Ronald Rabbit is a Dirty Old Man
by Lawrence Block
(5/5 Stars)
This is a good read for fans of "50 Shades of Grey." If you thought
that book was groundbreaking, Block's novel came out in 1971. Do the
math there. It's a huge departure from the crime novels of Block's I've
read recently like "The Girl with the Long Green Heart," "Grifter's
Game," and "Hit Man."
The story takes place through a series of
letters, most written by one Laurence Clarke. On the same day
Laurence's wife leaves him for his best friend, his bosses at his
publisher finally figure out he's been "stowing away" in their company
for the better part of a year, doing nothing but reading in his office
all that time. It's like in "Office Space" where he was supposed to be
fired but no one got around to telling him, so he just kept coming in
and getting paid.
These devastating events turn out to be
Laurence's liberation. While on a bender he meets a group of teenage
girls who've snuck out of their Catholic school. What they end up doing
would break a number of laws. Eventually he finds a new woman and woos
her with some kinky sex. His greatest triumphs are at the end when he
manages to play matchmaker for his ex-wives and best friend and in the
process solve several dilemmas at once.
If you're prudish or
squeamish it's easy to hate this novel. It's pretty graphic and
descriptive about things like anal and oral sex. At the same time,
Laurence is so delightfully cunning and "evil" that I enjoyed rooting
for the "bad guy." And hey, if your sex life is lacking, there might be
some good tips in there.
That is all.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Passion Blue
Passion Blue
by Victoria Strauss
(3/5 stars)
I think the biggest problem with this book is that the author sets up a no-win scenario. Our main character can either give up all semblance of a "normal" life to stay in the convent where she can at least paint or she can give up painting to have a "normal" life with a guy we soon realize is a jerk. So when it gets to the end, neither option could really have been satisfying.
Which didn't bother me extremely much because she doesn't really deserve a happy ending. This is someone so dumb she spends her life savings to buy a "magic" talisman she thinks is guaranteed to find her a man to take care of her. And then even when it should be obvious the guy is a jerk, she still convinces herself he's not right up until the end.
As for the convent it seems more like summer camp or boarding school than an actual convent. The end also takes too long after we get to the foregone unsatisfying conclusion.
Overall it was competent but unsatisfying.
That is all.
by Victoria Strauss
(3/5 stars)
I think the biggest problem with this book is that the author sets up a no-win scenario. Our main character can either give up all semblance of a "normal" life to stay in the convent where she can at least paint or she can give up painting to have a "normal" life with a guy we soon realize is a jerk. So when it gets to the end, neither option could really have been satisfying.
Which didn't bother me extremely much because she doesn't really deserve a happy ending. This is someone so dumb she spends her life savings to buy a "magic" talisman she thinks is guaranteed to find her a man to take care of her. And then even when it should be obvious the guy is a jerk, she still convinces herself he's not right up until the end.
As for the convent it seems more like summer camp or boarding school than an actual convent. The end also takes too long after we get to the foregone unsatisfying conclusion.
Overall it was competent but unsatisfying.
That is all.
Toons Pt 1 - Bad Toon Rising
Toons Pt 1 - Bad Toon Rising
by Nigel Mitchell
(5/5 stars)
This is a hilarious spoof of Looney Tunes and other cartoons that's perfect for fans of those or Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I'm anxious to find out who the Masked Executive is and just how Krafty Wolf can stop him--if he can.
That is all.
by Nigel Mitchell
(5/5 stars)
This is a hilarious spoof of Looney Tunes and other cartoons that's perfect for fans of those or Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I'm anxious to find out who the Masked Executive is and just how Krafty Wolf can stop him--if he can.
That is all.
Cypress Lake
Cypress Lake
by Joe Basara
(4/5 stars)
I had this book on my To Read list for a while on Goodreads thanks to Ethan Cooper's marvelous review. Finally I decimated the virtual To Be Read pile on my Kindle enough that I decided to buy this. In part because it's less than a dollar and most big publisher books are eight to twelve times that much. I can at least say I got my dollar's worth.
Since the author likes to reference old TV shows, I find it appropriate to reference an old TV show, in this case "Scrubs" which ended only a couple years ago, so it isn't that old. Like that show this book takes place largely in a hospital and features a twentysomething main character who likes to daydream a lot and lust after his coworkers. Only Basara's book is a lot less wacky and sadly does not feature anyone as hilariously grumpy as Dr. Cox.
Though since this book takes place in 1977 a M*A*S*H reference might have been more appropriate. Actually I think that's one series the author doesn't manage to directly reference in the book. Anyway, Owen Cloud moves back to his old stomping grounds in rural Florida to work as an orderly at a hospital. He almost right away falls head over heels for one of his coworkers, but eventually moves on to another and then to what I'd call the "consolation prize" girl, the one who's been there all along but only at the end does Owen realize is available. (This is incidentally a trope I've used a number of times. Like this book for example: Virgin Territory)
Along the way Owen spends a lot of time daydreaming and philosophizing. The almost constant bombardment of literary quotes and TV/song references from the 50s-70s become irritating after a little while. They give the narrative an ADHD feel, as if the author can't focus on one scene so he keeps jumping from one tangent to another.
