I have enjoyed several of Faber's novels and had this one sitting on my shelves for years, but kept putting it off. The Crimson Petal and the White reI have enjoyed several of Faber's novels and had this one sitting on my shelves for years, but kept putting it off. The Crimson Petal and the White really is a monster of a novel, clocking in at over 900 pages, but Faber serves up here a nice slice of London, England circa 1875 that might even make Dickens blush.
Faber develops several characters in detail, but 'Sugar' serves as our main protagonist. When the novel starts, Sugar, age 19, has been a prostitute for 6 years or so, working in a brothel along with a few other gals owned/ran by her mother (yuck!). Unlike most other prostitutes, Sugar reads and writes, and even has been working on a novel for years. She has the ability to put men's minds at ease, engage them in learned, compassionate conversation, and her 'tricks' last much longer than the usual due to such conversation; unlike most other prostitutes, she only usually has a few men a night.
Basically, the story follows Sugar as she meets a guy, one William Rackham, who eventually makes her his kept mistress. William and his brother are the only sons of his capitalist father, who makes his money on perfumes and such. While they are therefore not social elites, however rich (that is saved for the old nobility), William's father sends them both to college. William married several years prior to the novel to one Agnes, who comes from minor noble stock, but also has a brain tumor that gives her fits of 'madness'. They did manage to sire one child, a young girl, but Agnes refuses to recognize the child as hers; bit of a story there ...more
While the title makes this sound a little skeezy, Age of Consent is not some tawdry Lolita knockoff, and I actually have no idea why Mittelmark chose While the title makes this sound a little skeezy, Age of Consent is not some tawdry Lolita knockoff, and I actually have no idea why Mittelmark chose the title. At first, I thought this would be some haunted house tale, and all the elements were there. Phil Coulter, an up and coming historian with a major book about Joseph Smith and the Mormons, starts the novel moving his teenage son Peter and daughter Virginia to their recently renovated house in Seneca, NY from NYC. The contractors who resorted the early 19th century house all had 'issues' with noises, seeing things and so forth, and strangely, even though the house had been empty since 1971, no local teenagers or bums used or tore up the place at all.
Something is obviously up with the house-- all three of its new inhabitants start having wildly erotic dreams shortly after they arrive. Nonetheless, Phil starts his new job at the local college and working on his next book, and Peter and Virginia start school. Peter, pretty much a loser, suddenly finds himself with some new friends, and even a girlfriend! They may be stoners and such, but friends! Virginia, once the 'leader' of her pals at school, suddenly finds herself without any friends at all. Total role reversal. While these events transpire, and Virginia seems to be going down hill rapidly (gaining weight, not washing, and even cutting herself as her new 'imaginary' friend consoles her), Mittelmark switches timelines to 1971. The house Phil and kids moved into at that time was something of an anti-fraternity, housing student activists struggling against the war and using lots of drugs.
Mittelmark continues oscillating timelines throughout, following the Phil family on the one hand and the students living in the house on the other. Phil's research involves the many revivalist religious movements that began in Western New York state. Going through archives, he finds out that the very house they live in once housed Joseph Smith of Mormon fame, and after him, John Humphrey Noyes, the founder of what became known as the Oneida Community, which preached a version of 'free love' and open relationships. What is it about the area? Something in the water, or maybe, just maybe, something else!
I loved the historical aspect, even if Mittelmark kinda was a little fast and loose with history here, and I am familiar with the basic outlines of the movements he mentioned. Also, the 1971 timeline and the students Mittelmark did very well-- you can almost smell the weed while hearing about the establishment and the Man! Pretty soon, all the members of the Phil household encounter some long haired hippy type in the woods around the house, and something similar happens to the students from 1971. Who is this guy? I will leave it at that. I found this smart, loaded with some pretty heavy duty sex, and pretty creepy as well. Hard to believe this came out in 2007! 4.5 crazy stars, rounding down for the explosive, but rather abrupt denouement....more
If you dig gothic horror, you should check out Aycliffe's work. While I still liked his Naomi's Room the best of all his work, A Shadow on the Wall coIf you dig gothic horror, you should check out Aycliffe's work. While I still liked his Naomi's Room the best of all his work, A Shadow on the Wall comes pretty close. Narrated first person by the 19th century academic Richard Asquith, a don at Cambridge, the story tells the tale of the events circa 1894 or thereabouts, starting with him meeting one Edward Atherton, a colleague of his at Cambridge.
Edward Atherton tracked down Richard as he knew he had an interest in the paranormal; the two knew each other vaguely, so this came as a surprise to Richard. Atherton explained how his older brother, a clergyman, recently became a pastor at an old, historic church deep in the Fens. In the process of his brother renovating the old church to restore its Norman roots, the workmen disturbed a old tomb, and something emerged with a horrible smell. Months later, people start dying in the little village around the church and Atherton's brother seems to be either going mad or struggling with something unworldly. Desperate, he comes to Richard as a last resort.
Richard, recently injured due to a fall on the ice, puts Atherton off until once again Atherton comes pleading for help after he gets a telegram stating his brother died. So, Atherton and Richard head out to the village in the Fens and start investigating what happened...
