Book Reviews

[bugen]

Thanks for the great write-up - love that opening line!

[Theli]

^Sounds mighty interesting. Might have to try to get a copy.

[Martin]

Salome - Written and Directed by Mick Garris

"I though I hated my wife. Until she was murdered." This is the opening line in Salome. Mr Garris is much better known as a writer and producer. With Salome I feel he is finding his voice as a novelist. I have enjoyed his earlier works, especially Development Hell, but this story just had a more natural flow to it.

The story is about the death of former child star Chase Willoughby, and her husband James Tourentine. Their marriage has devolved into hatred and loathing and when he gets home one night to find her gone he thinks nothing of it. Early the next morning he gets a call from a small town 300 miles away informing him that his wife has been murdered.

The story is told from the view of Mr. Tourentine as he works through the aftermath of Chase's death, and tries to determine who killed her as well as Chase Willoughby as she explains the evening of her death and how she got to be in the town she dies.

Salome is a very well tod story and worth checking out. As of this writing it is still available as well https://www.cemeterydance.com/page/CDP/PROD/garris04

3.5 Stars

[bugen]

The Club Dumas - Arturo Perez-Reverte

"The rainbow is the bridge between heaven and earth. It will shatter at the end of the world, once the devil has crossed it on horseback."

Fans of the Polanski movie, The Ninth Gate, may recognize this book as the source, although the differences between the two are extensive.

Written in Spanish and translated by Sonia Soto, we begin with Lucas Corso, a cynical ‘book detective’, who is hired to authenticate an extremely rare Alexander Dumas manuscript, an original chapter of The Three Musketeers. Over the course of his investigation his search becomes entwined with the legendary book, The Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows, reportedly written in conjunction with the devil himself. His travels take him throughout Europe, where he compares notes on the three existing versions of the Nine Doors, eventually finding subtle differences although all three are considered authentic. The shrewd and experienced Corso is an expert at his job, but is in a constant struggle to understand what’s happening to him, in parallel with the reader.

There is a need to emphasize the story's differences between the film version, which was a fine supernatural mystery, and the book version, which is highly complicated mystery with a few supernatural elements. The film streamlined this like you wouldn’t believe, eliminating huge portions of the plot, combining characters, and ignoring the Alexander Dumas storyline entirely. It works for the movie, but the book contains constant references to The Three Musketeers, including many of the characters assuming roles from that earlier story. Corso as d’Artagnan, Liana Taillefer as Milady, etc. The film was complicated enough without these elements, but they certainly enrich the book. There are also plenty of compelling moments of insight, caution and humor.

This isn’t the lightening-fast read that we sometimes find, but it never bogs down which is an achievement considering its complexity. An occult mystery diving into the history of Dumas, it’s interesting on every page and difficult to set aside.

“The lost word keeps the secret.”

5- stars

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Note: A special thanks to forum member Plasticine, whose post and outstanding pics of the book compelled me to look closer. A deep bow and sweep of the plumed cavalier hat to you, sir.
http://forum.cemeterydance.com/showt...ll=1#post72941

[Theli]

IT is by far my favourite King novel I've read. Though admittedly I still have yet to read the Stand, I just highly doubt it would supersede IT.

[bugen]

IT - Stephen King

Nowadays everybody wants to talk like they’ve got something to say. But nothing comes out when they move their lips, but The Stand.
And mother-****ers act like they forgot about IT.

First thing, I’m not disparaging The Stand, I just thought that was a catchy intro. The book is undeniably one of the best. But it’s true most of the public, and every list I can recall, considers The Stand his number one novel, or at least ahead of IT, and I’m not entirely sure that should be the case. Maybe…

A group of seven children confronts an unspeakable, unassailable evil, and emerge scarred but victorious. 27 years later, they’ve moved on and forgotten all about the monster they defeated, the town they’re from, and each other. But It’s back, and they must return to Derry, remember their childhoods and fight again, this time with diminished weapons of imagination they wielded as children.

Rich and detailed, things move leisurely after the opening scenes. I was 40% through the story before I bought all the way back in. Which means, due to the book’s length, I’d already read more than a novels worth of material before IT latched on and wouldn’t let go. Over the course of this gargantuan book, I read no less than two other smaller novels, one short story collection, and finished off two other collections I was in the middle of. IT takes it’s time getting good and hot, and I’d say don’t force it all at once if you’re restless. But come back. Because IT’s worth it.

