Desperation

I think "Desperation" (690 pages) by Stephen King is what ultimately did it in for me as an an avid King fan back in the mid 1990's. Since I've been on a Stephen King kick of late, I thought I would close out my reading of his late 20th century works (at least for now) by revisiting "Desperation" a second time. From the dust jacket of the book:

"Nevada is mostly a long stretch of desert you cross on the way to somewhere else. And with someone else, if you're lucky... because it's a scary place. Headed down Route 50 in the brutal summer heat are people who are never going to reach their destinations. Like the Jacksons, a professor and his wife going home to New York City; the Carvers, a Wentworth, Ohio, family bound for a vacation at Lake Tahoe; and aging literary lion Johnny Marinville, inventing a gonzo image for himself astride a 700-pound Harley.

A dead cat nailed to a road sign heralds the little mining town of Desperation, a town that seems withered in the shade of a manmade mountain known as the China Pit. But it's worse than that, much worse. Regulating the traffic there is Collie Entragain, an outsized uniformed madman who considers himself the only law west of the Pecos. God forbid you should be missing a license plate or find yourself with a flat tire.

There's something very wrong here, all right, and Entragian is only the surface of it. The secrets embedded in Desperation's landscape, and the evil that infects the town like some viral hot zone, are both awesome and terrifying. But as young David Carver seems to know - though is scares him nearly to death to realize it - so are the forces summoned to combat them. In Desperation, Stephen King's sweeping brush paints an apocalyptic drama of God and evil, madness and revelation. His genius for suspense has never been so finely honed, his imagination so shudderingly vivid, as when his wayfarers - and the readers who dare to follow their course - begin to discover the true meaning of the word desperation."

Perhaps a way to describe "Desperation" is like "The Stand" by only on a smaller stage or scale. This is both the appeal and maybe the downfall of the story.

The good:

Great cover art, no?

I really liked the pacing of the novel, especially the first third of the book. I read the first 230 pages of this tome in one sitting. It takes off like a Roman Candle and doesn't let up too terribly as the story progresses.

Collie Entragain is a terrifying antagonist, particularly early on during his "introduction" phase of the book. Though he seems mostly normal, there are a few hints that maybe a screw or two is loose in his head. Creepy stuff.

Something that King does well in some of his novels is the use of multiple characters and multiple points of view throughout a story. "Desperation" doesn't disappoint in this regard.

The bad:

Snakes, and spiders, and coyotes! Oh my! If creepy crawly desert varmints aren't your thing, this may not be the book for you.

David Carver, the 11-year old on vacation with his family, is supposed to be the hero of the novel but the little shit just gets on my nerves. Unlike most King stories, I usually don't have too many problems with the characters and their likability. He pretty much rubbed me the wrong way from the start and I hate feeling that way about a protagonist!

Tak! If I read this expression one more time I just may spit. For anyone who's read the novel I think they'd understand.

The ugly:

So here's the main reason I don't like this little good versus evil ditty. I just can't get into a story where God is speaking to the main characters and guiding them in their conflict with evil forces never fully explained. At least it wasn't a showdown against the devil! David Carver starts waving his Jesus freak flag fairly early on in the novel and it kind of spoiled the rest of the experience for me, no matter how engaging the rest of the story may have been. Even though this is a horror novel with supernatural events, I just can't suspend my beliefs enough to swallow all the religious reference, strike that, Christian reference.

All in all not a bad story with some fantastic pacing and really creepy elements. Again all the religion elements soured the experience for me; however, I am a godless heathen so maybe this won't strike such a flat chord with most readers. Recommended for fans of horror and yes, Stephen King fans, as well as those people out there who think God really communicates with them. Try Prozac!

I'm done with King for a while. Next up, a little F. Scott Fitzgerald maybe?

Bag of Bones

The summer of Stephen King continues! Well not really, but damn if I don't have a lot of King novels from the 1990's that I never got around to reading. The latest is "Bag of Bones" (529 pages) which I'm sure I never even cracked open when I most likely received it as either a Christmas or Birthday present years ago. From Goodreads:

"Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel, 'Bag of Bones,' is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire.

Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, 'Bag of Bones' recounts the plight of forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving even four years after the sudden death of his wife, Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his word processor.

Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, Mike finally returns to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home.

He finds his beloved Yankee town familiar on its surface, but much changed underneath - held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, who twists the very fabric of the community to his purpose: to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother. As Mike is drawn into their struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here - and what do they want of Mike Noonan?"

