Immortality has a price

Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra

Anne Rice & Christopher Rice

Anchor Books

November 21, 2017

3 & 1/2 stars

I believe Anne Rice lost her charms with me after the fourth or fifth vampire novel. The first three, starting with Interview with the Vampire, are masterpieces and cemented Rice's fame no master what she ended up writing. But even those novels soon started feeling like she wasn't really into it anymore. They became extended and tired run-throughs of the same ideas. The few other novels I read outside of the vampire niche didn't really grab me . But there is no denying Rice can be a mesmerizing writer in her best moments.

Her newest novel, Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra is a sequel to her 1989 novel The Mummy which I have not read. To be honest, this particular book got my attention because it was co-authored with her son, Christopher Rice. In some ways, Christopher Rice is a more interesting writer for the 21st century and if you have not read him you should. Check out The Heaven Rises. Rice's style has many similarities to his mother and in this new book, they mesh well but I believe I see a little spark in Anne Rice's writing I haven't seen for a while. Perhaps it is the spark of a proud mother.

The Passion of Cleopatra starts where the first one left off. It would probably be best to read The Mummy first but the authors give us enough background to proceed if you didn't. Ramses and Julia are betrothed. Cleopatra does not die in the train accident and fire but is cared for by a doctor who develops a slavish devotion to her. Most importantly we discover that the originator of the immortality potion is still alive and another immortal who is looking for the potion is searching has his own obsessive reasons for doing so. It appears, as Cleopatra has already found out, a little potion is not necessarily a good thing.

There is of course much more with lots of sub-plots and characters. Julia's brother who had a tragic romance with Cleopatra in the first book and a woman named Sibyl who has a mysterious and disturbing connection with Cleopatra are two of the more interesting characters asides from the lead protagonists. But this introduction, or rehashing, of these plots and characters tend to slow down the novel and it really doesn't go into full gear until about halfway through. It pays to get there though and it does give us a connection to the characters when it goes into full swing. Anne Rice always had a very Victorian feel, in my opinion, despite her modern sensitivity to emotions and sex and her son seems to play into that well enough to blend in with the style.

Overall, The Passion of Cleopatra is an entertaining read. I think those, like myself, who soured a bit on Anne Rice novels in the past will find this to be worth reading. Those who love Anne Rice or liked the first Ramses the Damned book will not be disappointed.

Domestic trauma, different perceptions

The Wife Between Us

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

St. Martin's Press

January 9, 2018

3 & 1/2 stars

At the beginning of The Wife Between Us, we quickly become acclimated to three main characters. The first one is Vanessa, the ex wife of a wealthy almost perfect catch of a husband. The second is Nellie, a young woman who works two jobs as a school teacher and a waitress and is now the fiance to the catch of a husband. The third is that husband, Richard.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen gives us these protagonists in a series of alternating chapters between Nellie and Vanessa,. Nellie's chapters are in third person while Vanessa's are in first person. This goes on for a third to half of the novel. Then Hendricks and Pekkanen throws us a hell of a literary curve ball. What it is will remain unsaid since it is at the center of everything that happens from that point on. Suffice to say, it is downright brilliant leaving the reader disoriented and rushing to keep up. Interestingly Richard doesn't get his own chapters. He is purposely seen from the eyes of the other narrators which is an important point in itself. Overall the pacing, the structure and the twists are all evidence of the authors' brilliant style and plotting.

I wish I could say the second half of the novel keeps up but it doesn't. It doesn't fall apart. In fact, we become even more involved in the three characters and how the plot will unravel. It just lags after the big reveal. There are two basic reasons for this. First is a continuous weave of background stories interspersed in the narrations. It is sometimes difficult to tell the present and the past in the narrative and I'm not sure if that is intentional or unintentional on the authors' part. More importantly much of it, but not all, seems like filler and doesn't add to the story. The second reason is an ending that meanders and drags. We get one more twist at the end but this time it feels forced and unrealistic, very much unlike the earlier twist.

What does work though works well. Vanessa becomes our main narrator and maybe an unreliable one. We do not know at first if we can believe her side of the story or how stable her mental state is.
We are given clues throughout, but the authors' building of the tension keeps us guessing until the very end. You probably notice I've said very little about the plot and more about the structuring of the plot. This is because the less you know, the more you will enjoy it. Basically, it is a story about an ex-wife, a soon-to-be wife and the man connected to both. It is not so much a suspense thriller in the conventional way but more of a tale about human perceptions and psychology. And this is why it works in the final analysis.

Despite the problems in the second half, I still enjoyed it. I just wished it stayed as tight in the second half as the first half. Overall though, I believe most readers will become quite involved with the main characters and that is why this novel has the good possibility of being the first blockbuster read of 2017. Even with my hesitation, I do recommend it for those who want a different form of suspense thriller.

It's all about the Ouji

Tales from a Talking Board

Edited by Ross E. Lockhart

Word Horde

October 24, 2017

3 stars

"What do you mean you don't believe in ghosts? You read horror books!"

I get that a lot. It is surprising how many people think that because you love a literary genre titled horror you must believe in all the things between the pages. Ghosts, Demons, anything supernatural. I used to reply. "If you like to read Tolkien. do you believe Hobbits are real?" but I got tired of the blank looks. No, I do not believe in the supernatural. I believe in the preternatural. For me, Horror is not about understanding the supernatural but understanding ourselves and the fear and doubts that bind us.

And if one more person says, "I like horrors books too. Especially true ones like The Amnityville Horror" I'm going full Jody on them.

Now to the review...

Full discloser. I have never used a Ouji board, either by myself or with others and probably never will. First of all, if you know they are not real, they are kind of boring. Second, while it is not real. our imaginations are and I do believe believing something is happening when it isn't affect us and not always positively.

