Dainty Old Timey Fantasy

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A princess, a miner and a goblin walk into a story...

Feel like you've heard this one before? Maybe the characters are unusual, but the form and general content of The Princess and the Goblin written by George MacDonald in 1872 would go on to become one of the foundation cornerstones for fantasy literature in the following century. Tolkien and Lewis owe MacDonald a good deal. Without those Inklings fantasy just wouldn't be the same today.

As with many progenitors, MacDonald's book feels dated. After numerous generations style, appearance and content changes. MacDonald's book looks old, out of date, almost irrelevant, and to modern readers of the genre it might appear as if it has nothing to do current trends. Princesses with grannies and nurses, a miner boy who wards off goblins with rhymes, goblins who can be defeated via their feet...What does any of this have to do with the magic, swords, the undead, assassins, dragons and bastard kings of today? It all had to start somewhere.

For nostalgia sake, I gave this an extra star. Granted, this is not the kind of fantasy I'd like to read for the rest of eternity. However, it was nice to see one of the origin stories. It's like witnessing a birth. Fans of Tolkien, for instance, can look into this book and see the likeness in its descendants such as The Hobbit. Fairies such as goblins have been a part of lore, legend and beloved bedtime stories since before books, so it was great seeing an early depiction of such classic characters as the Goblin King, without which we'd never have this...



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Tongue

Kyung-Ran Jo
Bloomsbury USA
Reviewed by Nancy
2 out of 5 stars

Summary

Emotionally raw and emphatically sensual, Tongue is the story of the demise of an obsessive romance and a woman's culinary journey toward self-restoration and revenge. When her boyfriend of seven years leaves her for another woman, the celebrated young chef Jung Ji-won shuts down the cooking school she ran from their home and sinks into deep depression, losing her will to cook, her desire to eat, and even her ability to taste. Returning to the kitchen of the Italian restaurant where her career first began, she slowly rebuilds her life, rediscovering her appreciation of food, both as nourishment and as sensual pleasure. She also starts to devise a plan for a final, vengeful act of culinary seduction.

Tongue is a voluptuous, intimate story of a gourmet relying on her food-centric worldview to emerge from heartbreak; a mesmerizing, delicately plotted novel at once shocking and profoundly familiar.

My Review

I really wanted to love this story. It’s a relatively short book at only 212 pages, but it wasn’t one of those books I could easily read in one or two sittings. There just wasn’t enough there to really draw me in and engage my emotions. A well-known young chef mourns the loss of her 7-year relationship. She loses her desire to cook, to eat, and even her sense of taste. Gradually, she starts to put her life back together and returns to the Italian restaurant where she started her career. This is more difficult than it sounds, as she is still obsessed with her ex-boyfriend and is unable to completely let him go.

It's well-written, but the passion and intensity was missing for me. I expect a book that explores the life of a woman grieving a failed relationship and where food is such a significant part of the story to overwhelm my emotions and senses. The main and secondary characters are very distant. The food is well described, but I couldn't taste or smell it. The boyfriend is hardly described at all. What little I knew of him, I didn’t like and couldn’t understand why the chef was so obsessed with him. Even the conclusion failed to disturb or elicit much emotion.

Still, it's rather unusual and I'm not sorry I read it.

UnDivided

UnDivided by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Proactive Citizenry has finally revealed why Cam was created. To make an army of rewound teens for the military. The group has also suppressed technology that would render unwinding obsolete. Connor, Risa, Lev, and Cam struggle to stop unwinding and Proactive Citizenry while bringing the suppressed technology to the surface.

UnDivided was a satisfying conclusion to the Unwind dystology. It kept me in a nervous excited state that compelled me to keep reading until I finished it. The overall blind heartlessness of the world surprisingly still shocked me. It's terrifying to fathom that people could care so little about the atrocities going on around them, but it's unfortunately all too similar to the world today.