I really liked the narration structure of this. Richard, the only character developed in detail, has an interest in the paranormal, but a very skeptical one. Nonetheless, he has encountered things that defy rational explanation. The mystery of the old tomb, an abbot from the 14th century, sparks an interest; casual at first (he really owes nothing to Atherton), but soon enough becomes absorbed as he realizes that the ghost or whatever (the shadow on the wall) may threaten himself and family. Aycliffe does a great job in capturing the spirit of the era, and his gothic tales rival the best of them. The architectural details were illuminating, as were the religious discussions surrounding the 14 century (the specialty of Richard) Good stuff! 4 spooky stars!...more
Very dark novel by Jeter, but one that never really jelled for me. Our protagonist, Connor, starts the novel in jail (holding cell really) for gettingVery dark novel by Jeter, but one that never really jelled for me. Our protagonist, Connor, starts the novel in jail (holding cell really) for getting caught with some scam at a store. Set in 1938 or so in California, Connor gets the 'choice' to work for some orange plantation as an 'accountant' or nasty chain-gang activity, so off to the plantation he goes. Jeter created a very atmospheric read here, perhaps too atmospheric, as he takes us deep into Connor's brain and life in general.
In a way, this reminded me of Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle, as both are set in the groves of California during the depression. Connor is basically a trophy to the Vandervelde family, with tasks like paying the fruit pickers and running errands. The Vanderveldes are connected with all the other orange growers around, and Connor knows he is on a short leash. Another 'employee' of the Vanderveldes, Fay, works as a nanny and doxy for the clan's patriarch; they picked her up from the local loony bin. Well, Fay and Connor strike up a friendship of sorts, more like two prisoners forced together than anything else.
What bugged me about In the Land of the Dead concerns how Jeter tried to do two things here-- create a bleak account of life during the depression and then mix in some supernatural aspects that really did not fit or need to be there. The detailed depictions of life working as an orange picker contrasted to the fat and rich Vanderveldes, well, that worked for me. The unjustness of the Great Depression and the lives it ruined, hard to go wrong with that. If Jeter just kept the story here, I may have rated the story higher. Yet, he also seemed determined in bring in the supernatural with Fay, who can go into the minds of the dead and make them do things. Or maybe not. She did come from the loony bin after all. Did she pull Connor into some shared delusion or does she really have the power if you will? Jeter plays this for all it is worth.
Overall, I liked this, especially the bleakness, but Jeter should have probably stuck with one part of the story; give us the rustic hell of California during the depression, or give us a creepy horror story, but the mixture just did not set right with me. 3 bleak stars!...more
Once upon a time, I used to follow the Booker Prize finalists and winners, but my enchantment has faltered as of late due to the many novels considereOnce upon a time, I used to follow the Booker Prize finalists and winners, but my enchantment has faltered as of late due to the many novels considered for the prize lately that just were not my cup of tea. I do not know-- my tastes changed, judges changed, whatever. Waters has carved out a name for herself in English historical fiction and this is her take on a gothic novel set in the late 1940s in rural Warwickshire; while it has some horror overtones, I would not call this a horror novel my any means, despite the blurb by (you guessed it) Stephen King on the cover.
The story centers on Hundreds Hall, a once lovely mansion of the Ayres family, but now falling into decrepitude. Due to changing economic fortunes among other things, the once proud, blue-blooded aristocrats in England are falling by the wayside one by one. The Ayres family once owned lots of land, had farms, raised dairy cows, horse stables, etc., all centered around the early 18th century Hundreds Hall. Today, the Ayres family is down to three people-- the matriarch and her two surviving children, Rod, who was badly injured in the war, and her eldest daughter Caroline, a spinster in her late 20s.
Our main protagonist, Dr. Faraday, is a local lad; in fact, his mum once worked at the Ayres house as a nursemaid. Nonetheless, his parents scraped, saved and borrowed to send him to medical school and he returned as a country GP to his roots. As chance may have it, one day he gets a call to the Ayres house and thus begins his complicated relationship with the three Ayres clan members, plus their live-in maid and part-time daily maid. To say the Ayres have fallen on hard times would be an understatement; the mansion is falling apart, they have sold off lots of land and personal belongings, furniture, art and so forth and are barely squeaking by.
The Ayres are not alone; several of the 'great houses' in the locality have folded, being sold off and/or liquidated, and it looks like Hundreds Hall is going to follow suit fairly soon. Nonetheless, the Ayres have been giving it a go, as they still have a working dairy farm and croplands that provide their income. A big part of this novel revolves around class dynamics and Waters works pretty hard for the read to sympathize with the Ayres, but this is merely a backdrop to the actual story. Dr. Faraday befriends the Ayres, despite his 'low' origins, and gradually falls for Caroline; a true gothic novel has to have a romance after all!
The 'twist' in this, e.g., what sets it apart from the plethora of historical romance novels out there, concerns the 'strangeness' at the Hall. Are the Ayres slowly going insane, perhaps by some 'taint', or is the house really haunted, and if so, by what and for what purpose? To say this is a slow burn does not due the term justice; this made Charles T. Grant's work look fast paced! The scares are few and the age old 'is the house haunted or are we going crazy' trope has been done to death. While I did enjoy the vivid imagery the novel evoked, and the tattered glory of the depictions of the once proud house, the class dynamics got old fast, and our Dr. Faraday came off as pretty much an asshole, whose stink grew worse as the story progressed. If you really dig gothic novels (I do have a soft spot for them) and/or historical fiction, you might dig this more than me. I might give Waters another try someday when I am in the mood, but not for awhile. 2.5 melancholy stars, rounding down for the denouement. ...more
The third installment of the L.A. Quartet continues to impress, although I thought Ellroy dragged this one out a bit too long. Dirty cops, sleazy poliThe third installment of the L.A. Quartet continues to impress, although I thought Ellroy dragged this one out a bit too long. Dirty cops, sleazy politicians, conspiracies, deep secrets, drugs, murder, mobsters-- Ellroy richly developed the ugly underground of L.A. in the 1950s here, and served up a taut, noir crime thriller that kept me guessing until the end. While Ellroy developed a rich cast of characters, the highlights for me were the three leads-- Ed Exley, Bud White and Jack Vincennes (the big V)-- and the story is largely told from their rotating POVs.