I’ve read this book twice. Once, at about the age of the kids here, and again at about the age they go back as adults. This was always my favorite King book, and I’ve put off a re-read because IT was important to me - if that makes sense. But it was rewarding reading the book again from the adult perspective, complimenting my dimming memories from the youth perspective.

I’d love to dive all the way in here, break down what I can, but Mr. Chizmar will be taking a long look at this book as part of his SK Revisited and will do a far better job than I. So a final thought from IT:

“Be true, be brave, stand. All the rest is darkness.”

5 stars

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[Theli]

^Loved it. I still have yet to read more of his works though.

[bugen]

The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson

A couple of travelers come across a manuscript among ruins that details a man’s life in his house, the creatures that came for him, and time.

I’d been meaning to get to this novel for months, and finally picked it up for a moment yesterday. A few hours later, having had no intention of doing so, I closed the book, finished. A day later I have not yet been able to shake the story. This is not traditional, and requires the active participation of the reader’s imagination. It’s not one where you can sit back and let it wash over you, you must engage.

Coming in at number 8 on Centipede’s top 100 horror novels of all time, this book is a mind-bender, containing everything that’s ever happened as well as everything that will ever happen.

Easily one of the best novels I've read.

5 stars

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[bugen]

Dark Screams Vol. 2 - Richard Chizmar, Brian James Freeman (Ed.)

Consisting of 5 short stories, Volume 2 contains works from Robert McCammon, Norman Prentiss, Shawntelle Madison, Graham Masterson and Richard Christian Matheson.

The collection starts strong with “The Deep End,” McCammon’s tale of a swimming pool that has a rising body count and a father’s determination to find out what’s happening and bring about justice.

Mr. Prentiss follows up with “Interval,” a tale of an airline disaster and an entity wrapped up in the deaths of numerous people, preying on the survivors.

I don’t believe I’ve read any of Shawntelle Madison’s work before, but she has a strong entry here in “If These Walls Could Talk,” involving the pre-production of a film shoot in a house with a dark history, where the mystery needs to be solved before the cast and crew show up in a few of days and photography begins.

Graham Masterson takes the prize here for the top story, as we not only get some history of the beloved C.S. Lewis, but we also get to know exactly how he received his inspiration as a haunted wardrobe terrorizes its new owner.

Finally we have Richard Christian Matheson’s, “Whatever,” which I feel is misfiring on all cylinders. I love this man’s short stories, and for full disclosure I did not read this story again when presented here, but carried over the tale’s rating from his superb collection Dystopia. The story is a series of notes, articles and lyrics following a band around, and perhaps aficionados can find more to like in this one than I did, but it scores one of the lowest ratings out of the 50ish stories I’ve finished so far in Dystopia.

After reading both Dark Screams Volume 1 and Volume 2, I’m beginning to see part of the challenge for the editors here. These are relatively short books with a handful of stories, so they’ve got to balance the bankability of larger author’s names with other stories which might be better, but would have more difficulty selling because the author is lesser known, a challenge that would be significantly easier to deal with in larger anthologies. I applaud the effort and hope this continues, as I suspect I’m not alone when saying the story is more important than the name of the writer. But it’s tough because we first have to be sold on the book before we can get to the story.

Dark Screams volume 2 is overall an enjoyable read, has an excellent Masterson story and the others hold their own while newcomer (to me) Mrs. Madison comes out swinging in a big way. My only real disappointment was R.C. Matheson’s tale, and that comes with the caveat that the rating was given when housed amongst the mostly fantastic tales is his own collection.

I’m very much looking forward to volume 3, and will probably drop everything to read it whenever it’s available based on the strengths and surprises of the first two books. I did this time, interrupting no less than Stephen King’s IT.

3 stars

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[bugen]

Blue World - Robert McCammon

“Something tore,” Spence said tonelessly. “Ripped open. Something won the fight, and I don’t think it was who the preachers said was gonna win.”

I do a bit of research into every book I read before picking it up, mostly because they all take hours and I’d rather not waste my time. This one had a few mixed results initially, but seemed promising enough for a go.

I finished it this morning, and returning to the site of one of the detractors had me more than a little miffed. I might’ve missed this book, and I spent about 10 minutes of the review just bashing someone who I’ve never met, without reading any of his other stuff, and that was my mistake. Everyone gets an opinion. After calming down and deleting everything I figured I’d sum up that little micro-experience, just to illustrate how strongly I feel about the book.