If you look past those there's a well-written book about small town life, coming of age, and finding love. Since it's apparently a debut effort it's not bad. If a little more focus were devoted to developing the story and characters and less to quotes and references, it would have the gritty small-town feel of a Richard Russo novel like Empire Falls.
Still for a buck you can do a lot worse.
That is all.
by Joe Basara
(4/5 stars)
I had this book on my To Read list for a while on Goodreads thanks to Ethan Cooper's marvelous review. Finally I decimated the virtual To Be Read pile on my Kindle enough that I decided to buy this. In part because it's less than a dollar and most big publisher books are eight to twelve times that much. I can at least say I got my dollar's worth.
Since the author likes to reference old TV shows, I find it appropriate to reference an old TV show, in this case "Scrubs" which ended only a couple years ago, so it isn't that old. Like that show this book takes place largely in a hospital and features a twentysomething main character who likes to daydream a lot and lust after his coworkers. Only Basara's book is a lot less wacky and sadly does not feature anyone as hilariously grumpy as Dr. Cox.
Though since this book takes place in 1977 a M*A*S*H reference might have been more appropriate. Actually I think that's one series the author doesn't manage to directly reference in the book. Anyway, Owen Cloud moves back to his old stomping grounds in rural Florida to work as an orderly at a hospital. He almost right away falls head over heels for one of his coworkers, but eventually moves on to another and then to what I'd call the "consolation prize" girl, the one who's been there all along but only at the end does Owen realize is available. (This is incidentally a trope I've used a number of times. Like this book for example: Virgin Territory)
Along the way Owen spends a lot of time daydreaming and philosophizing. The almost constant bombardment of literary quotes and TV/song references from the 50s-70s become irritating after a little while. They give the narrative an ADHD feel, as if the author can't focus on one scene so he keeps jumping from one tangent to another.
If you look past those there's a well-written book about small town life, coming of age, and finding love. Since it's apparently a debut effort it's not bad. If a little more focus were devoted to developing the story and characters and less to quotes and references, it would have the gritty small-town feel of a Richard Russo novel like Empire Falls.
Still for a buck you can do a lot worse.
That is all.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Up So Down
Up So Down
by Briane Pagel
(5/5 stars)
I remember when I read "Breathing Lessons" by Anne Tyler what impressed me was that while the story didn't have much of a PLOT--a couple is on their way to a funeral--the author captured the normalcy of their lives so brilliantly that I was never bored with it. That's something Briane Pagel does so well in his previous book "The After" and in his latest "Up So Down." While the book doesn't have much of a PLOT, the author does such a great job to create real characters that it's still a great read.
The story focuses on two siblings. Sarah is a nurse in Madison, Wisconsin, whose fiance Peyton drowned before they could get marry. Her brother Dylan, aka Bumpy, has recently moved to Las Vegas where he starts a shop to sell photographs of the Vegas scenery while he works on a pilot for a television series.
That's really all there is to it. The rest of the book is more or less getting to know these characters and their histories. The book is told in a seemingly random fashion that jumps around over the course of a year or so to add pieces to the great big jigsaw puzzle that is the story. Although at the end it feels like there are still a couple of pieces missing to the puzzle. Maybe that will get resolved in a sequel. I hope so.
That is all.
by Briane Pagel
(5/5 stars)
I remember when I read "Breathing Lessons" by Anne Tyler what impressed me was that while the story didn't have much of a PLOT--a couple is on their way to a funeral--the author captured the normalcy of their lives so brilliantly that I was never bored with it. That's something Briane Pagel does so well in his previous book "The After" and in his latest "Up So Down." While the book doesn't have much of a PLOT, the author does such a great job to create real characters that it's still a great read.
The story focuses on two siblings. Sarah is a nurse in Madison, Wisconsin, whose fiance Peyton drowned before they could get marry. Her brother Dylan, aka Bumpy, has recently moved to Las Vegas where he starts a shop to sell photographs of the Vegas scenery while he works on a pilot for a television series.
That's really all there is to it. The rest of the book is more or less getting to know these characters and their histories. The book is told in a seemingly random fashion that jumps around over the course of a year or so to add pieces to the great big jigsaw puzzle that is the story. Although at the end it feels like there are still a couple of pieces missing to the puzzle. Maybe that will get resolved in a sequel. I hope so.
That is all.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Oculus
Oculus
by Michael Offutt
(5/5 stars)
While the author previous "Slipstream" was filled with a lot of wild stuff, "Oculus" is far more down to earth--probably because it takes place on Earth and not the parallel world of Avalon with all its far-out technology. This probably makes it more accessible for more casual readers than the first book.
Jordan Pendragon has returned with his twin sister Kathy from a stint in Avalon. He resumes his normal life at Cornell, where he majors in Physics and plays on the ice hockey team. At the same time he uses the supercollider at the school to study Antarctic ice samples in order to locate the "Black Tower" that holds the key to saving Avalon and Earth from the evil Shadow.
