier. There's Wally, who at almost 30 still lives at home with his mother while trying to keep his wedding/cover band together. Arnie and Phil are residents of the Beaux Arts Senior Living Center, AKA the Old Farts Senile Dying Center. After being "grounded" for having too much fun, Arnie and Phil sneak out to get in a little gambling action. And then there's Bobby Kemp, who made his fortune in the airbag business (or more specifically, the lack of airbag business), and is now the proud owner of the Extravaganza of the Seas. Bobby's sick of the mob using his boat and decides to take action.

Any one of these characters would be hilarious by themselves, but mixed together along with a few other equally wacky side characters gives you a Dave Barry stew. Be especially prepared for the Newsplex Nine news crew, who manage to put themselves in the middle of their own broadcast in a hilarious sendoff on the sensationalism in the media. The plot might be a little simple and some of the occurrences are a stretch, but who's looking for serious fiction here? If you are then you've come to the wrong place. Word of warning-if you read this book in a public place, be prepared to have strange looks come your way as you laugh out loud!

Deadly Gamble-Linda Lael Miller

I was browsing the library stacks one Saturday morning looking for something different to read. Well, I say browsing, but that implies a leisurely pace. Instead I was looking quickly since my husband was out in the car and I didn’t want to leave him too long. So after a few passes in the various paperback sections, I wandered over to the hard covers and found Deadly Gamble by Linda Lael Miller. It was a paperback but a taller one, so I guess the librarians thought it would fit better with the hard covers. The premise seemed interesting enough, so what the heck, why not give it a shot? It wasn’t until I was in the parking lot until I took a closer look at it and saw that the publisher is HQN, with their tagline “We Are Romance”. Uh-oh. While I do enjoy a wide variety of books, romance novels are on the bottom of that pile. And Ms. Miller is the author of a western romance series as well. I was looking for something different, I guess I had it!

Mojo Sheepshanks is the heroine of this book. She’s a free spirit in her late twenties who possibly witnessed the death of her parents when she was five. She was also kidnapped by the woman who was her babysitter and formed a tight family bond with her. She starts having problems when the ghost of her late ex-husband and the ghost of the cat killed by her stepbrother when she was four appear in her apartment. While she’s dealing with the ghosts, she is also dealing with a crazy ex-wife of someone she dated once, a hunky cop whose ex-wife who wants him back but now while he’s a cop, a sister who wants her to find out if her husband is sleeping around, an uncle who is a state senator and is now running for governor, and her stepbrother who was convicted of her parents’ murder but is now free and apparently stalking her.

So with all of that going on, it was hard at first to figure out the main focus of the story. After a while, though, I realized the best course of action would be to sit back and let the story unfold. Some plot points are really only in the story to set up other events in the story. This was more of a detective story than a romance novel, along the lines of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, although not quite as over-the-top.

Overall, I’m glad I found this book, and didn’t let the romance tag scare me away. It’s a good “shut your brain off and enjoy” book, and with summer coming up this would be a perfect thing to read while lying on the beach.

Saturn-Ben Bova

Saturn by Ben Bova is set in the distant future, when humans have obtained the capacity for space travel and a religious group called The New Morality has become the dominant political force. A group of universities has banded together to send an expedition to Saturn, with the intent of studying it. The governments of Earth would like to start a colony, and they see this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of “troublemakers”, or those who don’t follow The New Morality’s teachings. Those who are going see this as an opportunity to get away from the oppressive government and form a new democratic society.

There are a couple of different sets of characters that are the focus of the story. Holly Lane was cryogenically frozen while a teenager because she had an incurable disease. Years later, there is a cure for the disease and Holly is back in society. She is struggling to find a place for herself, and decides to join the colony traveling to Saturn. Her older sister has her doubts, but does everything she can to protect her sister, including sending someone to watch over her.

Malcolm Eberly is a con artist who has been serving time in prison. He is approached by The New Morality to join the colony as head of Human Resources. His true mission is to make sure the “troublemakers” aren’t a problem, and to take control of the colony and form it as The New Morality sees fit. He is assisted by other people who are sent by The New Morality and eventually realizes that they are truly in power while he is a figurehead.