But Ouji boards are part and parcel to many plots of horror stories. They are the conventional gateway to the spirit world for many residents who live between the pages of a horror novel. Tales from a Talking Board edited by Ross E. Lockhart consists of 14 pieces of short fiction covering the board but isn't limited to it. Some of the stories involve seances, divination, tarot cards among other things. But they all have to do with conversing with the spirits in one way or another.

There are some good stories here but none that really blow me other into the other dimension. All the authors are skillful but not all caught me up in their story. This is not to say it isn't quite entertaining. it is. Interestingly I wanted more stories actually about Ouji Boards and I found those that kept to the traditional the most satisfying. On the other hand, I did appreciate how many of the writers seem to be looking for something new to say about this tried and true warhorse.

Of the stories, I especially liked the early 20th century vaudeville setting of "Wegee Weegee, Tell Me Do" by Anya Martin. It captures the early days of the Ouji board craze with a feminist twist. "Spin the Throttle" by David James Keaton tells us we can have the frights of the board without the board. But the one that made my hairs stand on end was Tiffany Scandal's "Grief"which is about as straight a horror story you will find here.

There were others that stood out. Nathan Carson's "When the Evil Days Come Not" is part mystery, part horror and very different. Nadia Bulkin's "May You live in Interesting Times" is a much needed look at the subject from another culture. Finally for this short and incomplete survey, "Questions and Answers" by David Templeton is a humorous look at the Ouji while giving us a glimpse on what is happening n the other side.

There are eight other tales or varying quality but the above six stands out. As with many anthologies there is the usual unevenness but certainly there is enough to entertain. This collection would appeals mostly to those who either have an interest in Ouji boards or just likes tales about communication with the dearly departed. It's a good if not exceptional collection.

Lunar shenanigans

Artemis

Andy Weir

Crown

November 14, 2017

3 stars

 

Andy Weir's follow-up to his bestseller The Martian again takes place in the hopefully near future. But instead of barely surviving on Mars, we have an established city colony on the moon. It comes complete with all the class struggles and daily problems we earthlings have except it's a lot more compact. Artemis is both the name of the book and the city. Weir's structuring of the city and city life is in fact the best part of his novel. We see it through the eyes of Jazz Bashara, a Saudi woman who spent her entire life on the lunar city. Her father is a welder and she has the ability to either take her father's occupation or do even better. But instead, partially due to her conflicts with her father and some bad life choices, she is a struggling porter with a smuggling operation on the size. But a rich friend offers her a challenge, illegal of course, that will make her rich or get her deported or possibly killed.

Those who enjoyed The Martian will see the same things about this book that thrilled them in the first. Both main characters are basically smart and resilient but underdogs in the environments. It is the thrill of watching Jazz fight through the odds that is mostly entertaining. It is not just the odds when she is on the unforgiving surface of the moon but also the unforgiving economic and class struggles of the city. It is what works best in the book. Weir structures well and writes some tight passages especially in the action scenes.

That is why, like his first book, it will be a bestseller. however, as a lover of science fiction, color me a little cynical. Weir writes well but, and forgive me for the slaughtering of the English language, he doesn't write good. Weir has all the Moon stuff, the science, the technology, and the physics down pat. But it just didn't have the spark for me that crisply realized science fiction has. Jazz Bashara is a marginally likeable character but she is also selfish and greedy whose bad judgement never quite gels with her perceived smarts.. The next step to empathy never quite made it. Yes, we root for her but we never root with her.

Artemis is a science fiction story with emphasis on the mainstream. Good science fiction challenge. Artemis placates. There are a number of bestselling authors who write in their selected genre but never really transcends into what the genre at its best can be. Dan Brown, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, James Patterson. Good writers all and writers that know how to sell their wares. But they are not the names that the true lover of their genre will recite as the best. I hope I'm wrong but Andy Weir with two books already seems to be writing himself into that kind of niche with science fiction.

But maybe I'm being too cynical. Artemis is a good novel, maybe a better thriller that a science fiction book. Either way, it plays a bit too much by the numbers. Yet, if you like an easy to handle and entertaining book then it will meet your needs...until the next bestseller comes along.

Smack in the middle of The Pine Barrens

Savage Woods

Mary SanGiovanni

Publisher: Lyrical Ynderground

Pub date: September 25, 2017

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

New Jersey's Pine Barrens sounds like the kind of place I would want to visit. Being a West Coaster I find it hard to think of New Jersey having forests but I guess they do. The Pines Barrens is a place of legends known mostly as a perennial burial ground for mafia type clean-ups and the stomping ground for The Jersey Devil. In Savage Woods, Mary SanGiovanni by the stroke of a pen visits the Pine Barrens, particularly a fictional (I presume) seven hundred acres part of it called the Nilhollow. Instead of the usual devil, the author brings forth a more interesting terror that speaks of ancient forces in nature and it works to some extent.

Julia Russo is running from her abusive ex-boyfriend and her path takes her into the Nilhollow. State trooper Peter Grainger is an officer that had contact with Julia and her boyfriend and has helped her out often. It appears he has taken a liking to her and when her car and the car of her boyfriend are found in the Pines Barren, he expects the worst and goes looking for her. But her homicidal boyfriend is the least of the dangers she and the trooper are about to meet.

We are given a prologue regarding two brothers that introduce us to the horrors of the Nilhollow which leads into Julia's misfortune and the subsequent search. From there on it is pretty much action. Lots of body parts are strewn around and there is a sufficient sense of awe and terror in the creatures of the Nilhollow. Yet the story never really takes off as far as the characters go . It is mainly because Julia isn't really that interesting a protagonist. She comes across as the perennial victim and when she is thrown into the supernatural, I guess we are to believe the heroine appears from within her. it just doesn't gel. Peter is still Prince Lancelot and the transforming I expect of Julia to an independent character never quite takes place.

But the novel is saved by the spirits. Her pantheistic forest spirits are quite interesting and among them is a suitably evil devil. There's a little Machen hiding in these malevolent sprites. Overall, it is a good idea with some very nice plotting but the main characters are just not interesting enough to carry it. As a quick horror read, I do recommend it. I'm just not sure how long you will remember it.