Ed, Bud and Jack are all cops on the LAPD, and all have a rather dark history that guides their motivations and desires. Ed, the up and comer, whose father and older brother served with distinction as LAPD cops, has a huge chip on his shoulder due to his family's reputation and for being maligned as 'too soft' to really cut it. Ed came back from WWII a hero, but that all depends on the 'right' story, and the need for justice (and to impress his old man) drives his actions. Bud's role on the LAPD warrants the term 'enforcer', as he is well known to get results more from his fists than careful police work. Jack, who also has some deep, sordid secrets, comes off as something of a glamor boy, with ties to a local rag that features smut and dirt, and also a consultant to a popular TV cop show based upon the LAPD.
We are introduced to the leading three at a Christmas party at a police station in what came to be known as 'Bloody Christmas'. Several 'Mexicans' were rounded up after a barroom brawl which featured two cops getting hurt and put in a holding pen; several cops, including our leading trio, were at the station, and after some booze, decided the Mexicans needed a little backdoor justice, and basically beat the guys into a pulp. Ed was in charge at the station, tried to stop the action, and was summarily locked into a closet by other cops. The end result-- Ed 'came clean' (sort of) and testified at a grand jury about what went down, leading to several cops getting axed and earning the enmity of most of the other cops for crossing the 'blue wall'. Bud especially hates Ed, as his partner took the brunt of the fallout and eventually went to jail (and later was executed for crimes upon his release)...
After the brilliant set up, Ellroy takes us on quite a journey here, as a crime case emerges that involves all three of our leads in some capacity; a case that features for the rest of the novel in some degree. The three leading cops are definitely memorable, all being various shades of gray. Ellroy can pace a thriller with the best of them and the twists and turns just kept coming! L.A. Confidential is dark, really dark, as there are no real heroes here, even though some of the leads have some redeeming qualities. The overall deep corruption in the police force, politicians, the D.A. etc. create a rather haunted picture of law and order to say the least. The ruthless stereotyping and pejorative racism/slang take some getting use to for modern sensibilities for sure.
My main quibbles concern the denouement, but I will not develop them here due to spoilers. It fits, but left me rather unsatisfied and dragged on about 50 pages too long. Well worth a read if you dig noir and crime fiction in general, and/or want a peak a the sordid underside of the city of angels. 4 dark stars!!...more
Nazis and vampires? I'm in! While this has a preface and postscript in the now (circa 1995), the bulk of this exists in Greenland circa 1944. The NaziNazis and vampires? I'm in! While this has a preface and postscript in the now (circa 1995), the bulk of this exists in Greenland circa 1944. The Nazis are desperate to establish a weather station in the Artic as that is key to the weather in Europe, but the allies work very hard to thwart this. In Darkness on the Ice, the Nazis did manage to set up a weather station in Greenland and the SS, along with Hitler, sent Wolff, a vampire, to protect it from the Americans, who had a base a few hundred miles down the coast.
Not sure if this was supposed to be scary, for it really wasn't, and Tilton did little to reinvent standard vampire tropes. Yet, the ice-cold setting and the cat and mouse hunting involved made it pretty gripping nonetheless. The Nazis at the base really do not take to Wolff, who comes posing as an SS officer in charge of security. The cold just does not seem to bother him, and he never seems to eat or sleep; Greenland, when he landed there, was just beginning its long winter night after all! So, we have the Americans seeking the German base with dogsled teams and a lone vampire out to stop them (and feed).
I liked the atmosphere and that was perhaps the most redeeming part of this little tale. I was actually rooting for the vampire although I think I was supposed to root for the Americans ...more
Classic historical fiction/thriller set in WWI Europe for the most part, Daddy features a cast of memorable characters and action scenes, mixed in witClassic historical fiction/thriller set in WWI Europe for the most part, Daddy features a cast of memorable characters and action scenes, mixed in with high finance. Starting in 1942 Daddy centers on little Thomas, a brilliant 11 year old boy, the great grandson of a financier in France. His grandfather in the 30s helped Jews and others move money out of Nazi Germany until he was picked up by the Gestapo; they really wanted to get their hands on the millions he helped spirit out of the nation. Using a series of secret codes and numbered bank accounts, the transactions were untraceable, unless you had the codes and old Gall took those to the grave. Nonetheless, he did pass them along to his granddaughter, who started laying low in France circa 1935.
The granddaughter, however, gave birth to our boy protagonist and he memorized the secret codes 'just in case'. Well, the Nazis figured out his relatives had the codes, but how to track them down and coerce out the secret? A former philosophy professor (who the boy calls Yellow Eyes) in Germany was tasked by the Nazis to do just that. Durand utilizes the metaphor of chess extensively here, as the 'game' between the predator and prey quickly becomes strategic. The boy Thomas has the help of some Spanish 'friends' of his mother to protect him and this quickly becomes a cat and mouse game...