One of my favorite parts of this book and the series as a whole was the thick sense of desperation I felt when reading the book. Clearly it's easy to see why teens would be so desperate when almost the entire world wants them for their body parts. I still can't imagine in a normal setting how a parent could sign their child's life away. I can't even imagine any person being willing to sign a child away that they raised in the case of the storked children. Now for the poor kids who are wards of the state it's not at all difficult to fathom them simply being viewed as unfortunate budget cuts.

One part I disliked in UnDivided is it transformed itself into more and more of a dystopia as it took on more tropes like the evil corporation responsible for practically everyone's misery. I enjoyed it more in Unwind when the thought was the world was terrified of teenagers and found a brutally efficient way of dealing with them. That felt more genuine and less like an evil business man, sitting in dim light, at a desk with his fingers steepled, and waiting to laugh maniacally.

The other thing that bugged me was Camus Comprix's motives. The character's actions really don't make much sense for the majority of the series and UnDivided isn't really an exception. At this point I almost wish he didn't exist. He didn't really add anything to the story overall outside of showing Proactive Citizenry's lack of ethics, but that had already been firmly established and didn't need further bolstering.

UnDivided was a thrilling story of a world I hope never approaches becoming a reality.

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Clash of Eagles

Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In a world in which the Roman Empire never fell, North America has been discovered. A Roman legion is sent to find gold and take over the land. Gaius Marcellinus leads this legion and realizes that the barbarians are far more capable at warfare than Rome ever imagined. After a massive battle, Gaius is captured and spared by the Cahokian Native Americans. Gaius's whole world is changed from that moment as he struggles to find a life for himself among the Cahokians.

Clash of Eagles was an attempt for me to branch out into historical fiction which is a genre I don't tend to read. I did enjoy learning a bit about the Cahokian Native Americans because I truly don't remember learning about them before. I am moderately knowledgeable about Rome's history so it was good to see a good amount of familiar Roman warfare.

The alternate history part was also interesting as Briton and Scandanavia are Roman provinces. Early in the book, a few mentions are made about the continuing struggles of integrating people from various recently added Roman provinces. It was also interesting seeing the author utilizing some unsupported technological achievements to make the Native Americans a far more terrifying opponent to face.

I thought the biggest thing Clash of Eagles suffers from is it's generic and stereotypical characters. There isn't one character that feels truly distinctive in the entire book. All the Cahokian characters and Gaius Marcellinus seem like various background characters from books and movies. I personally expect to have at least one character to cheer for, care about, and just plain enjoy but I didn't find such a character in Clash of Eagles. This took much of the interest out of the battles for me because I wasn't concerned with the welfare of any of the characters.

Another part of the book that didn't fit well was it's romance. Gaius becomes enthralled with one of the main Cahokia women, but it really doesn't make any sense. The author doesn't provide any explanation into why Gaius is interested in her short of the fact that she's a strong woman. The reader is in Gaius's mind and able to read his thoughts so it really seemed like some additional reason for his interest should have been provided. His interest just didn't seem realistic. I could have accepted this if not for the fact that at various times in the book Gaius is shown gazing upon voluptuous barley dressed Cahokian women and trying to control himself. I could have believed that he respected and admired this strong woman, but not his romantic interest. I did enjoy the general laughter and joking from the Native Americans about Gaius's earlier romantic partner.

Overall Clash of Eagles was an average book that is likely to be appreciated by fans of historical fiction and alternate historical fiction.

2.5 out of 5

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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WRAITH BY JOE HILL

Wraith by Joe Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Charles Manx III

I wouldn’t say I’ve been intentionally ignoring Joe Hill’s graphic novels, but...well...I have been. He trapped me like a fly in a Brown Recluse Spider web with this one because Wraith is actually a prequel to his outstanding novel NOS4A2. To entice me even further he tells the backstory of the diabolic, Christmasland caretaker, Charles Manx III.

Somehow it is so much more stomach churning to think that there were two other Manx’s before this one.

Manx drives a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith that is actually a key that takes him through a portal to the place he needs to be. In his case, that generally means he is taken to an abused child who needs to be separated from their parents. Manx induces the child to step into the Wraith and he spirits them away to Christmasland.