I see a full moon rising

Full Wolf Moon

Lincoln Child

 

Publisher: Doubleday

Pub Date: May 16, 2017

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

Lincoln Child, along with his partner in crime Douglas Preston, has a pretty good gig going for them. They specialize in the not-so-supernatural thriller. In most cases , and especially with the Pendergrast series, this involves a mystery of seemingly supernatural origins but ends up being something from the natural, albeit the very imaginative and slightly farfetched natural. These Scooby-doo books, as I irrelevantly like to call them, are fun to read but I tend to go more for the supernatural scare rather than the manufactured natural one. However they are great summer reads or, on the other side of the seasons, fireside reads.

When Lincoln Child is writing solo, he likes to keep a good thing going. His protagonist is Jeremy Logan who calls himself a enigmalogist which is "an investigator who specializes in analyzing unnatural phenomena with no obvious scientific or rational explanation." As one may surmise from the title of this fifth installment of the Logan series, Full Wolf Moon is centered on the theme of lycanthropy. In the Adirondack Mountains, two hikers has been found dead with their corpses ripped apart, both having happened on different full moons. Logan is attending an artist and scholar retreat when his college friend who is now a ranger in the area asks him to investigate the deaths. The official explanation is a rogue bear or wolf, but the timing of the killings suggest another explanation and the strange seclusive family that lives in the woods seem to be the town residents' favorite suspect.

While Full Wolf Moon has a good sense of suspense and scares , it is more mystery and science fiction then horror and certainly not supernatural. As with Child's other books, there will be an explanation. Getting there is where the fun is . Child brings together some interesting science into the story that I suspect carries a good mix of fact and fiction. I think I prefer Child solo as compared to the Pendergrast series Preston & Child are known for. Mostly because Jeremy Logan is more accessible . He seem to be the professor next door type while Pendergrast is fairly foreboding. The pace and formula though is pretty much the same. These are light reads. This particular book is fairly predictable and feeds you a good amount of red herrings before the final reveal. I would recommend this more for the mystery fan than the horror aficionado. It may not take you into any new territory but if you read it you probably know what to expect and won't be disappointed.

A literary haunted house novel

The Grip of It

Jac Jemc

 

Publisher:  FSG Originals

Pub. Date: August 1, 2017

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

When haunted house novels go literature with a capital "L" they tend to stop being about hauntings and become all about the haunted. I can think of two haunted house novels that do this with an exquisite flourish. I suspect both of them were influences for Jac Jemc's The Grip of It.. Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is the great classic of literary haunted house novels. It presents no visible ghosts but a very troubled protagonist. The House Next Door by Anne River Siddons again presents no ghost but a house which can only be called naturally evil and nourished by the misfortune of the owners. Its horrors are based on the misfortune we constantly are concerned about in the so-called real life. Siddons' haunted house seems attracted to that misfortune, perhaps feeds on it, and the recipients of that misfortune becomes the focus of the book. In both cases, despite the strange and sometimes terrifying events in the novels, it is human nature not the supernatural that goes under the microscope.

This is precisely what happens in The Grip of it. James and Julie are excited to move into their new house motivated by the thought of starting anew, away from the city and away from the triggers of James' gambling addiction. It goes smoothly at first and the couple are willing to ignore distractions like a humming that permeates the house, wall stains that seems to expand, and the hinting of hidden rooms. As they try to return to a "normalcy" in their relationship, the occurrences continue to add up, including a prying neighbor that appears to be connected with the house in some way and unexplained bruises that appear on Julie's body, When drawings are found on the walls that neither Julie or James admit to doing, the situation becomes surreal and disassociating for the couple who wonder if the other is who they once were or now appears to be.

So what is this all about? As I said, this is about people not houses. Whether the house is haunted, or a catalyst to misfortune (like The House Next Door), or the occurrences are totally due to the psychological friction between James and Julie can be endlessly argued. A great too many weird things happen that do not comfortably fits into the theory that it is all psychological but the author never really finishes explaining them to the satisfaction of this reader. If I was to theorize on the theme, or to put in other words, the issue being explored in the couple's psyche, it seems that it is all about the attempt to seek normalcy in a relationship that is teetering on issues of mistrust and betrayal. James' gambling issues is a big one to ignore, or just hope it goes away due to a move, and the house appears to be playing on that doubt. This is a examination of couples attempting stability in a relationship when the participants are not ready and the trust is not yet back. The house appears to feed on it and the couple responds. At least, that is my theory.

Jemc's haunted house also bears some resemblance to Mark Z. Danielewski's The House of Leaves in that it seems to be almost in another dimension. Rooms and passages appears that shouldn't and later disappear. There is a claustrophobic feel to the house despite what is described as big enough for a family. Another thing the two novels have in common is, while touted as a horror novel, it eventually becomes a love story.

But I wanted a horror story and to a certain extent I did get one. I just wish the author tied a few more threads together. In reference to the horror elements, there tends to be a lot of tease and little resolution. There is that strange neighbor and we do get some history and background of the family in the house previously but it doesn't really fit into the rest of the story in any way that satisfies a resolution. It is rather unfortunate, since Jac Jemc is a superb writer whose poetic sense often takes over in the description of house and relationship. I really enjoyed the pace and the style but eventually became exhausted in looking for the pay-off to ease my horror mentality. There is certainly a pay-off in the emotional sense and that is worth the reading. As I said, this is a novel about human nature not ghosts. We now come back to the two books I mentioned at the beginning. They are the seminal models of the literary haunted house novel. If The Grip of It doesn't quite fit on the mantle next to them, the author certainly can't be faulted for a noble attempt.

Young Adult attacks again!