There are problems with this book. The basic plot of the story doesn’t make much sense. If a government truly wanted to get rid of its undesirables, they wouldn’t ship them off to start a colony under the pretext of letting them form their own government while planning on taking control. The characters themselves are also fairly shallow. Much of the time you’re told what their motivation is, instead of being shown through writing. In the first part of the book, Holly is romantically interested in Malcolm and desperately tries to get him to notice her. This plot point abruptly ends, leaving the reader wonder why so much time was invested in this part of the story. Also, the way the book ends rings a little false. For example, one of the “bad guys” is killed when someone pushes him out of an airlock. When discussing the situation later, a couple of characters (who are authority figures) make a big deal out of calling it an execution, however, the person who committed the murder faces no consequences and in fact is in the room with them, almost laughing about it. The whole scene struck me as something out of a Monty Python skit, and I kept picturing John Cleese saying “Yes, yes, it was definitely an execution, good show, old chap!” over and over again. The writing almost seemed like it was aimed for the junior high audience instead of an adult level, and I don’t think that’s what the author intended.

Overall, this was a decent book, but it could have been a lot better. If you’re in your local library and you can’t find anything else, go ahead and give it a whirl. Otherwise, you’re not missing too much.

Into Thin Air-John Krakauer

Originally reviewed May 13, 2007

I just finished reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. This is an absolutely amazing story of his trip to Mt. Everest in May 1996. Jon was a journalist with Outisde magazine at the time of this trip, and his assignment was to write an article about the commercialization of Everest. Instead, he told the story of the death of five of his fellow climbers, including two guides.

I've caught Everest on the Discovery Channel a few times, and I was just stunned at the determination of these climbers. Often, these climbers would frostbite, sleep deprivation, and oxygen deprivation. They would also commonly pass the bodies of other climbers who didn't make it, or even worse, climbers who were still alive but with no way of rescue. Similar situations are described in this book, and there is no shortage of traumatic events on this climb.

Near the start of the story, Jon talks about the moment when he realizes just how high he is going to climb-the same altitude as the plane he is taking to reach Everest. That put the height of Everest in perspective for me, otherwise 29,028 feet is just a number. Jon also intersperses his story with a history of Everest, and this brings a lot more richness to the story. There were some knocks from Amazon reviewers who thought that the narrative was a bit scattered, but I didn't think it was hard to follow at all. In fact, it was really hard for me to put the book down. I wanted to know what drove people to climb this high, and how the disaster unfolded. It also made me wonder if I would have the drive to do something like this. I think it would be quite an adventure to go to Everest, but I don't think I'd want to go much higher than Base Camp.

Thanks, Motos, for putting this in your garage sale. It was definitely a worthwhile read.

Spook Country-William Gibson

William Gibson is synonymous with science fiction thrillers. After all, this is the man who is credited with coining the term “cyberspace”. So most people who know enough to recognize his name and think they don’t like science fiction would probably be inclined to skip this book. To those folks, I would say you are doing yourself a disservice. After all, take away the technological trappings and science fiction stories are just like any other-at the core there is romance, thrills, and horror, amongst other things. Science fiction is more like a setting, and I could probably write a lot more about the whole science fiction genre-its’ subcategories and while not all science fiction is about robots and aliens. But I’ll save that for another post, and stick to reviewing Spook Country by William Gibson.

At its’ heart, Spook Country is a mystery/crime novel. There are three major groups of characters involved, and each chapter revolves around one set. Hollis Henry is the former lead singer of a band called the Curfew, and she is trying her hand at journalism. She is freelancing for a magazine called Node, which hasn’t yet been published and no one seems to have heard of. Her primary subject is a new form of art that involves GPS and virtual reality style helmets. Tito’s family is involved in the transfer of information. He is Cuban, yet his family speaks Russian and they have all been trained in what seem to be Russian/Soviet spy protocols. Milgrim is a junkie who speaks Russian and has been “recruited” by Brown, who seems to be involved with the government. Brown is tracking Tito’s family, and needs Milgrim’s help as a translator. All three of these sets of characters intersect-Hollis is looking for Bobby Chombo, who is a sort of system administrator for the artists using the GPS techniques, and Bobby is looking for a mysterious container, along with Tito’s family and Milgrim and Brown.