What makes Daddy stand out revolves around the deep characters developed. The boy, Thomas, loves his mother ('Her'), but she is busy with machinations in Spain (civil war) and he is largely raised by his 'grandparents'. She is playing a very long game, however, and has all sorts of contingency plans if the Nazis start trying to track her or her son down. The Nazi hunter, Yellow Eyes, is, however, quite a foe, and has a small army of helpers to aid his quest. Durand beautifully builds one tense scene after another. Another feature of this involves high finance, and Durand seems to take some glee in illustrating how American financiers helped propel Hitler to power and were making a killing during the war, playing both sides of the fence if you will. Finally, we have the boy's father, a relatively clueless American guy born into a very wealthy financial family; it seems She and him had a fling in the 20s with the boy being one result. When things start heating up, she sends him a letter, telling him about their son and asking for help...
Thrillers tend not to age well, except when set in historical periods like Daddy. Durand deftly depicts the war. Old Yellow Eyes is also a great character, with lots of shades of grey, and really not devoted to much at all. He enjoys the game of hunting the boy and matching wits, but possesses no real allegiance to Nazis. All in all, a fast paced romp, with lots of cloak and dagger. The pacing became a bit erratic at times, and the Spaniard bodyguards of the boy were a bit larger than life, which is the only reason I did not round this to five stars. Well worth a read if you like fiction set in WWII Europe or just a fan of thrillers in general. 4.5 big daddy stars!! ...more
As usual, I am late to this party, and never saw the film of the same name. Whether or not this is a true story (autobiographical) for me is neither hAs usual, I am late to this party, and never saw the film of the same name. Whether or not this is a true story (autobiographical) for me is neither here nor there. Sleepers tells the tale of four boys in the mid sixties living in Hell's Kitchen, but really, the main character is Hell's Kitchen itself. Like most folks in Hell's Kitchen, the boys all come from working class homes, and working often entails a walk over the legal line. Nonetheless, the 'rule' on the streets is basically keep you petty crime away from locals in Hell's Kitchen, or else.
The adventures of the four boys was pretty heartfelt for sure and their little 'gang' of BFFs became a fixture in the Kitchen. Collecting baseball cards, comics, talking sports; boys will be boys. One summer, however, they went a little too far and ended up in Juvie. I will not go into the details here, but life in Juvie (so-called Wilkinson Home for Boys) was pure hell, with violent, sexually abusive guards running riot. Yet, it takes some time (about midway) before Carcaterra gets there, with the first half narrating the various escapades of the boys and such. Needless to say, the stay at Wilkinson fundamentally shaped the lives of the boys involved.
Carcaterra's workmanlike prose carries the story nicely (if you could call this a nice story) and yes, the prison bit is shocking in its brutality. The over all story, however, is really about growing up in Hell's Kitchen and how it shaped the lives and dreams of the boys. I did not expect to like this as much as I did; nostalgic coming of age novels are not really my bag at all. This was grim enough, however, to keep me going. 3.5 stars, rounding up!! ...more
Very atmospheric read by Hallahan, set (largely) in a brutally cold Brooklyn winter; the iciness, along with the creepy story, helped to sendWhoosh...
Very atmospheric read by Hallahan, set (largely) in a brutally cold Brooklyn winter; the iciness, along with the creepy story, helped to send a shivers down my spine. This one took a little bit to get into, than I was enthralled, but the denouement? Meh. I understand now why the ratings of this 'classic' are a little mixed.
The story opens with rotating POVs of several people in an apartment building in Brooklyn. Although the building has some historic value, it, along with several surrounding blocks, is being 'redeveloped', which means at first torn down. I loved how the narrative paced along side the destruction of the buildings surrounding the building! The ice cold wind blowing brick dust and snow really set the tone of the story. Basically, the people in the building have to move pretty soon as it too will be demolished. After introducing the tenants, we go to a party one of them hosts-- a last hurrah before they all move.
Hallahan introduces another story arc shortly thereafter. A man named Willow arrives in NYC from London and starts doing some digging into the genealogy of a man named (you guessed it) Joseph Tully. Somehow these two story arcs will cross, but why constitutes the key mystery, but not a very complicated one: you know one of the tenants must be a descendent of Tully, who lived in the 18th century. I really enjoyed the historical and genealogical aspects, with Willow searching all kinds of records and giving historical context to the people he finds. For me, this was the highlight of the text.
Whoosh...
The plot, however, is pretty simplistic and the denouement not very satisfying to say the least. Definite 5 stars for the atmosphere, the genealogy parts rocked, but the overall story? Just ok. 3 stars!!...more
I can see why Talbot exploded into the horror scene with his first novel, The Delicate Dependency, as it ranks up there with the best vampire tales. TI can see why Talbot exploded into the horror scene with his first novel, The Delicate Dependency, as it ranks up there with the best vampire tales. The 80s had a slew of vampire novels that rewrote the genre, such as Carrion Comfort and They Thirst before the 'urban fantasy' craze took over. Talbot's contribution here also stands out from the pack and gives another unique twist to this trope.