I was extremely surprised how terrific a read "Bag of Bones" turned out to be. In fact I would probably rate it as one of King's better novels.

The good:

The story for one. The book stayed true to itself throughout, a fairly normal yarn, well normal for a ghost story. There really wasn't much of King's silliness that I've complained about in recent recaps. The haunting of Mike Noonan is powerful both in the sense of the supernatural and the emotional. Very intriguing and laid out well.

Initially the story begins in Derry, Maine and even has a couple of cameos from characters from "Insomnia" which I found cool since I had just read that particular novel.

The characters are real and fleshed out well. Though we've seen these archetypes before, especially in King novels, they work well in the environments created here.

The bad:

The pacing of the novel early on was a little frustrating but once the story takes off it really gets going. There were also a couple of dream sequences that were a little repetitive that I could have done without.

The ugly:

There's a couple of really nasty scenes toward the end of the book. Violence or sexual content doesn't usually bother me when I'm reading but some of it here was really horrifying and tragic.

Again, this was a truly outstanding story and effort by King. I'd probably rate it as one of my favorites of his. On par with "The Stand," "The Green Mile," and "Dolores Claiborne," just to name a couple of his stories I like really well. Recommended for fans of horror, specifically ghost stories, and fans of Stephen King (at his best).

Did anyone happen to see the made for TV movie of "Bag of Bones?" I heard it was terrible but I never watched it as I knew I'd be reading the novel soon.

Rules of Life

• Share
• Obey
• Be kind
• Wash
• Floss
• Flush
• Recycle
• Call your mother
• If you're gonna play in Texas, you've got to have a fiddle in the band

Insomnia

I used to think that "Insomnia" (787 pages) by Stephen King cured my insomnia way back when the book was published. I never could get in to the story and never finished the book. I thought it was maybe time to revisit the novel since it's followed me all over Oklahoma for nearly twenty years. From the dust jacket of the book:

"Ralph Roberts has a problem: he isn't sleeping so well these days. In fact, he's hardly sleeping at all. Each morning, the news conveyed by the bedside clock is a little worse: 3:15... 3:02... 2:45... 2:15. The books call it 'premature waking;' Ralph who is still learning to be a widower, calls is a season in hell. He's begun to notice a strangeness in his familiar surroundings, to experience visual phenomena that he can't quite believe are hallucinations. Soon, Ralph thinks, he won't be sleeping at all, and what then?

A problem, yes - though perhaps not so uncommon, you might say. But Ralph has lived his entire life in Derry, Maine, and Derry isn't like other places, as millions of Stephen King readers will gladly testify. They remember It, also set in Derry, and know there's a mean streak running through this small New England city; underneath its ordinary surface awesome and terrifying forces are at work. The dying, natural and otherwise, has been going on in Derry for a long, long time. Now Ralph is part of it. So are his friends. And so are the strangers they encounter.

You, Gentle Reader, may never sleep again. Welcome to Insomnia."

"Insomnia is a queer little story that actually jumps the shark about half way through. Usually King waits until the ends of his novels to go off the cliff.

The good:

I really enjoyed that Ralph Roberts, the protagonist, was in his early seventies. I can't remember the last work of fiction I read with most of the main players being in their late sixties to early seventies.

There were definitely some creepy moments sprinkled throughout the book, especially when Ralph's insomnia started to take its toll on him mentally. Imagine looking out your window in the early hours to discover that there's a whole other side to your city that only you can see. Or is it just the insomnia playing tricks on your mind?

I appreciated the modern retelling of Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. What if life was but a string to be cut at a specific time or worse, randomly. Very imaginative.

The bad:

The length of the book. I usually don't complain about the size of a novel as long as the story is engaging and flowing. "Insomnia" gets bogged down quite a few times and could've been edited down a bit in my opinion. At times it felt like a chore to trudge through the long narrative.

The story incorporates some elements and characters of King's "Dark Tower" series. I guess this could be a really cool thing if one has actually read the "Dark Tower" series. I have not. I felt a little frustrated that I didn't know what was going on completely with the story, particularly toward the last 100 pages or so of the novel.

As I mentioned earlier, King's ubiquitous need to take an interesting story and turn it into something really bizarre. The wheels come off of this one pretty early. Maybe it's just my personal tastes in fiction, especially horror, but I would have preferred something a little more real, if that makes sense.