I’d like to talk about my favorite stories and mostly ignore the rest to keep the length down. It starts strong with “Yellowjacket Summer,” well followed by “Makeup” and “Doom City,” but starts to find its genius in “Nightcrawlers”.

“Nightcrawlers” has The X-Files written all over it. A man tears into the diner of a small town, stating he won’t sleep, and is quite obviously terrorized by something. The cop in the diner is hesitant to let anyone back out into the torrential downpour outside, and waking nightmares take the stage. Another excellent story, “Pin,” follows, but after there’s yet another showstopper, “Yellachile’s Cage”.

“Yellachile’s Cage” may not be the most PC story in today’s environment, and perhaps a little cliché, but it’s undeniably effective as it explores freedom from inside a prison compound. It also wears its heart on its sleeve as a ‘voodoo-man’ shows a younger inmate the ropes by way of his loyal and undying bird. “I Scream Man,” my least favorite of the collection but still a step above fair, is followed by “He'll Come Knocking at Your Door,” another excellent story concerning the Devil, Halloween, and what we do for success. Then comes “Chico,” a good story but outclassed by its peers, and is followed by, “Night Calls the Green Falcon.”

This story is reason enough to buy the book. “Night Calls the Green Falcon” concerns a washed-up 50’s serial comic-hero actor, who sees a tragedy and knows his chance to make a difference is to don the costume of his past, along with the hero persona, and get out there and help. Ridiculed mercilessly along the way, the Green Falcon battles his own lack of self-esteem along with the odds, and you ache for him to succeed.

Following up is the equally impressive, humane, force of nature that is “The Red House.” A stranger moves to a small, uniform town and has his house painted bright red in a sea of grey, standing out like sore thumb. The newcomer also takes a job at the town’s factory and quickly begins to outpace everyone. His house, his dress and his work ethic cause a special enmity to develop between him and his neighbor across the street, who’s been hoping for a promotion but seeing it all drift away in a sea of red. We’re examined, our pettiness is exposed, and hope is given in the form of a small boy, present in all of us, struggling to understand and exert his influence on his world. A kind of Atticus Finch is channeled. This one also contains possibly my favorite quote of the book:

“Damn it, Bobby, are you with me or against me?”
I didn’t answer because I didn’t know what to say. What’s wrong and what’s right when you love somebody?

Following up is “Something Passed By,” another excellent story detailing the end of the world, and then one final showstopper, a novella making up half of the collection and the title story, “Blue World”.

“Blue World” is the story of a straight-laced Catholic priest who becomes mixed up with an adult-film actress, questioning himself the whole time as his structured world deteriorates. There is a plot loosely built on an insane cowboy on a killing spree, but it’s really about the nature of helping people, the hypocrisy and pettiness built into us and some of our institutions, our vulnerability, and what can be done about it. And what should be done about it. This is yet another story where the author’s heart is on his sleeve, and it’s another that really shouldn’t be missed.

This collection is accessible, miles away from heavy-handed and a world away from pretentious. It’s also heartfelt. These stories are always subject to revision when read a second time, but for now Blue World as a whole achieves a rating I previously did not consider possible for a collection or anthology.

5 stars

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[bugen]

The Resurrection Maker – Glenn Cooper

A modern-day search for the Holy Grail, Mr. Cooper weaves a tale rich with science and history as the story moves back and forth through time.

Arthur, a chemist and descendant of Thomas Malory, the real-world scholar who wrote the definitive text on King Arthur himself (Le Morte d’Arthur), is a member of a group of Grail enthusiasts who spend their free time searching for the ancient relic. A member of the group makes an exciting discovery and before he can pass it on to Arthur he is murdered. Arthur picks up his trail and begins to unwind the mystery, gathering clues that further him on his quest for the relic.

Another dangerous group of Grail hunters, the Qem, will stop at nothing to obtain the cup for themselves and play a complicated game to get Arthur to find it for them.

The meat and bones of this story are in its history and its scientific backing. Exhaustive research would have been needed to write this book, and much of the presented material rings true.

Nevertheless, one of the strengths of the book is also its weakness as a lively tale bogs down while supportive details are presented. History buffs and Round Table experts will no doubt add at least an extra point of rating for its authenticity. And this detail isn’t a bad thing at all; it just keeps it out of the rip-roaring territory.

