Misery

Misery by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To celebrate completing a novel, writer Paul Sheldon goes on a champagne-fueled drive in the Rocky mountains. He winds up in a near fatal car crash, but never fear. He's rescued by Annie Wilkes, his #1 fan...

I watched the film version of Misery in those antediluvian days before Goodreads, hell, before the Internet, and decided to finally read the novel when it showed up on my BookGorilla email one day. It was $2.99 very well spent.

Misery is a tale of obsession, addiction, and obsession. I wrote "obsession" twice but it's a such a big theme I thought it was justified. Annie Wilkes is obsessed with her favorite series of books starring Misery Chastain, written by that dirty birdie Paul Sheldon. Paul is obsessed with finishing the book Annie has demanded of him and probably addicted to writing. Also to codeine.

I've said it before but I'll say it again. If Stephen King wasn't addicted to scaring the bodily fluids out of people, he'd be a literary writer of some renown. The guy can flat out write. Just because he cranks out a best seller more often than most of us go to the dentist doesn't mean he's the real deal.

The scariest horror stories are the ones that could actually happen and Misery is one of those. Who among us hasn't had visions of being held captive when driving through a remote locale? Annie is so much more than the scene-chewing maniac she could have been. She has dimension and believes she's in the right, which is the mark of a great villain. Her background is very fleshed out and my heart sank as I learned her past along with Paul. How the hell was he going to escape that monster?

Paul's journey is painful, both to him and to the reader, thanks to King's skill. I had to make sure my foot was still attached a couple times. Annie puts him through hell and he finally gives her a taste of her own medicine but the ending is far from happily ever after.

As is usually the case, the book was a notch better than the movie. I've been easy with the 5's this year but I'll give this one a cockadoodie 5 out of 5 stars just the same.

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Ace

Kate Aaron
Croft House
Reviewed by Nancy
5 out of 5 stars

Summary

At twenty-two years old, World No.6 and England's No.1, Brian Scagill has the tennis world at his feet. Last year's semifinalist, this year Brian enters England's biggest tournament determined to win. A Grand Slam on home turf is calling to him and he's not going to let anything stand in the way of victory - certainly not a cute Croatian who doesn't even play in the same league.

Fooling around with Lexi might be an easy distraction but the last thing Brian needs right now is to be distracted, and there's more than this tournament at stake.

My Review

I like tennis. It’s a graceful, elegant and stylish sport that requires technical, mental and physical skills and an amazing amount of stamina. While I enjoy watching it on TV now and then, it’s also the kind of sport that I can easily switch off and return to at any time without feeling that I’ve missed anything. I’m old enough to remember the meltdowns of Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors and more recently, Serena Williams and David Nalbandian. While their antics were sometimes amusing, they would be far more acceptable in high-action, contact sports like football or soccer, but have no place in a “gentleman’s sport.”

After reading this story, I no longer believe that tennis is a “gentleman’s sport.” 22-year-old Brian Scagill is sixth-seeded in the world and best of the UK. Though he is fiercely competitive and very focused on winning, lower-ranked Croatian player, Lexi Horvat, captures his interest. As they both have busy lives and do a lot of traveling, Brian and Lexi’s relationship has a richness and passion to it that comes from living in the moment without expectations.

Their sex is sweet, tender, and very erotic, involving fruits and whipped cream, rivaling the dripping peach scene in André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name.

There is a vivid cast of secondary characters, including a supportive coach, a prickly manager, a loving father, and a domineering mother who ultimately wants what she thinks is best for Brian, but ends up wrecking his life.

If tennis is not your thing, the sport details may be a bit excessive. I found them interesting, realistic, and sufficient enough to convey the intensity of competition pressures, the physical challenges, and the conflict between fulfilling media and professional obligations while trying to have a personal life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to the sequel.

Wrestle Kingdom 11: Omega vs. Okada

A few days ago, a wrestling match happened that got the whole internet talking.  Kenny Omega took on  IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11.  Here it is in case you haven't got a chance to watch it yet.




People are calling it the greatest match in wrestling history.  Dave Meltzer gave it six stars.  Is it really that great?

No, but it's pretty fucking great just the same.  Omega takes some crazy bumps and puts his body on the line with some daredevil maneuvers but for me, the best part of the match was the suspense.  Who will hit their finisher first?  Each man teased his signature moves multiple times.  By the time Omega got hit with the Rainmaker, it was almost orgasmic, especially after he kicked out.

It's a testament to the quality of the match that I knew the finish going in and I was still in suspense, flinching when either man kicked out.

While I didn't think it was the greatest match of all time, it was the best match I've seen in a long time and had everything I like in a pro wrestling match.  Kenny Omega is the real deal.

Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Crown Conspiracy

Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater are a resourceful duo in a questionable profession, they work as thieves and they are impressive. When a last second easy yet highly profitable opportunity comes their way to steal a legendary sword, Hadrian jumps at it. Royce grudgingly agrees to steal the sword for the King's castle. When they arrive there is no sword at all, only a dead King. Now Hadrian and Royce have been framed for murdering a King and it looks like there is nothing they can do.

So this is a retry for me. I attempted The Crown Conspiracy before and while I enjoyed the characters, I didn't get into the story. Well, this attempt was quite different. I found myself deeply connecting with what was happening led by the memorable Royce and Hadrian. While I have a predisposition to disliking thieves these two fall somewhere between cold blooded thieves and Robin Hood. Truly Royce is the colder of the two while Hadrian has a conscious and wants to do the right thing. That desire puts the duo in a bad spot.

The Crown Conspiracy is for readers who enjoy a traditional yet exciting tale of deception and heroism.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Avempartha

A young woman named Thrace is searching for Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater in a distant city. She seeks to hire them on the advice of a Mr. Haddon who told her where to find them. Intrigued Royce agrees if only to find out what Esrahaddon is doing. He wants Royce to break into the tower, Avempartha, near a waterfall that seems impossible to reach. The duo seek to steal the only sword that can kill a magical beast that's destroying a town and murdering it's inhabitants.

Avempartha is a good sequel to The Crown Conspiracy. Royce and Hadrian are as interesting as ever and the world has become more dangerous thanks to a magical beast and the church's plans. The story somewhat departs from the break neck speed of its predecessor because the characters aren't consistently fleeing for their lives, but nighttime is deadly and the villagers are helpless against it's might.

Hadrian Blackwater is an incredibly easy character to like. He has quite the conscious despite his line of work and it occasionally forces him into helping when the wisest course of action would be fleeing.

Avempartha is a good albeit a somewhat familiar story.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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The Football Manager's Guide to Football Management by: Iain Mcintosh

The Football Manager's Guide to Football Management by Iain Macintosh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have discussed in other reviews, my tendency to obsess over things, Recently that thing (for the million of you that don't follow my reviews) is the beautiful game, soccer.

Also, this goes into the fact that I am a hardcore gamer, I am one of these people who have strategy guides to games I don't own. I got into soccer, through football manager. Yes, a nerdy guy who never played sports and sucked at math, got HOOKED on a game that is the SPORTS and the NUMBERS. yeah..made no sense to me either.

All this backstory being put out there, this is a fun, quick well written read. Full of trivia and tales of managers in real life. It also (for a newbie like me) broke down some of the details of things that I didn't quite get.

so, yes...if you like soccer, or management games, or just want some fun, check this out..now if you excuse me, we have a game against Liverpool tonight.

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Patton Oswalt's Love of Movies

Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A bipolar memoir on two of my favorite subjects, comedy and film.

Comedian Patton Oswalt loves film. There was a period in his life when he was on the fence as to which career path to take. Would he become a comedian or perhaps a director? Silver Screen Fiend takes us down his memory lane of movie binge watching and stand-up routine crafting in a sometimes odd and erratic autobio read.

This book probably only deserves three stars, but I'm going with four, because of my love for the topics, but also Patton spends many a page recalling awesome films in Los Angeles movie houses during the mid-90s, the time that I'd just moved to LA. Call it a nostalgia star.

The book starts a bit rough, almost schizophrenic-like. It felt like he was intentionally setting the bar, trying to see who was willing and able to keep up and put up with his esoteric references and the flip-flopping from movies to comedy. This was well within my wheelhouse and even I was somewhat put off.

However, once you get through the beginning, Patton settles down into some solid soliloquy on silver screen gems and personal anecdotes relating to stand-up. He details his early-years struggle and takes the reader through the start of his career in comedy, including some slap-in-the-face moments when he realized he needed to hone his craft or call it quits.

I remember seeing Patton in the '90s on Comedy Central specials and shows like Dr. Katz. He was an "angry comedian" back then in the vein of Sam Kinison or Lewis Black. Time has mellowed him some. Time and a whole lot of work has given him success. It was nice to watch his transformation and I was happy for him. Then in the spring of 2016 (FUCK YOU 2016!!!) he lost his wife. She died in her sleep and left him to care for his daughter without her. I doubt we'll see much comedy or any new books from Patton for a while. So, I'll be going back and reading his old stuff and hoping he can pull himself through these tough times.

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Leaving Bodies About The Place Is Bad Manners!

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

British Jason #1: Jolly good book, what?
British Jason #2: Oh, rather!
British Jason #1: I say, how much longer do you suppose we can keep this up?
British Jason #2: Not long, old bean. I've run out of stereotypical Brit words and this ridiculous accent is doing me head in!

I almost filed this all up in my PG Wodehouse shelf. The similarities in style, setting and character are striking. There's a somewhat daffy lead in Lord Peter Wimsey, though he's clearly got more on the ball than Bertie Wooster. There's the taciturn Parker, just a little looser and given more freedom than the butler Jeeves. After all, Parker is a police investigator and his own man. Even the time and place, 1920s England, hits the Jeeves/Wooster mark.