The ugly:

Derry, Maine. You couldn't pay me to live in this crazy town! The novel mentions a couple of times that Derry isn't like other places. You've got that shit right. I like the fact that several of King's novels have taken place here with many landmarks and previous events mentioned on occasion.

So "Insomnia" was kind of a bust for me. Like some of King's later works, what's good is really good, and what's bad is just plain silly. Recommended for fans of the "Dark Tower" series and die hard Stephen King fans. All others should read something else.

Everything's Eventual

I've never really been a fan of short stories or collections of stories for some reason. Oddly enough "Everything's Eventual" (459 pages) by Stephen King is the second collection I've read this year. From Goodreads:

"The first collection of stories Stephen King has published since 'Nightmares & Dreamscapes' nine years ago, 'Everything's Eventual' includes one O. Henry Prize winner, two other award winners, four stories published by The New Yorker, and 'Riding the Bullet,' King's original e-book, which attracted over half a million online readers and became the most famous short story of the decade. 'Riding the Bullet,' published here on paper for the first time, is the story of Alan Parker, who's hitchhiking to see his dying mother but takes the wrong ride, farther than he ever intended. In 'Lunch at the Gotham Cafe,' a sparring couple's contentious lunch turns very, very bloody when the maitre d' gets out of sorts. '1408,' the audio story in print for the first time, is about a successful writer whose specialty is 'Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Graveyards' or 'Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses,' and though Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel doesn't kill him, he won't be writing about ghosts anymore. And in 'That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French,' terror is deja vu at 16,000 feet. Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, from quitting smoking to yard sales, Stephen King is at the top of his form in the fourteen dark tales assembled in Everything's Eventual. Intense, eerie, and instantly compelling, they announce the stunningly fertile imagination of perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time."

I guess what bugs me the most about short stories is getting invested in a story between 20 to 50 pages that often times abruptly ends seemingly before needed. This is the case with a couple of King's stories here but out of the 14 total, I enjoyed most of the reading. He definitely has an imagination and can spin a good yarn from time to time, especially when delving into the darkness of every day events or human nature.

I was most surprised about the short story included called "The Little Sisters of Eluria," which is a prequel of sorts to King's Dark Tower series, a series I've been meaning to get back to for quite some time. Apparently the story either takes place before "The Gunslinger" or during it.

As I said above collections of stories usually aren't my thing but I really enjoyed what King has to offer here. Recommended for fans of King or horror and easy to put down and pick back up if necessary.

Persuader

Back to Lee Child again and one of his Jack Reacher novels. I believe "Persuader" (465 pages) is the seventh in the series though I've been jumping around randomly throughout the series. From the cover:

"Jack Reacher.
The ultimate loner.
An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, he's moved from place to place...without family...without possessions...without commitments.
And without fear. Which is good, because trouble-big, violent, complicated trouble-finds Reacher wherever he goes. And when trouble finds him, Reacher does not quit, not once...not ever.
But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. And Reacher is a man who hates unfinished business.
Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot. Some would call it vengeance. Some would call it redemption. Reacher would call it...justice."

Another great effort by Child. As I've stated before each book is easily picked up regardless of the order the stories were written in. And though each novel follows the same loner character in Jack Reacher, the stories are almost always unique and rarely is there a "been there, done that" quality about the books. Here Reacher works with the government to infiltrate a smuggling operation to find a lost agent though his motivations are mostly personal. Recommended for fans of mysteries and thrillers. Child has a definite knack for keeping the reader on edge with the situations he throws at his hero.

I recently read that one of the Reacher novels is in production as a movie. While I'm excited by this prospect I'm not sure the casting of Tom Cruise is good casting for Jack Reacher. Well maybe a really short Jack Reacher...

Layfette, Louisiana

In spite of a lot of pissing and moaning, I generally enjoy the South. Not Oklahoma but the real South. It's like a whole other world when compared to other parts of our great country. Travel to southern Louisiana and it's like a whole other universe. That's what I did last weekend. I skipped the Gay Pride festivities here in Oklahoma City in favor of a quick four day trip to Layfette, Louisiana to visit my brother and sister-in-law. I know, I'm a bad gay with no pride...

