Exceptional horror...with popcorn

 The Drive-in

By Joe R. Lansdale

Rating: 4 and 3/4 stars

I originally wrote this review for Goodreads in 2010. However, since the book has been released in a Kindle edition in November of 2013, I have re-posted the review in a slightly re-worded version.

I just discovered I still have this inscribed novel in my collection. Totally frigging bizarre.  A different side of Lansdale. I read it originally  in 1988 remembering as a four star book but I think it is ready for a re-read.

So I read it again and am upping my rating to four and a half, maybe even four and three quarters. Just don't get that five star feeling but it is awfully close. This was written when Lansdale was a shining star of Splatter-Punk, a sub-genre of horror that has recently morphed into Bizzaro fiction. Those who know Lansdale only for his mysteries might be a bit shocked by the downright weirdness of his earlier writings, of which The Drive-In is a prime example. Lansdale's Texas authenticity is still there but is wrapped in a form of sci-fi horror gruesomeness that comes out like a Lord of The Flies as if written in a collaboration between  Jean-Paul Sartre and Joe Bob Briggs. Lansdale is still feeling his chops with this one. It gets a little out of hand and over the top at times but that is part of the fun. There are two other short novels in this series and I'm going to hunt them down.

Excellent look at a controversial icon

Junipero Serra

by Steven W. Hackel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

While growing up in California in the 50s and 60s, the name of Father Junipero Serra was well known to every school kid. As the title of this new biography states, he was considered California's founding father. There's a statue of Father Serra gracing the U.S capitol rotunda as a representation of California's history. He was the person that "civilized" the west coast. His missions still stand as a symbol of the Western exploration and settlement of California. You didn't have to be Catholic to view Serra as a saint which he seems well on the way to becoming after Pope John Paul took the third of four steps to his sainthood by beatifying him on September 25, 1988.

Oh, how myths die hard. Since then, reality has risen up and gave legend a sound slap in the face. While there is no doubt that Serra is one of the most influential figures in the history of North America, he was also a tyrant and a religious fanatic even by 18th century standards. His role in destroying vast populations of Native-Americans is significant. He saw them as "children" and imprisoned them at will and beating them lest they stray from the Christian path. Serra and the Franciscan priests were essential in bringing agriculture to California but this was mainly a ploy to make the California Indian dependent on the mission community and it damaged the culture immensely. Disease and famine followed his successes, decimating the Native-American population of California. Serra was also a member of the Spanish Inquisition and took his role seriously both in the old world and new.

Steven H. Hackel's importance as Serra's contemporary biographer is in his ability to balance both views of the Franciscan priest. He doesn't ignore the dark side yet acknowledges Serra's role in developing the Western regions of North America. He follows his birth and childhood on the island of Mallorca to his education and rise to importance in the church. The author traces Serra's journey to "New Spain" from Veracruz to Mexico City and finally to the task of building a string of missions in Baja and Alto California until his death in 1784. This is a fascinating look at 18th century Mexico and California with no sugarcoating. Zorro need not apply.

Hackel portrays Serra as one of those figures that does many things well and succeeds by the audacity of his ambition. He was an excellent administrator, a wise professorial teacher who inspired his students, and an ambitious seeker of church power that led to many struggles with the Spanish secular government especially in California. One of the thing that amazed me was that Serra did not start his California missions in California until he was 60. One can excuse some of what Serra did as him simply being a typical figure of his time in a racist and religiously aggressive society. Hackel takes time to note that some of Serra's excesses were actually normal procedures for Spanish missionaries. Yet I can't lose the feeling that Serra with all his success may have been "over the top" even then. After all it was eventually the Spanish government that removed his power from the missions and turned them from church dominated areas to secular settlements easing the intense control, even enslavement, that Serra had over the California Indians.

This is the kind of historical books we need; the kind that is honest about historical figures and not afraid to uncover the dirt while noting their achievements. Highly recommended to students of the history of North America.

Method acquired: Netgalley

Christmas time suspense

Hot in December

By Joe R. Lansdale

Rating: 4 and 1/2 out of five stars

Hot in December appears to be a play on the title of one of Joe R. Lansdale's earlier novels, Cold in July. The titling is likely not coincidental since the film version of Cold in July is expected in mid 2014. However this new novella doesn't seem to have any connection except that it is a superior thriller. Lansdale does have a little fun in connecting other works by using two characters from Leather Maidens and some clever allusions to the Hap and Leonard series. There is also a cute reference to Sunset and Sawdust.