The mystery of who dunnit wasn't exactly mind-boggling. I suspected the culprit almost the moment he hit the stage. But this mystery doesn't seem to care for the diabolical plot as much as others in the genre. Dorothy Sayers appears perhaps more interested in developing a deeper character. No, no one between the pages of Whose Body? is coming close to Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov, but Sayers seems more concerned with her whys as opposed to her whos.

For instance, the reasoning behind Lord Peter's desire to catch criminals comes into question more than once through the book. His past reaches into the present to color the proceedings. These are nice touches that you don't tend to get with Agatha Christie.

Does Sayers always succeed in her quest for why? No. Allow me to explain:

The criminal's confession is more than a mystery genre trope. It's a staple. Unnaturally delivered admissions of guilt absolutely abound in these books and it is taken to a RIDICULOUS extreme in Whose Body? Sure, the bad guy is said to be one of those clever chaps who needs to brag, but that doesn't justify the lengths to which the character details his every move. Let's face it, Sayers had come up with something good and she couldn't help blurting it out. Bah, I don't care. It was very interesting after all.

I don't think I could put this review to bed without mentioning this book's racism. It is a product of its time, a time when Jewish intolerance was rising and no one but whites were thought much of by whites. Also, at one point the main character says something like "He's got a touch of the tar-baby in him." Perhaps it's all part of Sayers' attempt to create a well-rounded and representative person from 1920s England. Perhaps it was the casual racism that came naturally to her as it did to so many of her era. If you don't understand and need an example, have a look around. It's the same sort of casual racism happening today.

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Galapagos

Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

One million years in the future, a man recounts humanity's origins in the Galapagos islands.

This was the third Kurt Vonnegut book I've read and my third favorite. Actually, it reminds me of one of Grandpa Simpson's rambling stories that circles back on itself, only with novel-y bits like themes and messages and such.

Galapagos is part satire, part cautionary tale. There's a shipwreck on Galapagos and it turns out those people are the only ones who can reproduces. I'm pretty sure this is mentioned in the first two pages. Anyway, one million years in the future, humanity is a whole other species.

Galapagos deals in evolution, environmentalism, and anti-war. Also, humanity's "big brains" are blamed for most of their problems. The world of Galapagos is in a global economic crisis. Yeah, a lot has changed since 1986...

The book is actually pretty funny with Vonnegut's dark absurdist humor being the star of the show. I interrupted my girlfriend's Harry Potter reading with this, easily my favorite quote:
“I didn't know then what a sperm was, and so wouldn't understand his answer for several years. "My boy," he said, "you are descended from a long line of determined, resourceful, microscopic tadpoles-- champions every one.”

I enjoyed this fairly well and devoured it in three sittings. I didn't like it as much as Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse-Five, however. I think it was the circular nature of the narrative that got me. If Galapagos was a road trip, it would have been thousands of left turns in order to go fifty miles in a straight line. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Short Story Review - A Queer Trade

K.J. Charles
Self-Published
Reviewed by Nancy
5 out of 5 stars

Summary

Apprentice magician Crispin Tredarloe returns to London to find his master dead, and his papers sold. Papers with secrets that could spell death. Crispin needs to get them back before anyone finds out what he's been doing, or what his magic can do.

Crispin tracks his quarry down to waste paper dealer Ned Hall. He needs help, and Ned can’t resist Crispin’s pleading—and appealing—looks. But can the waste-man and the magician prevent a disaster and save Crispin’s skin?

My Review

Loved this charming, magical, sexy, and suspenseful story by a new to me author. Apprentice warlock Crispin Tredarloe’s master, Hepzibah Marleigh, was hit by a bus. He left Crispin his books and documents, but the real important papers left on the floor were cleaned up and sold by the Burfords to waste-man Ned Hall who in turn will sell the paper to butchers, florists, or anyone that can use it. No one but Crispin knows what the magical words and symbols on the paper are capable of. Once a sheaf of the paper gets into the hands of the untrained citizenry, strange things start to happen. Crispin and Ned must work together to retrieve the papers and stop the illegal magic before Crispin gets in trouble. Though the two men are as different as night and day, their interactions sparkled and chemistry sizzled, leading me to believe they will indeed be magnificent together. I look forward to reading the series!

Ultimate End

Ultimate End by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The heroes from the main Marvel Universe (Earth 616) and the Ultimate Universe have been placed into one battleworld and have to coexist with their counterparts.

It isn't going well and it looks like it will get worse.

Ultimate End started well, but at the end it felt as though the author lost interest. Seeing the two major Marvel Universes having to ineffectively share the same space was interesting especially as many of the Ultimate Universes heroes are unstable. One big complaint I had was they showed Miles Morales Mom as a white red head...she's a Latino. I mean do these two women


even resemble one another?


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