The key to a good suspense/mystery novel is similar to that of a good horror film. The characters reactions to things have to be realistic and make sense. That doesn’t mean they have to necessarily be smart or follow basic common sense. It means they have to make sense given what we know about the character’s past experiences and personality. That way, when everything goes pear shaped, it feels like these things are being experienced by a real human and not merely a vessel to […]
Home is the place where when you go there, you have to finally face the thing in the dark.
Drumroll…………. It makes its second appearance in my Cannonball Read in as many years. (Here is my review from last year.) But dangit, it’s just absolutely outstanding all over again. Honestly, I might be at a loss for words now, and I think that’s because Stephen King took all of them. All the words. It is so long. But it reads so fast! I can’t put it down, and I don’t want to put it down! It’s just one of those books. So, the timing […]
Magic is about control, focus, and being able to concentrate when you’re drowning to death.
I’m definitely rolling downhill with these Rivers of London/Peter Grant books. They are predictably a delight, and I catch myself racing through them and savoring them all at once. I’m very happy to report that The Hanging Tree provides a great moving-forward of things, myth-arc-wise. I had been a little worried after the two graphic novel intervals between this and Foxglove Summer. But we’re back on track, with delightful reference to the happenings of Body Work and Night Witch (and only a handful of contradictions). […]
I’m not joining the fan club
This book has gotten a load of press, particularly since the Trump election. Reviewers and pundits see it as an explanation of the Trump phenomenon — who voted for that rat bastard and why? The disaffected and neglected white working class, that’s who! Of course, it is a mistake to think that it is just the white working class who bear responsibility for Trump. As Ta Nehisi Coates and others have pointed out, Trump’s support is all about being white, with class having little to […]
Kinda missed the Big Revolution
I’ve had a pretty mixed go of things with the Kindle First free book selections, and this one falls slightly above the middle for me. I was in the mood for something with an historical footing, and the off-beat structure of this drew me in very quickly, though it disappointed in the ultimate execution of the story. The story takes place over two timelines, one short afternoon in the present, and over several weeks as recalled by the main character. Yoona, our narrator, is being […]
All I want is some truth.
This book took me awhile to really get into. It definitely wasn’t bad, it just didn’t suck me in the way I expected to. The description, a young female spy held prisoner and tortured by the Nazis, gave me a much different impression of what this book would be. At it’s core, Code Name Verity is the story of a powerful female friendship and what one friend will do to save another. It was only about midway through the book when the perspective shifted […]
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