Stranger Things Have Happened

Jeff Strand

 

Publisher: Sourcebook Fire

Pub. Date: April 4, 2017

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If you are preoccupied with categories and labels. Jeff Strand is hard to pin down since he has written in many genres. Yet there is one label that fits practically everything he has written. Humorist. His humor and wit are evident in practically everything he has released and even more so in his most recent books. At the present, he seems to be writing mostly in the Young Adult market and his novels all feature young teenagers struggling with the normal challenges of adolescence in unusual ways. Stranger Things Have Happened is no exception.

Marcus Millian III is a 15 year old boy who is obsessed with magic tricks. His great grandfather Zachary the Stupendous was a professional magician and encourages Marcus to be a magician to the point of betting a local theater manager that Marcus will perform an amazing illusion. Unfortunately, Zachary passes away before the trick is created by them. That leaves Markus on his own to create an illusion that will be the greatest ever performed. He will make a killer shark vanish on stage! There are a few problems though. He doesn't have a shark or a shark tank , has no idea how he will pull off the stunt if he did, and he has a tendency to get stage fright.

So maybe the challenge of making a shark vanish in front of your eyes isn't a normal adolescent fear. However, anxiety in public venues is, living up to the expectations of your elders is, and certainly being the magic nerd , or any kind of nerd, in high school subject to bullies is. Marcus takes all this in stride and, graced by the author's wit and imagination, may actually get through it all somehow.

Stranger Things has Happened is a fun read. Marcus is likeable and just smart enough, even if he seems to have a bad habit of getting into bad situations. The rest of the characters serve their purpose. There is not much development here except for the main protagonist. But while Strand's other recent YA novels stayed in the realm of reality for the most part, this one seems to stretch the boundaries. A little too many weird situations happens. There is a ridiculously evil magician who is probably a close cousin to Count Olaf or Snidely Whiplash. Marcus' new friend Peter has a secret that he doesn't always use to the best advantage. Most annoying to me were three bullies who probably talked more than any bullies I've ever encountered. Finally, there is a climax that seems a bit over the top even for Strand. It is all in the best of fun but I preferred Strand's other YA novels., especially The Greatest Zombie Movie ever, where the fun and wit is centered on a more believable scenario.

Overall though, this is a fun and fast read and should have teenagers and slightly younger kids giggling on every page. There is no real violence aside from some bully payback of the mild kind. and no sex going farther than the first kiss so parents can choose this book with having any discomfort and feel comfortable reading it themselves.It is a good novel for younger teenagers and even adults will give some laughs out of it.

A mother and son drama

Fierce Kingdom

Gin Phillips

Publisher: Viking

Pub Date: July 25, 2017

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Joan and her four year old son are enjoying the last few minutes at the zoo before it closes. But on the way out, Joan hears gun fire and sees some very disturbing things near the exit. She does not know exactly what is happening but she knows people are dying. She and her son run for their lives and hide in an abandoned animal enclosure. For the next three hours, she will be fighting for her life and the life of her son. She will be making some difficult choices.

There is a lot of emotion in Fierce Kingdom which, related to the plot and theme, is one of the best titles this year. It is predominantly about what a mother would do for her child. Gin Phillips has her heart in this book. She writes about a situation which no one would want to be in. We learn much about Joan as she make tough decision and interacts with two other women who find themselves struggling to stay alive. While the situation is harrowing , it really isn't a psychological thriller as much as a psychological drama. The heart of this book is in the relationship between a mother and a young boy.

The problem with what transpired is that the author has chosen a suspenseful situation that calls for tense moments and smart well-timed decisions. This is where the novel falls down. It gets off to a good start yet bogs down in the middle as we get a lot of thoughts from the mother on what is happening but nothing much really happens. Finally, we get glimpses of the terrorists but when they show up they are neither realistic or interesting. Plus, there are just too many strange decisions that may serve to drive the tension but fail because they don't make sense. One example: Joan is worried the light of her cell phone will attract the killers. I kept thinking," then turn it off and wait until they are gone to use it." What does she do,? She tosses it away. It may haveincreases the sense of isolation but doesn't help to make the situation believable.

But at the end the plot is helped along when Joan meet two other women who are hiding. This picks up the level of tension and has a beautiful moment when one of the women recognizes the gunman. It is a nice turn and I wish there were more like it.

Overall, Fierce Kingdom is full of beautiful writing. Gin Phillips is certainly a writer worth noticing. But perhaps thriller related books are not her forte. Literary drama is and if this was solely a drama before family and taking risks, it might have been more fruitful. Read this for the emotional drama and you will be pleased, If you are reading for the suspenseful plot, perhaps maybe not. I do recommend it though for that wonderful writing and for its emotional pull.

It came out of the sea

Pacific Rising

John W, Dennehy

Publisher: Severed Press

Pub Date: June 22, 2017

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

For those not in the know, Kaiju is Japanese for “Strange Beast” and usually refers to a giant monster in stories and film. Kaiju is also a film genre that features, you guess it, giant monsters. It is basically Japanese in origin and the most well-known kaiju is, of course, Godzilla. What I did not know is that there can also be Kaiju novels and they don’t necessary have to be written by the Japanese. Pacific Rising is one of those novels and I suspect it is one that is very basic to the genre.

The fact that it happens in Tokyo should be a giveaway to the formula and bases the plot on solid ground, so to speak. The monster that is set on destroying Tokyo does owe a lot to The King of Monsters but is given the name Zamera. The novel starts with the advancement of Zamera into Tokyo and the attempt to escape the chaos by a young girl named Maki and her parents. Meanwhile in Okinawa, Master Gunnery Sergeant James Penton is preparing the military base for an enormous storm when he gets a call about a major top secret assignment. This assignment will take him straight to the Kaiju in what appears to be a hopeless mission to destroy the seemingly invulnerable creature. There is a third narrative about two Navy Seals who are focused on stealing a nuclear device from the North Koreans. All three narrations come together at the end and we discover whether or not Tokyo can be saved and the monster defeated.