Set in the late 19th century, our main protagonist is a budding virologist living in London named Dr. John Gladstone; he is obsessed with finding a cure/prevention for the flu, which took his wife way too soon. While this starts off rather slowly (and indeed, the pacing is the only thing that made me round down 4.5 stars to 4), introducing Gladstone and, his remaining family (two daughters) and colleagues; Talbot also gives us a brief history of Gladstone from childhood to his present maturity. Things start to kick off when a man falls in front of his carriage one day, which badly breaks both of his legs. Gladstone takes him to his hospital and patches him up, but there is something really odd about the guy, named Niccolo.
Niccolo refuses food and water, and insists on having the windows in his room boarded over while he stays there. After a week or so, the other doctors and nurses have had just about enough of Niccolo and Gladstone is amazed that his wounds have almost healed in any case. After helping him to sneak out of the hospital, Gladstone takes Niccolo to live in his mansion. Shortly after that, Niccolo reveals that he is a vampire.
What is unique about Talbot's vampire really makes the novel. Vampires here are not the blood thirsty parasites offing humans right and left, but long lived beings that have continued to evolve, mentally and physically. Niccolo is 'only' 400 years old or so; a young vampire compared to the rest we meet later on. Most of the vampires here are scholars of a sort, using their long lives to continue their projects in all kinds of scientific fields. Vampires permeated/permeate Europe and indeed, even ancient societies, as scholars, bards, even having one serve as the Pope around 1000 C.E. Monasteries were often full of vampires!
After introducing the vampire via Niccolo, the story really starts to move, especially when Niccolo and someone else (another vampire) kidnap Gladstone's 'idiot savant' daughter (she plays piano). Gladstone, with some help from a woman named Hespeth, track the vampires to Paris and set off to rescue her. Then things get really crazy...
If you are expecting blood and gore, this will not be the book for you. Rather, Talbot gives us a slow burn here, with vampires acting in a way as custodians of society, influencing society from the highest levels (vampires constituted the original illuminati for example), but I will stop to avoid spoilers. Talbot also takes us on a tour of history along the way, dropping hints and more of the role vampires have played in Europe and beyond. He also gives us a slam bang denouement that I did not expect. Highly recommended for any vampire fan. 4.5 fangs!...more
Remember when 42nd street was the heart and soul of the rotten big apple? Fassel does, or at least he did his homework here, and brings it to life warRemember when 42nd street was the heart and soul of the rotten big apple? Fassel does, or at least he did his homework here, and brings it to life warts and all. Our Lady of the Inferno takes place over nine days in 1983 with two story arcs that you know will come to a head sooner or later (even if you did not read the backflap!). Ginny Kurva, age 21, is the 'bottom whore' whose stable works on 42nd street; she has been 'working' for the last three years and doing what she can to take care of her crippled younger sister (aged 17). Alongside Ginny's trials and tribulations, Fassel shifts back and forth to Nicolette Aster, who works at the Staten Island landfill. Nicolette is bat shit crazy.
Ginny is obviously getting burned out of working the streets, but tries to hang in there for the sake of her sister. We know something happened to bring the two sisters to NYC, but Fassel holds back on that until the end; what we do know is Ginny keeps a lid on the stable to please her pimp, the 'Colonel', and pleases him in other ways on demand. Ginny is basically the 'den mother' to the other women in the stable, trying to give them hope and education while keeping them safe (she is a bit of a bad ass). Nicolette, on the other hand, lives in her own little world, largely imaginary, but with 'real world' consequences when her gods demand tribute; human tribute.
I loved the movie references which played a large role here, as Ginny spends most of her down time at the grindhouse theaters around 42nd street. Remember Flashdance? It always makes Ginny cry at the end. I loved Ginny, although her dropping 'sweetie' almost every other word got old, as did, like, the 'valley speak'. Nicolette fascinated in a different way. Not just a sociopath, she cannot even remember her co-workers names; they are all 'Someones'. She rotated in and out of institutions for years until she turned 21 and likes working at the landfill as she can be alone there, doing paperwork and puzzles. In her imaginary world, however, she is a goddess, powering through life with aplomb.
I also loved how Fassel built the tension and suspense, and that is really saying something as you know the two leads will clash at the end. He also paced this extremely well and rounded it out with flesh and blood characters. This reminded me of Iceberg Slim's Pimp: The Story of My Life, which explicated his own autobiographical stint as a pimp in Chicago in the way he portrayed Ginny and the gals. Serious page turner that brought back a lot of nostalgia; I was a teenager in the 80s and Fassel nailed the music, movies and other cultural aspects of the era perfectly. 4.5 tense stars, rounding up!...more
This was my first work by Flynn, and while I really enjoyed parts of this, there were other parts that dragged. First off, Flynn really tackled a doozThis was my first work by Flynn, and while I really enjoyed parts of this, there were other parts that dragged. First off, Flynn really tackled a doozy issue here-- aliens landing on earth in the 14th century, square in feudal Europe (what is now Germany). Flynn juxtaposes two time lines throughout the novel-- 'now' and feudal times, around the time of the Black Death. While I really enjoyed the feudal era and characters, the 'now' part I found wanting.
The now features a couple; one a historian and the other a physicist. They are an odd couple to be sure, always pursuing their own research and hardly seem liked a couple at all. The historian, Tom, is trying to figure out why a part of Germany was never repopulated after the Black Death; according to his statistical models, a new town should have emerged there. Meanwhile, Sharon is deep into the cosmos, trying to (basically) theorize a new understanding of the universe.