Toward the book’s end history gives way to science, and here the author is able to present facts that may sound dry in a classroom with an exciting front. Dark matter, multiple dimensions and quantum mechanics are all used to the effect of, ‘well, traditional science breaks down here and we don’t really know what will happen.’ It works well and has solid scientific backing, and these are interesting, modern lines of thought to contemplate. And not many today really want to know this stuff, partly because it’s complicated, and partly because it means when your kids ask you if there’s such things as monsters, you’d have to answer, “I don’t know.” The book both begins and ends with a good deal of scientific explanation, and this is a strong point.

It’s a good story, meticulously researched and asks the right questions of science. If it maintained the science and lightened up a tad on the history the pace could probably have been improved, but the overall story might have suffered without the background. It’s up to you.

“This Grail you’ve talked about,” Melton asked, “this would be the same as in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?”

3 stars

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Note: This is a NetGalley review, but posted here because of the Grail content. And I had to give it 4 stars on Amazon because it's better than ok. I don't particularly like their ratings system.

[Theli]

I love it, Theli, thank you. Coupled with the recent thoughts from SK Revisited I've got to get to this novel.

Thanks! It is well worth it. You can normally get a copy pretty cheap in a used copy of The Bachman Books, that's what I read.

I just did a bit of editing on my review to clarify my thoughts a bit better.

[bugen]

I love it, Theli, thank you. Coupled with the recent thoughts from SK Revisited I've got to get to this novel.

[Theli]

I finished off Stephen King's Rage earlier today. It's a quick and intense novel. The story is based around Charlie Decker, a young man in high school, whom one day loses it and brings a gun to school, killing two teachers and holding a classroom hostage.

The subject matter itself is shocking, and is probably enough to turn people away from reading this novel. Not to mention the controversy surrounding this book; being found in the possession of two spree killers and eventually being removed from the print by King himself. The novel itself features none of King's trademark supernatural aspects, and thus feels more realistic than his other works, and perhaps more terrifying.

Charlie is a sick individual with sick thoughts, and what can be disturbing is that you can also relate to him. Especially at that uncertain age of adolescence, we all feel a little repressed and disconnected. This is exemplified in the story as each of the students in Charlie's class get a chance to have their say about what's wrong in their own lives. These parts of the book can be very touching and introspective. King really explores what it can be like for teen growing up in an uncertain world, and how the sins of the father (or mother) will be visited upon their sons (or daughters).

In a way this books has been highly overlooked at the place it could have in our society. It takes on issues and themes that are not discussed or written about easily. King tried his best to understand the teenage mind. A potentially very confusing age, and I think he succeeded. The human element in King's stories is often they're strength, and I think he succeeds here too, representing the duality and hypocritical nature of the human condition. At times Rage comes across like William Golding's Lord of the Flies, with students' twisted minds driven to pack mentality, while at others it seemed to be a celebration of individuality and freedom of thought.

To be honest though, it wasn't the realism of the story that is the most terrifying or dangerous, but rather the unreal aspects. Charlie walks into the school with a gun, kills people, makes demands, and holds people captive. The captives themselves, with the exception of one, Ted Jones, all seem to like him and side with him. He is even shot, and through sheer luck survives relatively unscathed. The story is a power and control fantasy, and it plays out exactly how Charlie hopes it would, and probably how many actual potential spree killers hope it will, with their vindication, and it never does.

I would like to see this novel back in print. As a peak into the mind of a confused adolescent male, it can be surprisingly and disturbingly accurate. However it would need to be preceded by a foreword warning of the contents of the story and the highly fantasized nature of the violence. Also I think a printing with Stephen King's essay Guns mighty be a marketable pairing.

[bugen]

I hope you do, Theli, and I think pretty much anyone here would love these books.

My aunt, a nurse practitioner, gave me The Dark Descent anthology when I was a kid because she hates horror and someone had given it to her. I bought her book three (The Touch) for a belated Christmas gift anyway, because it's a fantastic thriller with supernatural elements and I thought she would see past those to the powerful story of hurting, helping and healing. It was sent with a note that The Touch is standalone and she doesn't need to read the rest of the Cycle.

After reading Reprisal, I put in a call to her making sure she doesn't read any of the other books even if she loves book 3. I'd never hear the end of it.