It all sounds exciting and it is. The novel is part monster tale and part military action adventure. John W, Dennehy’s strong point is his knowledge of the military. He puts it to work quite well in this book. The plot gets rolling from the first page and there is very little letup in the action. There are some sparks between Penton and Kate Able, a Marine Harrier pilot, but it is all by the military book and plays second fiddle to the destruction and chaos to come. A Kaiju novel is what it is and a Kaiju novel is what you get. Truth in advertising.

Yet I must ask, is that all a reader wants? If it is, then Pacific Rising will pay off. But the action seems rather predictable to any who is familiar with the genre. None of the characters really comes to life and there really isn’t much characterization you can do with a huge Japanese monster except to make him scary. The writing is to the point and not much else. It gets the job done but it doesn’t really leave much to remember it by past the final page. It feels more like a novelization than an original novel. I kept wondering if I saw the movie.

But as one might say, it is what it is and as a novel about a dinosaur like creature rampaging through a city, frightening little girls, and laughing at puny fighter jets, it fits the bill. It is action-packed and has lots of moments that will thrill those who like their heroes’ valiant and their monsters big. This is also a novel that will appeal to those who can’t get enough military adventures. As for me, yes,I enjoyed it. But overall, I would have rather waited for the movie.

A study of fear and guilt

The Breakdown

B. A. Paris

 

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press 

Pub. Date: July 18, 2017

rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

Cass is headed home to her cottage and husband when she passes a car on the road. She is driving on a secluded road, a "shortcut", in the middle of a relentless rain storm. She sees a woman sitting in a car but can't tell who it is. She pulls over but is afraid to get out, partially due to the storm but more because of her fear that it may be a set up for a robbery or worst. The woman in the car remains sitting there. Cass drives away promising herself she will call the police when she gets home. She forgets to call and wake up that next morning to discover on the news that the woman was murdered that night.

She is engulfed by guilt and, worried how others will see her actions, tells no one including her husband or the police. Shortly after this, she finds her memory failing. She forgets a number of things ranging from where she left her coffee cup to where she parked her car. She doesn't remember buying things like a baby pram or ordering the installation of a house alarm. She believes that someone is in her house or sees what she thinks may be the murder knife on the kitchen table but the police find nothing when they arrive. And then there are the constant phone calls from someone who doesn't respond when it is picked up. Cass fears that she is being stalked by the murderer of the young woman but she is just as afraid that she may be having a mental breakdown or is beginning the descent into dementia.

The experienced reader of suspense and mystery novels will catch on to a tried and true theme in The Breakdown very quickly. it is about a woman that appears to be mentally deteriorating . The experience with the woman in the car is the catalyst and we read to see how they relate to each other and if they relate at all. The author, B. A. Paris, plays it like a fiddle. We read the narration in Cass' perspective so we do not get the clues until she does. Cass is a young woman who is in love with her husband and life in general but is constantly worried about suffering the fate of her mother which was early onset dementia. We can instantly identify with the potential loss of her dreams to an unforgiving ailment. Paris pays into that well and it is what makes The Breakdown so involving.

But while this is what holds us, it is the familiarity of the plot that may hinder our full enjoyment. This is well traveled territory and, while the author tries hard to place some new twists into it, sooner or later it becomes formulaic. Most readers will figure out what is going on early if not necessarily all the whos and hows. Fortunately those whos and hows is what keep us in the read. Paris uses a nice gimmick near the resolution to feed us the loose ends while our protagonist wraps up the ending. It all works but it doesn't knock me out of my seat and eventually makes the great beginning and slow build up a little less effective.

While it doesn't break any new ground, it is still an entertaining novel and a solid psychological thriller made most effective by its study of a woman potentially losing her mind to her life long fears. It still gets a strong three and a half stars and my solid recommendation for an entertaining suspense read.

Dying off-stage

Ten Dead Comedians

Fred Van Lente

 

Publisher:  Quirk Books 

Pub. Date: July 11, 2017

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

 The title of Ten Dead Comedians is going to sound very familiar to anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of murder mysteries. The best selling mystery of all times is Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None which was also titled Ten Little Indians and in its first printing was given the title Ten Little *insert N word*. Fortunately saner heads won out in later years. Fred Van Lent's very funny take-off on the Christie novel can be called a pastiche or even a tribute to the classic book but, like all good tributes, it adds something of its own and makes its own statement.

Fred Van Lente is primarily known as a writer of comic books and graphic novels. This is his first novel and I guess it is a compliment that it didn't make me think of graphic novels at all. It made me think of someone who has a first hand knowledge of the business of stand-up comedy and the psychological make-up of anyone who wishes to go into that brutal business. I am not sure whether he has that experience but he made me feels like he did. The premise of Ten Dead Comedians, as it is in the Agatha Christie book, involves ten people who are invited to a secluded island for somewhat vague reasons. One by one, they end up being murdered. Since it is established that no one else is on the island, the murderer has to be one of the ten. And we are off to the races.

All of Van Lente's unsuspecting victims are comedians. In fact, they are sort of a sampling of comic stereotypes. Some of them are thin disguises of well known comics such as Joan Rivers and Larry the Cable Guy. A few seem to be a combination of individuals. For instance, prop comic Oliver Rees aka Orange Baby Man appears to be a mixture of Carrot Top and Gallagher. Others seem to be more of a capsule of a particular type of comic style than any one person. The use of comic archtypes works well in this story. They shape the characters and their issues. as they play against the mysterious personage of Dustin Walker, a legend who all ten comics have a connection to and the one who invites them to his island. Walker is sort of the McGuffin in the novel. He explains via videotape why they are all there and then kills himself. Guessing the connections to Walker and how he is pulling off this mass extinction of funny people is half the fun.

Of course a book like this needs to be funny. But not so funny or outlandish that we lose the structure of the mystery. Intermittent slices of each comic's routines helps us along as we follow this who-will-do-it and who-will-croak-it. All in all it is a clever take-off on a very weird profession. Van Lente offers lots of droll and witty one liners as each comic engage each other in a competition of words and wits. I can't say any one character is very sympathetic but since we are dealing with archtypes rather than rounded characterizations, it tends to work.