I seem to have a knack for finding stories with short chapters, and this is no exception. The characters are also interesting, and since each chapter focuses on a different set, the reader gets drawn in. The story is also set in 2006, so with references to 9/11 and the Iraq war today’s reader will be comfortable. The references will also help future readers understand the context of the story.

I said earlier that this is a mystery/crime novel. However, this is not a cut-and-dried whodunit. There are questions that remain unanswered, but they are questions that are best left to the imagination. This book is like taking a peak into some sort of spy operation, where maybe you don’t get to see the big picture, only the pieces that you are allowed to see.

I borrowed this from the library, and I recommend you do the same if you’re looking for something different.

The Open Curtain-Brian Evenson

Originally reviewed March 9, 2007

I've just finished reading The Open Curtain, by Brian Everson. I got this at the library, and the cover really caught my eye. The story is about a Mormon teenager, Rudd, who while going through his dead father's things finds a stack of letters that suggest he has a half-brother. He tracks down his half-brother, named Lael, and they form a sort of friendship. At the same time, Rudd starts a research project for school and finds a story about a murder committed in New York in 1903. The murderer is H. William Young, the grandson of Brigham Young. What piques Rudd's interest is a reference to "blood atonement". This supposedly is a part of Mormon teaching (that has been disavowed) which states that some sins are not cleansed by the shedding of Christ's blood, and in order to make it right the sinner's blood must be shed. Rudd is asked by his teacher to stop researching this, but can't get it out of his head. Things get stranger still when he starts "losing time", and when he starts finding blood on his clothes and hearing reports of people being murdered.

One day Rudd and Lael go up to the mountains. The point of view then switches to Lyndi, whose family was also in the mountains and were brutally murdered. Rudd is the sole survivor of this massacre, and he has no memory of what happened. Lyndi is strangely attracted to Rudd, perhaps because he was the last person to be with her family. She's terrified of being alone, and allows Rudd to move in with her. His behavior keeps getting stranger, but Lyndi chalks it up to his trauma. Finally, she convinces him to marry her, thinking that marriage will improve things.

Does marriage heal Rudd, or does he fall even further into psychosis? Who is Lael, and where did he disappear to after the murder of Lyndi's family?

There is a lot of Mormon imagery in this book-the bodies of Rudd and Lyndi's family are positioned in the same manner as the special marks on Mormon undergarments, and the marriage ceremony in the Mormon temple is unlike anything I have ever heard of before. Mormons are very secretive about their temple ceremonies, and in fact the author mentioned in his afterward that much of what he described in that ceremony is no longer practiced.

I must warn you that there are no easy answers in this book, so if you like cut and dried stories, you won't find one here. If you want your imagination stretched a bit, go check your local library for this one.

Black and Blue-Anna Quindlen

Originally reviewed February 4, 2007.

Black and Blue, by Anna Quindlen, is the story of a woman, Fran Bendetto, who is beaten by her husband. The book starts out when she leaves her husband Bobby, a New York City police officer, and takes their son Robert with her. Fran has enlisted the help of a woman she met through her job as an emergency room nurse who works to get battered women away from their spouses. Fran doesn't know where she's going or how she's going to survive.

Fran ends up in Florida, where she becomes Beth Crenshaw. She and Robert start forging a new life and making new friends, and at the same time learn some things about themselves and each other. The story of Beth's abuse is told in memories, and we start learning the reasons that she never left before-she liked their house, she didn't want to ruin family vacations, and most telling of all, she loved her husband. Robert knows what his dad did to his mom, but is reluctant to face the truth. He struggles to work through his feelings, while Beth tries to help him through it.