Are you getting warm and fuzzy feelings?

Dispel yourself of them.

You know how there are those signs up in towns that proclaim a sister city In Russia, or China, or Thailand? Well if Christmasland is the sister city to Disneyland than Disneyland is in Heaven and Christmasland is in Hell.


Christmasland

So if you see this guy...


...showing up with that car and that license plate. Run. Don’t stop for clothes, money, or the family pet just run like the devil is at your heels...because he is.

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The Passenger

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When her husband falls down the stairs and dies unexpectedly, Tanya DuBois cuts and runs, for she is actually a fugitive living under an assumed name. She switches identities several times but can she ever run from her past?

I got this from Netgalley.

I love Lisa Lutz's Spellman Files series dearly so I was pretty stoked to pick up her newest. It pains me to say it was a bit of a letdown.

The Passenger feels like a Lifetime movie to me. Tanya DuBuois is a woman on the run from a past that is only hinted at until the end. The marketing teaser makes is sound like she forms a Thelma and Louise partnership with Blue but Blue actually isn't in the book that much.

Eventually, Tanya/Amelia/whatever her name is hears that someone is writing a book about her and suddenly people aren't quite sure she should have been declared legally dead. Lutz achieves the paranoid feeling she's going for a few times. Otherwise, it's pretty unremarkable. I don't even know what genre to shove this in. It's marketed as a thriller but the thrilling bits are scattered pretty widely.

Still, it wasn't all bad. The last 20% kicked ass, once Lutz starting knocking down all the dominos she'd spent the rest of the book setting up. I loved the ending, complete with the unexpected metaphorical kick in the junk in the aftermath.

I'm giving this a three largely because of the ending but I wouldn't mind if Lutz stuck with Spellman novels.

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The God of the Razor by Joe Lansdale

The God of the Razor by Joe R. Lansdale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The God of the Razor is a collection of short stories by Joe Lansdale published by Subterranean press, bringing together all but one of his tales about the demonic entity from another dimension, the God of the Razor.

The first story is the chilling centrepiece and the one that started it all, Nightrunners is without doubt a classic in the horror genre and if you're into horror then you need to read this. Joe Lansdale is an audacious storyteller and this is by far the darkest of his stories that I've read, and in retrospect it's also by far the best.

We start with violence as a police officer pulls over a group of kids speeding in a black '66 Chevy, they're heading toward a particularly evil revenge mission and nothing will get in their way, not even the law.

Montgomery and Becky Jones are staying at a house by the lake outside Minnanette, a seemingly futile attempt at getting past the harrowing rape ordeal that Becky recently suffered at the hands of a young gang of killers. Clyde Edson was the rapist caught at the scene of the crime, who later hung himself in prison but his part in this story isn't over by a long shot courtesy of the God of the Razor. The black '66 Chevy is full of Clyde's gang, armed and just a little fucking dangerous, and they know where Becky Jones and her husband are holed up. And they are going for revenge.

                                       

So the story starts somewhere near the end and we then go back in time for an intimate look at all the characters, their stories and how everyone ended up in their current predicaments. Switching from past to present as the story progresses through brutality to outright atrocity and sheer brutality. A tale of violence, fatalities a plenty, and something else, something not of this world. Something that comes in nightmares, when the night is pitch black, and bleeds back into reality with devastating consequences.

                                      

Of the other six short stories King of Shadows was my favourite, a dark story about a young boy who goes to live with another family after his Father kills his Mother then slits his own throat with a razor. Death and sharp implements follow this boy, along with someone who wears the heads of his victims like shoes.

                                       

Unfortunately this collection is only available if you get the book and it is certainly well worth obtaining along with the fabulous artwork inside. You can however get Nightrunners on kindle and it gets my highest recommendation.


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Consumption by Michael Patrick Hicks

Consumption by Michael Patrick Hicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Consumption is one of the most horrifically intriguing novellas that I've read for quite some time and it may just make you think twice about that special dinner invitation.