When we do get to the ending, we get a satisfactory if far fetched solution. It is actually no more unrealistic than many of the convoluted endings we expect from the masters like Christie. This ends up as a satire of a particular type of mystery as well as being a parody of comics. The author takes care of the loose ends adequately and we are left with a smile on our face. I'm not sure how much more a reader of a book titled Ten Dead Comedians should expect. If you love Christie styled mysteries you will enjoy the spin.. If you love stand up comedy you will enjoy the in-jokes and the inside look at comic psyches. And if you just enjoy funny novels, you should definitely give this a try.

A new start yet far away...

The Space Between the Stars

Anne Corlett

Publisher: Berkley

Pub. Date: June 13, 2017

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

Anne Corlett's The Space Between the Stars is full of some beautiful writing. The challenge is figuring out what type of beautiful writing it is.

Jamie is one of the very few people left alive after a space-wide pandemic. She may be the only person alive in her space colony of ten thousand people and she has no idea if anyone else has survived. Earth in the past has been over-populated and the colonies were mainly populated by those who were compelled to resettle. Jamie was one of the few who volunteered, wanting to leave an unfulfilling relationship and looking for her own "space". Now her only thought is to return to Earth and hope against hope the man she left is still alive.

As it turns out, there are other survivors and they make a plan to return to earth. The small crew makes up a microcosm of reasons for returning. There are also others who do not want the survivors to return to Earth for their own reasons ranging from the political to social to personal. The trip to earth and what they find is pretty much the vehicle for the novel but the meat of the plot is found in the motives and expectation of Jamie and the others on the journey.

This all make for a rather introverted space journey. there are several discussions of a philosophical nature on whether expectations of a future are futile or not and basically about what the heck they are doing anyways.. Jamie gets a surprise that causes her to rethink her reasons for going back to earth then strengthens and re-frames them. Jamie is a big "if" in this novel. She embodies a will and purpose yet some may think that purpose as rather selfish and naive. She wavers between selfish and wise and I believe that is how the author wants her to be seen. There are no real heroes and villains here just a group of people struggling physically and psychologically in a Homeric journey through space.

And like most Homeric journeys, the author is portraying and exploring a few existential struggles in life along with it. But perhaps the venue is a bit wrong. Or maybe it's the marketing. The Space Between the Stars isn't really that much of either a science fiction novel or post-apocalyptic one although it is hyped as both in the promotional spin. Science fiction fans are bound to be disappointed in the simplicity of the idea and a distinct lack of world-building. Those who would like the literary drama of the story, which I feel is its strength, will be off put by the space adventure aspects. Essentially the epidemic and the colony aspects is a McGuffin and in that, some readers may feel a bit cheated. To add on to that, The other characters do not really flesh out all that well feeling like bit players in a B-science fiction movie when you want Ibsen.

It's unfortunate since Corlett has a story to tell here and the climatic ending brings much of it together emotionally . If The Space Between the Stars finds its audience they should be quite pleased with it. I'm just not sure who that is.

It came from the comic book ads

Just Add Water

Hunter Shea

Publisher: Lyrical Underground 

Pub. Date: June 13, 2017

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

Hunter Shea is my go-to guy for monster stories. He writes them so well. If you are looking for urban legend creatures, monsters from the deep. animal lab experiments gone forth, or pretty much any type of creature you can name, he has you covered. But in Just Add Water he brings forth a rather violence and gruesome fiend from an unusual source. One that you baby boomers will certainly recognize with a bit of nostalgia.

Remember those ads in the comic book for sea monkeys? They were actually sneakily named brine shrimp. In real life, they never looked as good as the cartoon drawing meant to sell them. Yet many a kid was taken in only to get little ugly specks and muddy water. In Just Add Water, David and Patrick answers a similar comic book ad for Amazing Sea Serpents. Nothing happens, the water smells, and they end up dumping it down the toilet. Yet something does happen once the shit hits the sewer, so to speak. Eventually the sea serpents grow up and come back. That is when all the flesh ripping and eating begins.

There is a reason for these creatures and we do eventually get an explanation. but as it is in the best storytelling, the fun is getting there. While all Hunter Shea novels are fun this one seem slightly tongue-in-cheek, kind of Spielbergian 80s teen tongue-in-cheek. David and Patrick rules the day as they battle the creatures and leave the adults behind scratching their heads, as least the ones who survive. Just Add Water, despite some violence of the killer monster variety, is quick, comic book gruesome, and roller coastery. Maybe too quick. It is short at under 100 pages and in need of some fleshing out, no pun intended. But as just plain monster fun, it works. You might want to find a longer Hunter Shea novel to get the idea of what he really can do but if this one comes your way, grab it and enjoy it.

Note: It appears Just Add Water is the first of a series called Mail Order Massacres featuring horrors based on those funky comic books ads. The next one will be Optical Delusion and I already preordered it. That may give you an idea how much fun I found the first installment.

Strange things in Oregon

Starr Creek

Nathan Carson

Publisher: Lazy Fascist Press

Pub Date: November 15, 2016

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

 Nathan Carson's debut novel Starr Creek is a very ambitious book despite its under 200 pages length. There is a lot going on in it and succeeds in some areas very well. Let's discuss where it succeeds.

The author has created a very interesting Oregon environment of tune-outs, drop-outs and turn-ons. Some of them are the exiles of society and others are just teens stoning out for the ride. While none of them grabbed me as essential and fully developed, they are all meant for the plot and speed it along nicely. Carson seems to have a counter-cultural sensitivity and it shows well here. His style is quite poetically descriptive and memorable lines keep popping out at the reader. I sense a little Brautigan here and the residents of Starr Creek seem be similar to the eccentric population of Christopher Moore's Pine Cove with a much darker sense of humor. But Carson's horror and Lovecraftian elements shine through too. The author has seized upon a fine plot where the residents encounter strange beasts and strange occurrences without really knowing until the end where they are coming from and what their intentions are. And of course, every character sees and react on this based on their individual motives. It's a nice bit of plotting.