In order to keep themselves safe, Beth and Robert need to keep their real reasons for living in Florida to themselves. Everything about them has changed, from Beth's hair color to Robert's date of birth. Throughout the book is Bobby's shadow. Beth is in constant fear that Bobby will find her, and knows that he will kill her if he does.

When I told a friend that I was reading this book he laughed and told me I could turn on Lifetime any night of the week and see this story. What sets this story apart from others is the attention to detail. Beth is honest with herself-she loved her husband, and she still has feelings for him. Sometimes she even questions whether it was really that bad. She doesn't blame herself for the abuse, but she can't help thinking that Bobby will find someone who "doesn't make him so mad". These kinds of flaws make her character very realistic. There's also a feeling of helplessness. Beth doesn't even learn her phone number until she has been in her apartment for a couple of weeks, and she can't make contact with her family to let them know she's okay.

This was a very good book, and it was easy to see why it was one of Oprah's Book Club selections. If you find it in a library or bookstore, go ahead and pick it up-it's worth the read.

Cinnamon Kiss-Walter Mosley

I picked up Cinnamon Kiss at a library book sale-one of those deals where you fill up a bag of books for $2. I’ve read one of Walter Mosley’s books previously and enjoyed it, and I've read good reviews of his Easy Rawlins series, so I knew I would be happy with my find.

The main character in this book is Easy Rawlins, a sometimes private detective. Coming into the middle of the series, I didn’t realize that the book is not set in present day Los Angeles, but the 1966 L.A. When you take into account that Easy is black, the time and place take on a different meaning. Easy experiences things differently than a white man would-he is thrown in jail after a car accident, he is assumed to be a deliveryman even though he’s wearing a suit and tie, and the police stop and question him while he and a friend are using a pay phone. Details like this make the story more compelling and real.

The story starts with Easy contemplating armed robbery in order to raise the money to send his daughter Feather to Switzerland for treatment for a potentially fatal infection. While he is deciding whether or not to take this job, he receives an offer to track down Axel Bowers and his girlfriend Philomena Cargill (AKA Cinnamon). The case quickly turns into something more than a missing couple and Easy gets in over his head. He gets help from his friend Mouse (who was plotting the armed robbery), and other assorted characters.

I found myself reading the story not just for the plot (which kept me guessing), but also for the characters themselves. Easy is the “hero” of the story, but he’s not your typical story character. Rather, he’s the typical guy. He has to make tough choices and he’s not perfect. He’s trying to do the best he can, but sometimes he gets sidetracked. And Mr. Mosley makes it very easy to keep you turning the pages even when your eyes are starting to droop. The chapters are fairly short, so I found myself thinking “just one more”.

Whether or not you’re a fan of the mystery genre, I would recommend this as a good read. I’m going to visit our new library and see if I can catch up to the rest of the series.

Let's Get Started......

I've always loved to read. Believe it or not, I read The Hobbit when I was five. I'm sure I didn't understand everything, but that was the start of a love affair with books that continues today. Most of what I read is fiction. Books are a door into another world, sometimes slightly different than mine, sometimes completely unrecognizable.

I've noticed that most book reviews fall into two types. One type is simply a plot synopsis-the reviewer rehashes the plot and doesn't offer much insight. The other type is a critical analysis of the book as a whole. I'm hoping that most of my reviews will fall into the second category. I also will be careful of spoilers-nothing irks me more than to read a review of a book, movie, or TV show that gives away part of the story.

I'm sure I won't review every book I read. I'd like to devote some extra thought other than "this was a good book, you should read it". But as time permits, I'll keep you posted as to what I'm reading and what I thought of it.

I've done some reviews previously and posted them on my other blog, and I'll move those over along with the original review date. I'm in the middle of a book right now for which I've already started a review, so expect to see that soon.

Also, please feel free to check out my library courtesy of Library Thing. Random books from my library will be posted on this page, and if you click in you can see the rest. I'm working on inputting my books now, so not everything is out there yet.