The aliens are intriguing, but basically almost a 'Star Wars' type-- hominid, but called 'grasshoppers' due to their long legs and chitin, but basically 'human' regarding their motivations and so forth. When their ship crashed landed, they first hid out, but were eventually discovered. Some people in the nearest town thought them to be demons (of course!), but the local priest was more accommodating, seeing them as stranded travelers. The interactions among them and the town folk was fun, as was the attempts to explain science terms to feudal era people. I thought the town folk to be remarkably 'advanced', especially the priest; they seemed almost modern rather than tradition bound peasants.
As the tale from Germany goes on, we keep flipping back to 'now' and Tom and Sharon's musings. This part of the novel could have been cut completely, but it does play a role later in the story. As much as I enjoyed the aliens and Germanic people, the now part was always a bummer to get back to. Tom and Sharon's obsessions just grew old rather fast. Overall, a really novel story to be sure, but not sure one I would recommend outside of people interested in historical fiction. 3 alien stars!...more
This one is difficult to rate, but if you liked The Godfather, you will probably like this one, and in any case, need to read it first to get the backThis one is difficult to rate, but if you liked The Godfather, you will probably like this one, and in any case, need to read it first to get the backstory. Puzo splits the narrative here into two related story arcs. The first concerns Michael Corleone, about to return to America after his two year exile in Sicily as chronicled in The Godfather, where he is tasked by his father to pick up and return with a Sicilian 'bandit' named Guiliano. The second arc, the much larger one, chronicles Guiliano's rise from poor peasant farmer in 1943 to the most well known 'bandit' in Sicily.
First and foremost, I read this and it predecessor as an anthropological study as Puzo takes us deep into the culture of Sicily. Some may be turned off on this; Sicily is heavily patriarchal to say the least with very strict gender norms. Yet, Puzo develops the culture in many layers, moving from the outmost surface to inner core values. This is the part I liked the most. The story line itself? Good but not exceptional.
Guiliano starts this in 1943 when he, like most 'honest' Sicilians, was smuggling food to get around the war time restrictions, which mandated that all farmers sell their output to the government, who would then distribute it. The problem was the government paid the farmers in local script which was becoming worthless and then the mafia controlled the distribution, charging 50 times what the farmers were paid. So, everyone participates in the black market just to survive. In Guiliano's case, he was caught by the police with the cheese and about to be arrested when the shooting started, leaving him sorely wounded and a cop dead. Unfortunately, Guiliano left his id papers at the scene.
Hence, Guiliano had to flee to the mountains, which he did with his best buddy, and they began their life of banditry. Unlike most bandits, however, Guiliano was something of a Robinhood, only robbing, kidnapping, etc. the rich and distributing half of the take to the poor peasants. This earned him and his band undying gratitude of the poor, but as you might imagine, not the rich. Also, the mob, personified by Don Croce, the leading 'family of friends' on the island (a loose coalition of mob 'families), were not happy, as many of the rich had paid 'protection' to them were kidnapped, etc. Further, since the food distribution was controlled by the mob, Guiliano's raids were taking food from the mob's mouth so to speak.
Yet, the mob could not really disown Guiliano as he has family and friends who are 'connected'. Puzo explores the amazingly complex entanglement of the mafia in 'Rome' (e.g., legit government) as they would both love to take Guiliano down, but fear the repercussions as he is loved by the people of Sicily. Can the mob kill a hero who is feeding the poor, who the Mafia supposedly protect while they take money from the rich? The codes of honor and treachery also haunt the story, giving more insights into Sicilian culture.
I can see while people love this, but also the obverse. If you are not into a deep cultural dive, or are 'repulsed' by the culture, you will toss this across the room. If you dig this type of stuff, you will probably find it fascinating. The action? It is there in fits and starts, but more to highlight the cultural dynamics than anything else. 3.5 mobsters, rounding up!...more
I am not really into gothic horror/romance, but The Unforgiving is a fine novel, and if you are into this genre, well worth a look. Although there is I am not really into gothic horror/romance, but The Unforgiving is a fine novel, and if you are into this genre, well worth a look. Although there is a brief prologue and epilogue set in 1978, the bulk of the novel is set in 1881-2; the connection is a monstrosity of a mansion in Connecticut build by the Van Dorne family (quickly dubbed the 'Van Dorne castle').
The current patriarch of the estate, one Geoffrey Van Dorne, inherited the gloomy pile and this starts off with him taking a new wife, Anna, our main protagonist, to live there after their honeymoon in Europe. Geoffrey is a widower and has two children, a boy of 16 or so and an older sister of 19. Anna herself is half the age of Geoffrey, who is about 40, and her interactions with her step-children is fraught with tension and resentment on behalf of the kids. Our other lead, Morgan, is a painter who starts the tale working in Pittsburgh, mainly doing portraits of society matrons. Morgan and Geoffrey meet on the streets of the Burgh when Morgan assists the run away horse carriage containing Geoffrey. Morgan, of noble English extraction, worked with horses as a lad and Geoffrey offers him a position as the head groom of his estate.
We have romantic tension right off the bat, and Morgan falls for Anna (and vice versa), but of course, their roles and pride prohibit a potential affair. Meanwhile, Anna keeps having strange dreams, seemingly living the life of a small boy who lived at the estate years past. The dreams are so real! Is she being haunted?
