Between the Covers - Book Review #4

This week's book review is brought to you by this cute, cuddly cat from The Dallas World Aquarium. I've got three picks for you.

1) I discovered Valerie Laken at my local library's fundraiser book sale. When I read she teaches at the university where I started graduate school, my interest was piqued. Dream House, her debut novel, started out relatively slow. If you're willing to stick with the story, the plot does pick up after about four chapters. Its cover blurb is misleading. I thought I was purchasing a ghost story, but it wasn't much of one. It was a great study in character development, though. The writing is good, but honestly, after reading it and putting it aside, the story hasn't stayed with me the way good ones do. Dream House follows a young couple through their troubled marriage and renovation of a house once owned by a family with a dark history of domestic violence. After being released from prison, a mysterious man befriends Kate, the woman of the house, and offers to help her renovate, but he has a secret himself. He used to live there and he knows what happened the night that tore his family apart forever. I'd say this book is worth a vacation read, but don't expect any gothic grandness, paranormal experiences, or a seriously profound ending.

2) Teeth: Vampire Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling was better than Dream House. This young adult collection of tales entertained me. A few stories stuck with me well past when I closed the cover. Genevieve Valentine's Things to Know About Being Dead was a lovely take on Asian vampires. I truly enjoyed the female character in Christopher Barzak's Gap Year, struggling with the coming of age debacle after high school. Delia Sherman delivered a unique perspective from a family of circus performers and lovely collection of cats, my very favorite story in the anthology. And Tanith Lee's Why Light? proved to be a great love story. I recommend this one for all ages and I've been introduced a new author, so thank you kindly, Ms. Datlow and Ms. Windling.

3) Then I read Patricia Cornwell's From Potter's Field, a Kay Scarpetta novel that did not disappoint. I love the Kay Scarpetta series because she's a strong female character who doesn't wimp out for love, sticks to her principles, and works well under pressure. Also, it helps that the other characters are interesting and the subplots aren't boring either. The murders never fail to entertain with their details too. This one deals with the case of a young woman found naked and frozen, propped up beside a fountain in a New York park during the holidays. Scarpetta is on the hunt for the sadistic Temple Gault, a character her readers are very familiar with by now, one that's eluded and traumatized her family, friends, and coworkers, leaving a trail of bodies behind him to shame Hannibal Lector. Will she catch him this time? Read and find out.

As always, happy reading and happy writing to all!

Between the Covers - Book Review #2

Today's book reviews are brought to you by the late Tatsu, my beloved bearded dragon and fashion model of many lizard harnesses. In the spirit of Halloween, I pulled out his wizard pic, one of my favorites. Miss you little man.

I have three picks for you today: John Connolly's The Gates, Sara Rosett's Mimosas, Mischief, and Murder, and Derek Armstrong's Madicine. Don't be scared! The Bad Book Fairy didn't make a visit to my house this week. They're all BOO-tifully written. Mwahaha!

1) The Gates is the perfect Halloween book. John Connolly's writing is reminiscent of the snarky, intelligent humor of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Samuel Johnson and his dachsund, Boswell decide to get a head start on trick-or-treating. At 666 Crowley Road they discover Mrs. Abernathy and a few friends aren't themselves any more. They've been possessed by demons and have opened a portal to Hell. The Great Malevolent One and his minions will soon be freed by All Hallow's Eve. Samuel desperately tries to get any adult to listen to him, but as you can imagine, his mother thinks he's telling stories again. The only adults who will listen to him are the scientists working on the wormhole computer experiment that caused the portal. But will they make it to Samuel's town in time to stop Satan from walking the earth?

This book is delightfully devilish. The cast of demons are both creative and lovable. I even have a soft spot for Mrs. Abernathy. She's such a devious, scheming character. You have to admire her drive to stop Samuel and his friends from foiling her demented plans. And there's a sequel available now. How great is that? I love when a good story doesn't have to end. Don't miss this pick. It's worth the read.

2) Sara Rosett is a newly discovered author for me. Her female sleuth, Ellie Avery, is a lovable mother and crime solver. This cozy is just as good as Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series. The only criticism I have is that I found Ellie Avery's organizational tips at the end of chapters jarred me from the story and didn't seem to really anything to my reading. In Mimosa's, Mischief, and Murder, Ellie Avery travels with her husband and children to visit relatives in Alabama, but their vacation soon turns deadly. Her husband's grandfather has passed unexpectedly and while planning the funeral, Ellie and Mitch discover that Grandpa Avery was hiding some valuable letters from a popular local author who doesn't speak to the media. Someone wants those letters enough to kill, but who is it? Is it part of the family or a stranger? This book moved fast and had a few twists and turns that made it interesting. It's not a dark mystery, but I recommend it for a good escape.