Then Jordan meets a young woman with a weird old stone called the oculus. A wacko religious group sort of like Opus Dei in "The da Vinci Code" also want the oculus, though for far different reasons. The battle for the oculus and its secrets ends up (appropriately enough) in Hell's Kitchen where Jordan and his boyfriend Kolin, his best friend Robbie, and his teammate Andy do battle against a bunch of demons who would be at home in a "Hellraiser" movie or one of the old Doom video games.
There might be a few too many eating, hockey, and snogging scenes for my taste, but overall the story is well-told. There aren't many mysteries wrapped up, just a few more pieces to the puzzle. As I said at the beginning, since this is mainly situated on Earth it's a little more approachable for more casual sci-fi readers than the first book; there are fewer alien concepts to grasp and far more familiar settings like upstate New York and New York City. Book 3 promises to be exciting as we get to learn more about Excalibur and Jordan's connection to it. So if you haven't already, you should definitely get into the series now.
That is all.
by Michael Offutt
(5/5 stars)
While the author previous "Slipstream" was filled with a lot of wild stuff, "Oculus" is far more down to earth--probably because it takes place on Earth and not the parallel world of Avalon with all its far-out technology. This probably makes it more accessible for more casual readers than the first book.
Jordan Pendragon has returned with his twin sister Kathy from a stint in Avalon. He resumes his normal life at Cornell, where he majors in Physics and plays on the ice hockey team. At the same time he uses the supercollider at the school to study Antarctic ice samples in order to locate the "Black Tower" that holds the key to saving Avalon and Earth from the evil Shadow.
Then Jordan meets a young woman with a weird old stone called the oculus. A wacko religious group sort of like Opus Dei in "The da Vinci Code" also want the oculus, though for far different reasons. The battle for the oculus and its secrets ends up (appropriately enough) in Hell's Kitchen where Jordan and his boyfriend Kolin, his best friend Robbie, and his teammate Andy do battle against a bunch of demons who would be at home in a "Hellraiser" movie or one of the old Doom video games.
There might be a few too many eating, hockey, and snogging scenes for my taste, but overall the story is well-told. There aren't many mysteries wrapped up, just a few more pieces to the puzzle. As I said at the beginning, since this is mainly situated on Earth it's a little more approachable for more casual sci-fi readers than the first book; there are fewer alien concepts to grasp and far more familiar settings like upstate New York and New York City. Book 3 promises to be exciting as we get to learn more about Excalibur and Jordan's connection to it. So if you haven't already, you should definitely get into the series now.
That is all.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Fridgularity
Fridgularity
by Mark Rayner
(4/5 stars)
I think I would have enjoyed this a little more if I hadn't been so busy the last few weeks I hardly had time to read it at all, which made it seem to take forever. My main criticism is that the book is on the long side, something I similarly felt recently when I read "John Dies At the End." It's my opinion that humorous books should stay under 300 pages or it starts to run too long, like one of those annoying SNL skits that keeps pounding the joke into the ground for 10 minutes until there's nothing funny left and you just get up to use the bathroom or something.
Anyway, the book is about a fridge that takes over the world. Well not really a fridge. It's an artificial intelligence that manifests itself through a web-enabled fridge in the kitchen of Blake Given, an Irish-Canadian web programmer who apparently is pretty well off to be able to afford a web-equipped fridge. One day the fridge starts talking to him and calling itself "Zathir". Zathir turns off the Internet while it works to increase its strength. Naturally there's a bit of a panic. Blake ends up pretty well off as Zathir's primarily link to humanity.
There's a lot of other stuff that happens but for a major cataclysm things stay pretty well-mannered. The ending felt a little abrupt especially after as long as it took to get there. I'd have liked a little more of an idea what exactly happens to Blake and the others at the end.
Still, if you've got the time for it, this is a fun read. It'll make you reconsider just how much time you should spend on the Internet--reading book reviews for instance.
That is all.
by Mark Rayner
(4/5 stars)
I think I would have enjoyed this a little more if I hadn't been so busy the last few weeks I hardly had time to read it at all, which made it seem to take forever. My main criticism is that the book is on the long side, something I similarly felt recently when I read "John Dies At the End." It's my opinion that humorous books should stay under 300 pages or it starts to run too long, like one of those annoying SNL skits that keeps pounding the joke into the ground for 10 minutes until there's nothing funny left and you just get up to use the bathroom or something.
Anyway, the book is about a fridge that takes over the world. Well not really a fridge. It's an artificial intelligence that manifests itself through a web-enabled fridge in the kitchen of Blake Given, an Irish-Canadian web programmer who apparently is pretty well off to be able to afford a web-equipped fridge. One day the fridge starts talking to him and calling itself "Zathir". Zathir turns off the Internet while it works to increase its strength. Naturally there's a bit of a panic. Blake ends up pretty well off as Zathir's primarily link to humanity.
There's a lot of other stuff that happens but for a major cataclysm things stay pretty well-mannered. The ending felt a little abrupt especially after as long as it took to get there. I'd have liked a little more of an idea what exactly happens to Blake and the others at the end.
Still, if you've got the time for it, this is a fun read. It'll make you reconsider just how much time you should spend on the Internet--reading book reviews for instance.
That is all.
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