Having said all that, Hot in December is highly readable on its own and one of the author's better suspense tales. Kelly and Tom Chan witnesses a hit-and-run that kills their neighbor. Tom is able to identity the culprit only to find out he is associated with an organized crime network. What ensues is a life and death struggle in which Tom recruits two of his Army buddies, one of them a certified psychopath, to assist him in ridding himself of this menace. As usual, Lansdale runs a tight ship, tying all the loose ends together and making you jump at the right moments. Tom is admirable in his principles and his effort to protect his family. There is less humor than usual in this Lansdale tale but plenty of edge-of-seat moments. My main complaint is that it is too brief at 106 pages. Nonetheless, it would be a good introduction to Lansdale's East Texas world of suspense and violence.

Method acquired: Christmas present!

The best of fiction and non-fiction for 2013.

It's Christmas Day. Merry Christmas everyone! I'm sitting here with nothing else to do until this afternoon so I figured it would be a good time to get out my best-of lists. These lists present the best fiction and non-fiction I have read for the year of 2013. I whittled it down to a best ten list for fiction. However, since I read much less non-fiction, I narrowed that list down to the top five.The books are listed in no particular order. I've linked the title to my review on The Novel Pursuit, Cool and Blue Review or my Goodreads page.

Best Fiction of 2013

1. Poe - J. Lincoln Fenn
2. Night Film - Marrisa Oessl
3. Sociopaths in Love - Anderson Punty
4. Shatnerquest - Jeff Burk
5. Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
6. The Hanging Judge - Michael Posner
7. The Thicket - Joe R Lansdale
8. NOS4A2 - Joe Hill
9. In the Land of the Living by Austin Radner
10. Psycho Within Us - Chad Huskins

 Best non-fiction for 3013

1. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth - Reza Aslan
2. How Music Works - David Byrne
3. The Leonard Bernstein Letters - edited by Nigel Simeone
4. Junipero Serra: California's Founding Father - Steven W. Hackel
5. Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion - Robert Gordon

Good reading and a happy new years.

Dark Dsytopian Science Fiction

Mistworld

By Simon R. Green

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mistworld is the first of Simon R. Green's The Twilight of the Empire trilogy which is, in turn, a prelude to his Deathstalker series. It was published in 1992 but has just been re-released as an eBook through Open Roads Media. It is nice to see it back in print for the author knows how to build a world.

Mistworld is a planet that struggles with the Empire, a powerful realm that has the ability to destroy worlds that rebel from their authority. Mistworld is a bastion of freedom but is populated by outlaws and rebels which tends to destabilize its society. The planet barely hangs on due to its army of psychic protectors that enacted a shield over the planet. But the Empire's armies are approaching, various Mistworld forces are at odds with each other, and betrayal is always a possibility.

I like this type of dark dystopian fiction and Green does it well. This gritty type of future underworld gets its start from William Gibson cyberpunk novels and various science fiction writers have elaborated on the theme. Gone are Asimov's and Heinlein's vision of a optimistic future. Green's vision is of a technological advanced, psychically endowed society that is still immersed in class struggles, corruption, crime-infested under-layers, and dictatorial rulers. Green manages to put just enough space opera in it to make it slightly less dark and loaded with action. The author fills his tale with cat burglars, psychic hit men, and corrupt officials yet never loses track of these characters nor of the plot. Mistworld turns out to be a nice start in a saga that promises to be entertaining in its own dark and cynical way. Let's hope Open Road Media has plans to re-release the rest of The Twilight of the Empire.

Method acquired: Netgalley

Not very thrilling...

The Widow File

By S. G. Redling

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Dani is a data analyst for a security company investigating possible leaks in a corporation. She and one other analyst becomes the survivors of an attack that killed all the other analysts and stole their files. Dani is left to figure out why they are after her, what information they seek and why they want to kill her while eluding the a clever hit man named Booker.

That is the bare bones of a ordinary and overdone plot. You would think there are only so many thriller plots that an author can do and the trick is for the writer to find new ways to present them.

Well,that doesn't happen here. Redling's brief but excruciatingly overlong novel not only brings out all the old gimmicks but does them badly. It's hard to know who this was written for. It a suspenseful idea but the dialog tends to be over cute and somewhat YA in nature. It really cuts out the action. Dani and her cutesy named friend called Choo Choo are too unbelievable as the smart and resourceful characters they are meant to be. The villain Booker fares no better. Add in an large amount of filler in a relatively short novel and the result is with is a novel that just couldn't interest me, let alone thrill me. I did manage to finish it but it took a lot longer than it should have since I kept getting distracted by everyday life. When everyday life pulls me away from a novel, you know there's something wrong.

I received this from Amazon Prime's new First Read program in which the members get a free book before the publishing date. The Widow File was the mystery selection for December. Let's hope Amazon choose better books in the future. Barely two stars.

Bounce!

This has nothing to do with books. I just love it!