Zumwalt's prose is polished and I really liked the historical references throughout the novel; she definitely did her homework! I could do less with the long descriptions of outfits, but so be it. I found this pretty enthralling once it got underway and Zumwalt paced it well. Not really scary, but it does have its spooky moments for sure. 3 ghostly stars! ...more
A fun, engaging and ultimately creepy read by Nugent, The Brass Halo is one of those 80s horror novels that really stands out of the pack. Our lead, RA fun, engaging and ultimately creepy read by Nugent, The Brass Halo is one of those 80s horror novels that really stands out of the pack. Our lead, Richard Talisman, opens this with an introduction, explaining why this story will be put into a vault for 50 years-- to protect the reputations of those involved. What follows are the events one summer as told by our somewhat unreliable narrator Richard.
Set in 1932, Richard works as a private investigator, although the agency started off as a mob front in 1926. Richard was a cop in Boston, but one day met 'Joey Happy' at a wedding, the leading mobster in Boston, and they took a liking to one another. Deciding that the payola working for the mob was much better than being a flat foot, Richard became a friend and employee of Joey. When the story starts, the detective agency is legit as Joey 'retired' a while back.
Joey calls Richard up out of the blue and 'asks' him to come to his new house on Cape Cod, for some strange things are going on. The strange things involve foul smells, poltergeist like activity and more. Richard, being the hard-headed (if not quite hard boiled) detective/former cop, concludes someone is causing the fuss to get Joey to move out. Yet, it slowly unfolds that Richard has some type of psychic gift, even if he does not want to acknowledge it. What the investigation ultimately turns up is out of this world!
No more on the plot to avoid spoilers. Richard is a fun character and reading the story unfold became totally engrossing. The Brass Halo brings in some classic horror tropes; besides Richard's gift (gotta have some psychic stuff in the 70s/80s!), Nugent gives us a super accounting of just about every fringe 'black magic cult' of the late 19th century, as the former owner of the house was involved in them all. I did have a few quibbles (view spoiler)[getting frightened so bad your hair turns white, even a cat? (hide spoiler)] but overall, a great read. 4.5 spooky stars! ...more
Masterton wrote many horror novels, all with widely different story arcs, never falling into formulaic tales. Spirit nonetheless constitutes somethingMasterton wrote many horror novels, all with widely different story arcs, never falling into formulaic tales. Spirit nonetheless constitutes something very different, even for him. Perhaps the best way to introduce Spirit is as a mashup of a ghost story and Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. Further, you could call this historical fiction as it starts in 1940 and finishes up in the early 1950s.
Our main protagonist, Lizzie, starts the novel playing with her two younger sisters (Lizzie is 10 yo) in the yard of their rambling old house in Connecticut one winter morning. The youngest sister, Peggy, seems to the it in a hind and seek game, but the two other sisters cannot find her. After some time, she is discovered drowned, beneath the ice in the swimming pool behind the house. Needless to day, the girls are devastated as are the parents. In fact, Lizzie's rather fragile mother soon becomes institutionalized and her father a shadow of his former self.
Flash forward a few years and once again we follow Lizzie and Laura (the other sister) in their exploits around the small town. Lizzie keeps seeing a girl dressed in white around town and is sure that she is little Peggy, albeit an older Peggy, and keeps hearing her speak phrases from The Snow Queen, but she always is just out of reach. In the middle of June that year, the town priest, who had been molesting several children in town, was found nearly dead of severe frostbite and dies shortly thereafter. How could a man die of frostbite in the middle of June? The mystery deepens...
I have never read The Snow Queen but Masterton gives us the tale in fits and starts as the story progresses. As the years slowly pass, more odd deaths occur, where people known to the sisters die in bizarre ways-- frozen so completely they fall to pieces or explode. What is causing the deaths? Is the little girl in while really Peggy, returned from the dead? If so, what does she want?
Overall, not a bad read, but rather long winded and this could be classified as slow horror. I like Masterton, but if he dropped the depictions of the cloths people wore, etc., this would lose 50 pages. Entertaining, but as it wore on, I found it harder to suspend my sense of disbelief, which is essential for a good ghost story. Further, the ending, especially after such a long build up, was rather anticlimactic. Still, not a bad tale, but Masterton has done better. 2.5 ghostly starts, rounding up for the foo!...more
Make no mistake, Cornwell can tell a story. I have read several of his novels now, but this is my first foray into his Saxon Stories, which I believe Make no mistake, Cornwell can tell a story. I have read several of his novels now, but this is my first foray into his Saxon Stories, which I believe have now been turned into some epic TV series. The Last Kingdom features Uhtred, a fictional Englishman, who was captured by the Danes when he was 10 or so. The setting is the Danish invasion of what is now England circa 866, when over a space of just a few years, three of the four 'kingdoms' of England were conquered, leaving only Wessex and its King Alfred free from Danish rule.
Cornwell presents the Danes with a sympathetic lens; their homeland is hardscrabble as can be and the English soils are rich. With their longboats, they had been raiding the English, and already have a toehold in (now) Ireland, but want the big prize-- England itself. Uhtred narrates the story, although it is questionable how reliable he is. After being captured, he became something of an honorary Dane, with Ragnar, a Dane leader, basically adopting him. Uhtred is enchanted by the Danes and their gods, in contrast to the stuffy, weak Christian god and his rambling priests. Uhtred learns how to fight under Dane guidance and becomes a warrior. Yet, he is also conflicted: where do his loyalties lie? While he loves and respects the Danes, family ties and honor lead him eventually over to the English side, to King Alfred, who he neither likes nor respects.