Each of the six guests received their invitations through the post, a twelve course tasting meal courtesy of the renowned chef Heinrich Schauer. Through the winding roads of the Gotthard Pass, over the Devil’s Bridge to reach a remote lakeside Swiss manor in the Leventina Valley.

In keeping with the evening’s dinner theme, each guest had been issued a unique demon’s masquerade mask. They were discouraged from talking about themselves, the evening was purely about the wonders cooked up by the chef.

We spend time with Heinrich Schauer as he prepares his dishes, stripping meat from the body strapped to the kitchen table and we see the effect the dishes have on the guests. An almost hidden undercurrent of rage that the food helped to fuel, feeding their inner demons.

'The monster was feverishly hot, no doubt a side effect of Schauer’s grueling excavations. He was sure that the beast would be howling if Schauer had not had the foresight to sever its vocal cords. No shared language existed between them, of course, save for the excruciating roars of pain and misery that were common to all.'

Consumption is a quite different tale of horror that resonates feelings of dread and shock, very well written, some great ideas and some darkness around the invention of various culinary delights. This was my first read from Michael Patrick Hicks and definitely won't be my last.

A 4.5* rating.

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Pigeons from Hell

Pigeons from Hell by Robert E. Howard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While on vacation, two men decide to spend the night in an abandoned plantation house, ignorant of its terrifying past. Can they survive the darkness that dwells within the Blassenville house?

From the creator of Conan comes this creepy haunted house story. It tosses the usual horror formula out the window, going for quick shocks rather than building suspense. It got a little tense at times. However...

Much like H.P. Lovecraft's, I find REH's dialogue to be pretty wooden. Also, I thought some of the characters' actions and thought processes to be pretty illogical.

Since I don't want the review to be longer than the short story, that's about all I have to say. Pigeons from Hell is fun in a pulp horror sort of way but it's in no way Howard's best work. We can look to a certain Puritan adventurer and a barbarian from Cimmeria for that. Three out of five stars.

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Concerns of a Catholic

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Power and the Glory is the sort of title to inspire readers to great deeds, pushing beyond the bounds of normal reading capabilities to turn pages at superhuman speed! But alas no. And why not? Afterall, the premise is promising...

A cynical, whiskey priest sneaks about the poor, rural lands of southern Mexico, evading capture for the treasonous action of being a priest. The question is whether he's on the lamb to preach the word of god or to save his own neck.

I haven't read much Graham Greene, but what I have read makes me think Greene could turn a phrase and slap a good sentence together right up there with some of the best of them. The problem seems to be his plots. They don't punch you like you expect. I always seemed to be waiting for something more out of this book and it never came, and this isn't the first time it's happened with a Greene book.

Straight out of college I made a pledge to read through the works of respected authors. I powered through Kafka and then Camus. Both were exciting or at least interesting. In hindsight, I think I read them both at the perfect time in my life.

Next up was Greene. He wrote over two dozen novels, and then there were plays, screenplays, children's books, travel journals, short story collections. Out of all that, all I managed to read was The Man Within, his less than spectacular first attempt at a novel. Such were the deflating affects of that ho-hum experience that twenty years passed before I picked up my second Greene, A Gun For Sale aka This Gun For Hire. It wasn't great, but it was good enough to reignite my interest. Since then I've renewed my pledge, but with lowered expectations. I just don't think I'll be able to bulldoze through his work.

If only his work was a bit more exciting. As you read on a growing sense that nothing will be resolved starts to envelope you, and if you're a person that likes resolution, you're up shit's creek paddle-less, my friend. If you let the current take you, you'll float along into a boggy morass of self-doubt and moral ambiguity, where you're left to stew in unpleasant juices (<<< like contemplating a poorly mixed metaphor). Graham Greene writes thinking man's books and I don't mean books for smart folk necessarily. I mean he intends you to ponder his ideas well after you've put the book down. The Power and the Glory is just such a book. That's fine, but couldn't he have managed both? Say perhaps, a thinking man's thriller? I'm just asking for a little more spark. It would make me leap to his next book!



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