It is also a frustrating piece of plotting. In Carson's ambitiousness he seem to be spreading out too many characters. There are a lot of intriguing dudes and scoundrels here but none are given enough room to really shine. Kira comes the closest but there just isn't enough rounding out of character even for her. It basically comes down to great writing and insufficient structuring for so many ideas. It's a common error in debut novels and it really shows here. But still, there is a good sense of environment and atmosphere that keeps me reading.

Then there is the end. I loved the build-in to it. But without giving it away, it ends suddenly. My big question is : is it a definitive ending that makes any thing else in this story moot or a cliffhanger. I'm kind of hoping it is a cliffhanger because the Starr Creek gang with all their flaws have real promise.

You probably noticed I said little about the actual plot. This is because if you do read this it is best that you go in with little knowledge to get into the atmosphere and to let the surprises sneak up on you. Carson is clearly showing off his counter cultural experiences and has his own unique perspective. Wherever he goes in his writing, Starr Creek is a good if incomplete example of his work and can only get better.

Lovecraft meets Hip-Hop

Kanye West - Reanimator

Joshua Chaplinsky & H. P Lovecraft

 

Publisher: Yolo House

Pub. date: August 24, 2015

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Mash-ups are curious creatures. I would be hard pressed to call them anything but a novelty. We can blame Seth Grahame-Smith for the literary mash-up..or at least for its popularization due to the mystifying success of Pride and Prejudice with Zombies. I am still precariously on the fence with such endeavors. At best they are delightful diversions bringing out the best of the genres and authors they salute

Kanye West - Reanimator is somewhere in between. It is definitely funny and entertaining and it does an admirable job of blending H. P Lovecraft's style with the peculiarities of hip-hop. Yet even at its much less than a 100 pages length, it feels too long. The author had fun with this, using Lovecraft's serialized fiction, "Herbert West - Reanimator " and turning Mr. West into the rapper/beatmaster Kanye West as he uses the beat and the mixes to revive dead bodies. There is a lot of references to the need for fresh beats and quite a few musicians and rappers take a beating, so to speak, from Biggie to Paul McCartney. Maybe this is an acquired taste.

And I think i may have hit on the issue. I love Lovecraft and I am a bit of a music freak from rock to jazz to soul. But I honestly know little to nothing about hip-hop. I did really get into the earlier days with Run-DMC, Public Enemy and up to NWA but then I tapered off. There is clearly a number of in-jokes here .and I think too many of them went over my head. Plus I took points away whenever anyone mentioned Kim Kardashian.

So this is my recommendation. if you are into rap and Lovecraft both, this might be "Da Bomb". if not, it will be a risky endeavor. But again, let's give credit to the author for a noble attempt and some very funny turns of phrases. As for me, I am best off waiting for a classic rock version. Maybe...Leslie West -Reanimator?

A battle of the sexes

Feral

By James Demonaco and B. K. Evenson

 

Publisher: Anchor

Pub Date: April 4, 2017 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

We are knee-deep back into the apocalypse with Feral, a new science fiction thriller by James Demonaco and B. K. Evenson. This is not unknown territory for either Demonaco or Evenson as Demonaco is best known as writer and director for The Purge film trilogy and B.K. Evenson is a pseudonym for Brian Evenson whose Last Days remains one of the most memorable forays into weird speculative fiction in the 21st century. Yet in their collaboration, we enter a weirdly familiar zombie-esque environment that pits the sexes against each other,.

In Feral, Allie is going though the usual teenage angst with the biggest problem being telling her best friend that her boyfriend posted a sex tape on the internet. Yet these mundane issues seem trite when all the men become sick and start attacking the women. Allie is barely able to save her sister Kim from an attack by her father and soon they are the few survivors living in the world where all men have become feral, attacking and killing any female on sight.

Flash forward to three years later. The few surviving women have hunkered down in make-shift forts battling off the ferals who are like animals and simple in their rage. A scientist is attempting to find a cure to the disease using the ferals Allie catches in her hunting forays outside the settlements as guinea pigs . It is on these explorations that she discover the ferals are showing signs that they may no longer be mindless and disorganized. She also discovers something else that will turn the women's perception of the world upside down.

The battle of the sexes taken to extremes is what attempts to set this novel apart from the many other post-apocalyptic zombie type books that inundate the market place. Yet there is lot of it that still sounds very familiar. Lets look at the good parts first. Allie is a powerful protagonist. She is forced into the role of protector and doesn't look back. It doesn't seem to be a role she always enjoys. It is a reluctant calling. Her teenage angst has turned into a one-sided survivalism aimed primary at the protection of the community but mostly the survival of her younger sister. When the big reveal comes, she become torn between her community and her own emotions. She is the best thing about the tale and her choices are what drives the plot. The authors has also created a believable nightmare environment where we can feel the dangers and the risks involved as we learn more about the choices facing this community of women. I liked the overall flow of theme and action throughout the novel.

Yet when all is said and done, there is too much that feels familiar. Perhaps The Walking Dead have inured us to this type of story. Beside Allie and one other, there are really few rounded out characters. It feels a little too much like a graphic novel in prose and sometimes I could read "Movie Deal" between the lines which i do not consider a good thing. There is indeed a riveting final battle for survival at the end and the authors put their all into the description. But it wasn't enough to rise above the formula. In fact, it kind of cinched the formula

In the balance though, Feral does become a very entertaining read and will please those who like post-apocalyptic novels. There are some soft moments that add to the reader's concern for the protagonist in this book, giving us a nice blend of action and emotional connection. But for me, It just isn't enough to place it above the pack of novels like this. I know that may be a tall order but when I read something like this, it is what I look for. Ultimately, we have a good novel in the sub-genre but not a contender.

