Catch-22 is a classic that I started in high school and for some reason never finished, and I wanted to give it another shot. It’s the story of a military squadron on the island of Pianosa, off the coast of Italy, during World War II. Technically, it’s more about bombardier John Yossarian than about any other character, but it’s essentially an ensemble cast. Most chapters are titled after a character, although sometimes that character only makes a brief appearance. Yossarian has flown his required number of […]
Creepy Meets Crazy Meets Comical
I should start with a couple disclaimers. 1) I am recovering from ankle surgery so I’m loaded with Percocet right now and might either get loopy or fall asleep before I’m done writing this up, but I also happen to have free time so here I am. 2) I am internet friends with the author of this book, but I think I can objectively tell you it’s a fun book even if I also know she’s a fun person. Kathy has written for Cracked and Mental Floss, […]
I mean, but really he’s just saying what we’re all thinking, right?
I had to start this review by searching for the differences between sociopaths and psychopaths. Never say that I don’t strive for accuracy! Joe Goldberg is a psychopath. We met him in Kepnes’ GLORIOUS debut novel, You, which I easily 5-starred in 2014. If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend that you do so. At the time I described it as “Lolita for the Twitterverse”, and the story of Joe Goldberg’s obsession with Guinevere Beck really set the unlikeable, unreliable narrator trend on […]
Ghouls and Gods in Dreamland
Johannes Cabal is a necromancer, and one day three men appear with an offer. Messrs. Shadrach, Corde, and Bose want to hire him as their guide into the Dreamlands in order to find and destroy the Phobic Animus, the source of all fear. The Dreamlands are an alternate reality accessible to dreamers, poets, philosophers, and those under the influence of mind-altering substances. Dreamlands are full of beauty and wonder, but visitors are equally likely to meet monsters and nightmares of epic proportions. Cabal accepts this […]
As Long as Nothing Happens Anything is Possible
There are spoilers for the end of the book in this review. I can’t believe I made it to 43 without having read Graham Greene before now. I’m glad I chose this one because it’s really kind of .. charming. About ten pages in I thought “I bet this one was made into a movie and I bet it was an Ealing with Alec Guinness.” Two out of three! (It wasn’t Ealing). It takes place in Cuba, in a time before the Cuban missile crisis […]