3) Derek Armstrong's Madicine is a relevant fictional commentary on greed, biological warfare, and science ethics. Ada Kenner is a virologist who discovers a new strain of virus engineered to eliminate the violent gene in humans. If it worked correctly, the virus would eliminate all violence from its test subjects, but it doesn't. It causes an even greater violence to sweep through the continents as Ada and her team race against time to discover a cure and figure out who has manufactured this deadly biological weapon before it gets into the wrong hands. This book jumps from country to country to tell the story, which at first seems disjointed, but quickly makes sense. This is not a light read, so if' you're tired, you might try something else. The plot is complicated and well-written. I recommend this book. It ranks up there with Michael Crichton's work.

As always, happy reading and happy writing to all! And a very haunted Halloween!

What Are You Reading Between the Covers? - #21

It's time for another book review installment, brought to you this week by the former Baby Tatsu. I've been laid up with a leg injury and have been plowing through my stash of library books like a crack fiend, and bring you four selections today.

Karen Russell wrote this phenomenal book, Swamplandia! The book follows a family of alligator wrestlers who live and work in their theme park. The theme park is in danger of going bankrupt after Ava, Kiwi's, and Osceola's mother dies of cancer. Their parents' unconventional lifestyle has left them with an interesting education in all things alligator-related, but not much about the world around them or how to interact with other people.

The story chronicles the journeys of the Bigtrees as they learn to cope with the passing of their mother/wife and how to survive in a world without her. Their father, Chief Bigtree, has problems coping with his own grief and the bills that are piling up; he heads to the mainland to find work, leaving behind his children to fend for themselves. Ava Bigtree is the youngest sister. She looks up to Osceola, who becomes fascinated with séances and the afterlife after her mother's passing. Osceola falls in love with a ghost she communicates with and elopes, but Ava discovers she's missing and follows her into the treacherous swamp to The Underworld with a creepy guide, The Bird Man. Kiwi, their older brother, moves to the mainland and goes to work for a competing theme park putting his family out of business. It is poignant, beautifully written, and a real treat to read. This is Karen Russell's first novel and I look forward to reading many more.

My second pick is a dud. Beware of For Edgar by Sheldon Rusch. It pains me to have to give a book bad review because I love reading, but I have to do it. This murder mystery held such promise; there's a serial killer on the loose that's a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. All of his victims end up creatively killed like characters in Poe's short stories. Sounds great, right? Until you are introduced to the killer for the first time in the book; about twenty pages after you meet him, you are positive he is the whodunit because we meet no one else in town with the knowledge to commit the crimes. Okay, so I let that one slide. I could handle solving the murders in the first third of the book because I wanted to read about them, but I couldn't overlook the male author's treatment of sex in the novel. I found it totally unrealistic. All the female characters were portrayed as sexual objects and none of the male characters were. Even worse, the females' fantasies/sexual thoughts seemed to be the author's and not their own. This unfortunately held true for every female in the book; I don't mind a little sex in a story, but I feel if your main character is the opposite sex of the author, I shouldn't be able to tell that from their writing. There is a slightly redeeming and very brief plot twist at the end, but overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't recommend it.

My third pick is much, much better. Have you ever wanted to teach your frisky feline how to do tricks? Well, now you can with Cat Training in 10 Minutes by Miriam Fields-Babineau. Miriam is a renowned animal trainer. I was a skeptic when I purchased this one, but now I'm a believer. I have three felines -- one cranky, old girl who doesn't want to do any tricks and two energetic felines who have been greatly entertained by this book so far. The instructions are easy to understand and the training is effective. You really can teach your cat to do tricks in ten minutes. I recommend this book for any cat lover. Your cat can learn to come, stay, jump, shake paws, twirl, and stand up in no time! And there's more. Who wouldn't love a cat that could play dead and roll over or go for a walk on a leash? You have to get this book.

I end on a high note, with my fourth pick, Steampunk, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. This book is a great introduction to the variety of steampunk literature available. The introduction is one of the better I have read on explaining the origins of steampunk and the collection of authors includes greats such as Michael Moorcock, Michael Chabon, James Blaylock, and Joe R. Landsdale. I particularly like the blurbs at the beginning of each story detailing where this tale fits into the steampunk genre. There are two essays included at the end of the collection, as well; one deals with steampunk in comics and the other deals with a quick pop culture lesson in steampunk. The stories were varied in the collection. There is something for everyone, from your favorite steampunk golem to Queen Victoria's newt double and beyond. My favorites include a steampunk western with the evil vampire H.G. Wells and a more traditional Hebrew golem story. Enjoy!

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!