What Cornwell does so well here is bring history to life. In his afterword, he notes that while some scenes were 'invented', he did try to use source materials (however scanty and unreliable) to keep the tale true, or at least true enough. The politics are all so believable, as are the (at times) larger than life characters that populate the pages. While an epic tale, humanity, faults and all, really push the story along. Well paced with lots of action, I can see why this was a hit! 4 stars!!...more
Strange, intriguing and graced with poetic prose, The Golden effortlessly transcends genres to create a unique reading experience. After the first fewStrange, intriguing and graced with poetic prose, The Golden effortlessly transcends genres to create a unique reading experience. After the first few pages, I expected a vampire tale, but this quickly blended fantasy, gothic and noir and ultimately became more of an existentialist tale than anything else. That stated, I get the feeling that people will take strong opinions of this one way or another.
Our main protagonist, Michel Beheim, is a recent 'convert' to the Family, having been 'turned' only a few years ago. In his prior life, Beheim had risen at a young age to become the chief of detectives in Paris circa "186-" (loved the gothic 'hat tip' so early on). The Golden begins with a grand convocation of the extended Family. The occasion? The 'decanting' of The Golden-- a human child breed for 20 generations for her exquisite blood. Factions and rifts constitute Family life, however, and soon Beheim will start peeling away the the outer layers of these divisions like an onion, only to discover deeper questions of the human condition, or should I say the undead condition, that overshadow the crime altogether.
Shortly after the novel opens, The Golden is found slaughtered atop one of the castle's towers. Beheim's mentor (and the one who turned him) manages to get him appointed (by the Patriarch no less) to solve the crime. He faces many constrains, with time being a huge factor as the Family will start to disperse in only a few days. Further, while he may have the Patriarch's 'blessing' to solve the 'affront' (crime would be the wrong word here), Beheim is still a young vampire, just coming into his powers, while his 'cousins' have had decades and centuries to polish their arts; lets just say he will face some pretty hostile suspects!
Not content with a stylish, sensual novel of vampire noir, Shephard creates a marvelous castle where this takes place. Built in the 13th century by some mad Hungarian architect, the castle is a massive edifice, standing a mile tall, filled with whimsical follies, massive caverns, strange passages (hidden or not), bizarre rooms and even strange creatures living in the depths.
Beheim has very few clues but soon a 'cousin' offers her assistance, but how far can he trust her? He knows he is playing in some larger game, one that his 'cousins' have been playing for centuries, and Beheim does not even know the rules!
Brace yourself for this one! Shephard gives us lots of twists and turns, some bizarre 'Mysteries' his cousins, and indeed, the very Patriarch flirt with, strange but beautiful depictions of a fantasy castle like no other, this really is a flight of imagination. I really enjoyed this one, but at times I got bogged down a little with the prose, so I will round this 4.5 star read down to 4. I may have to check out some of Shepherd's other work; I have only read is Life During Wartime and that was at least a few decades ago....more
One of the best unreliable narrator tales I have read in some time, The Grotesque is told by Sir Hugo Coal, the head of an old, fading estate in the EOne of the best unreliable narrator tales I have read in some time, The Grotesque is told by Sir Hugo Coal, the head of an old, fading estate in the English countryside circa 1949. The Coal estate now consists of the leakly manor house, a few outbuildings and a pig farm. In some ways, The Grotesque parables the decline of the English aristocracy post WWII. Hugo is 'old school' for sure, and to keep up the 'proprieties', they still have a handful of servants. Hugo entertains himself as a gentleman naturalist, with an interest in paleontology; in particular, some old dinosaur bones he dug up in Africa in the 20s.
From the first few pages, we know Sir Hugo is confined to a wheelchair, unable to move or even speak due to some sort of brain damage (a stroke of some kind we later figure out). The tale begins about six months before the tragedy struck him down, and continues roughly six months after it. The heart of the story concerns the new butler and cook Sir Hugo's wife hired after their last butler passed away. Sir Hugo outright states that the new butler, Fledge, has his little devious heart set upon taking over the estate, but alas, he lacks empirical proof to that claim; his case is built upon small innuendos and later, hypothetical musings due to his 'grotesque' new self after returning from the hospital after his stroke.
McGrath also tosses in a mystery, the murder of the fiancée of Sir Hugo's daughter while he was at the Coal estate courting her. It seems one evening the fiancée took a bicycle to the nearest village to mail a letter to his mother in London and never returned. Did he just run off or was he killed? If he was killed, why? This becomes the central mystery that underpins Sir Hugo's ruminations.
Despite being unreliable, you almost have to pull for old Sir Hugo, the pompous, haughty lord of the manor. He knows he has been a terrible husband and indifferent father to his two children, insists on maintaining aristocratic 'proprieties' despite how much he loathes them, and basically is a misanthrope writ large. The manor house is crumbling, the roof leaks, the plumbing is falling apart, but you must still dress for dinner!
All in all, a charming read that will leave you guessing in the end. McGrath's prose flows nicely and the humor, while often dark, animates the pages. Nice peace of literary fiction that could also be classified as historical fiction. As a parable for the decline of the 'landed elites', it also works well. Strong, well developed characters and lots of sublity make for an engaging read. 4.5 grotesque stars!!...more
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