Killer Flowers

Crawlers

By Ray Garton

Publisher: RGB Publishing

Pub. Date: October 26, 2016

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

Flowers that kill. I've read a few science fiction books with a plot centering on such a contrary idea. The most famous novel of this variety has to be Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham although it is a toss up whether the real nightmare in the book is man eating plants, stumbling blindly (literally) through the apocalypse, or listening to long winded lectures about how to deal with these dilemmas.

In Ray Garton's novella Crawlers, you don't have to worry about making such choices. It's killer flowers all the way down. In Mount Crag, it is the morning after a meteor shower and the townspeople wake up to burnt spots on the ground with unusual flowers growing out of them . They are all over town and at first they are simply a curiosity, looking more artificial than real. But it doesn't take long for the plants to show a more sinister side. Crawling attacking flowers with a terrible side effect becomes the order of the day.

Like I said. It's fun and seems more like the old science fiction horror films of the 60s and 70s. In fact, the author acknowledges this in his foreword. The consensus is that this is a quick read that excels in entertaining and has more than a few thrills. Like anything by Garton, it is well written and delivers. It appears Mount Crag is a setting for a few of Garton's tales so I wouldn't advise moving there in the near future. Just enjoy this horror adventure and smell the roses while you can.

Werewolves in New Orleans

The Wild Harmonic

By Beth W. Patterson

Publisher: Hidden World Books

Pub Date: November1, 2016

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

Birch “Buzz” MacKinley is a musician playing bass at the many music venues in New Orleans. Due to her troubled past and a closely guarded secret, she finds herself usually alone and trusting of few until she meets Rowan and his fellow musicians. She discovers she is not the only werewolf in town. In fact, there are many different forms of shapeshifters in existence living in a world and culture she never knew before. She also finds there is a growing danger around her and her new friends that exists side by side with her new companions.

In The Wild Harmonic, author Beth W. Patterson has created a rather different society of werewolves than we may be familiar with. In Patterson’s society of shapeshifters, werewolves tend to be especially good in particular careers like music and the helping professions. One of Buzz’s lycanthropic companions is a nun. But Buzz is particularly drawn to a pack that is into music and that is where this story gets its strengths. A musician herself, the author has a deep understanding of the power of music. Music is often involved in rituals seeking higher realms of existence and, in this novel, Patterson combines the two to create a rather unique combination of tune and growl so to speak. Without disparaging any of the author’s seemingly considerable skills, I think it is safe to say Patterson is a musician who writes rather than a writer who plays music. Her expertise and love for the music comes out that strong in both her writing style and her descriptions of the characters.

This is an interesting take on the werewolf tale with some rather intriguing complications. Rowan’s pack is only part of a bigger scenario. There is a danger lurking as shapeshifters disappear or are found dead. While Buzz is slowly becoming able to trust her pack mates, she discovers that not everyone who is a werewolf or another type of shapeshifter is on the same side. Hence, we have the conflict that moves the plot along.

Two things make The Wild Harmonic work, the hidden culture and society of the shapeshifters which I have already mentioned and the alternately fragile and strong character of Buzz. She is indeed shown as fragile at the beginning, isolated but grounded in her music. Then she meets Rowan. Glimpses of a paranormal romance show up and Buzz spends a lot of time pining over what may be unattainable. But Buzz becomes strong on her own and how that happens is an essential part of the story. It is not lost on me that Buzz is a bass player. Anyone who has worked as a musician and played in a substantial number of bands (raises hand) know that the bassist is the soul and anchor of a group and that was not lost on me as I discovered how the character of Buzz develops.

So we have a novel that is one part fantasy epic and one part paranormal romance with neither drowning out the other. But for me there is something missing. The horror is missing. While we have werewolves, other shapeshifters, and a looming threat, the tension seem to be missing. So much of the story is in setting up the culture and the musical and philosophical tones that we lose the horror. When we finally come in contact with the threat it is too late to regain it and, frankly, it is a little cartoonish and predictable for my taste. I wanted more old scares and less New Age. But what is there is quite substantial and entertaining. It is still a smart fantasy that will please most readers. Even though it is a standalone novel I think we may see Buzz again if the author has her way.

The Void and the Tingleverse

Dr. Chuck Tingle's Complete Guide to The Void

By Chuck Tingle

Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services LLC 

Pub Date: February 24, 2017

Rating: 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

 Welcome to the Tingleverse

I must confess I have never read a Chuck Tingle novel. I have certainly heard of him and have chuckled over titles like Space Raptor Butt Invasion, Schrodinger's Butt, and Slammed In The Butt By Domald Tromp's Attempt To Avoid Accusations Of Plagiarism By Removing All Facts Or Concrete Plans From His Republican National Convention Speech. I must admit I am tempted to read one if his writing style is as silly as his titles. Yet I am not really into gay erotic sci-fi satire so I have avoided the temptation...so far

But there appears to be a darker side to Tingle. Threatening his loving and tingly Tingleverse is The Void. It is a dimension that is so totally terrifying just the mention of it can lead one to Void Madness, a condition that does not sound pleasant. Dr. Tingle wrote this brief 69 page work to help us recognize the dangers of The Void and to prevent being consumed by it, a place very few escape from. He tells us of the terrible creatures that come from The Void and gives some specific examples such as an especially vicious form of "Shrieking Mass"...

Throughout history, there has been several Shrieking Masses who greatly affected the course of humanity through their manipulation of humans. In recent history, the most notable Shrieking Mass is United States President Domald Tromp, who attained power despite the fact that the seams in his human suit remained clearly visible during his entire campaign cycle.

So what to make of this "guide"? Despite Tingle's endless admonition to be careful reading this book less you "succumb to the call of The Void", it is consistently humorous. I do not know if this is a companion book for fans of his novels or simply a sidestep into silliness. But it is entertaining and may cause me to take a look at one of his novels, butt pounding or no butt pounding.