So what makes bayou country so unique? Here are a few examples:


Where else in the country can you pull up to a drive up daiquiri stand, order some drinks, and not be threatened with an open container fine because you bought the alcoholic concoction without the straw in it? I'm sure this isn't unique to Louisiana but it certainly is in my neck of the woods. Of course the straw doesn't stay outside of the drink for long. Definitely go with the Sweet Tart!

According to my sister-in-law, part Coon Ass according to my brother, one doesn't order toast for breakfast. One needs to order toast bread so you know for sure what exactly is getting toasted on what you're ordering. Makes sense to me.

One of the festivities we took in down south was a graduation party for my sister-in-law's niece. A pretty typical affair, lots of beer, food, family and zeitago music. Well mostly typical. As the event wore on we found ourselves playing beer pong and flip cup (a gamed I admit that I'd never played before, I blame the small town college I attended). The anchor for our flip cup game proceeded to play, and play well, with a beer in hand and a baby slung over her shoulder. Only in the South.

Ever seen the show Swamp People on the History Channel? Yeah, they really exist and I've spoken to a couple of them! I can't really say that I caught all of the conversation.

Out in the boonies around Layfette I saw quite a few storefronts advertising boudin and cracklins. After being reminded what boudin was I realized I had eaten it before but I couldn't for the life of my figure out what a cracklin was. It's pork rinds. Interesting.

Finally if you're in the market for a mobile home there's hundreds of businesses to choose from north of the Layfette area. We drove up just east of Opelousas (I call it Umpaloompa) to fetch some lumber for a home project my brother is working on and it was staggering to see how many lots of mobile homes there were. Hello? Hurricanes? Speaking of hurricanes my brother has been know to flee north while my sister-in-law prefers to ride it out with her family and "party."

I kid the South, specifically Louisiana and Layfette. It really is a great place to visit, take in the sights, the culture and the people. It's definitely a lot more fun than Atlanta, but that's another place and another story.

Duma Key

Back to the world of Stephen King I go with "Duma Key" (611 pages). I love a bargain book from the store! From Goodreads:

"Six months after a crane crushes his pickup truck and his body self-made millionaire Edgar Freemantle launches into a new life. His wife asked for a divorce after he stabbed her with a plastic knife and tried to strangle her one-handed (he lost his arm and for a time his rational brain in the accident). He divides his wealth into four equal parts for his wife, his two daughters, himself and leaves Minnesota for Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily remote stretch of the Florida coast where he has rented a house. All of the land on Duma Key, and the few houses, are owned by Elizabeth Eastlake, an octogenarian whose tragic and mysterious past unfolds perilously. When Edgar begins to paint, his formidable talent seems to come from someplace outside him, and the paintings, many of them, have a power that cannot be controlled."

I really thought this book was fantastic, especially for something written fairly recently by King. Indeed I didn't want the story to end and I really savored the story, something that doesn't happen often when I read anything. I basically bought the book because it was extremely cheap for a hardcover at Barnes and Noble. Reading the dust cover didn't give me too much confident but a few pages into the read my perception changed. I was immediately lured into Edgar's story of woe and his recuperation living on Duma Key, a story that is winding and methodical with its large volume. As the mystery of Duma Key and its residents slowly unfolded I was drawn in even more. Toward the last one hundred pages or so the novel slipped into King's patented over-kill of goofiness but luckily he never went completely over the cliff (for me the difference between a four star review and a five star review). The conclusion left me satisfied in spite of some of the tragic events and unresolved relationships, but I guess such is life more times than not.

Recommended for fans of King, at some of his better writing lately, as well of fans of light horror and of the supernatural.

RIP Thunder Alley, Maybe...

"Gunfire that left at least eight people wounded and a pregnant woman injured is prompting Oklahoma City officials and the Oklahoma City Thunder to re-evaluate the watch party held during playoffs outside Chesapeake Energy Arena."

Link.

There's always some dick weed that has to ruin a good time.

"Thunder Alley originally was an occasional pregame party that included interactive games, concessions, and merchandise. It began three hours before tipoff and would shut down once the game started.

During this year's playoffs, a watch party was added and fans were invited to bring chairs and blankets to Thunder Alley to view the game on a new video display board (74 feet tall by 20 feet wide) that was mounted on the northwest side of Chesapeake Arena during recent renovations to the facility."

I was in Thunder Alley with some friends the other night watching the Thunder send the Lakers packing along with an estimated 6,000 fans packed into roughly a one block area. It was a pandemonium. Luckily we left the area early to avoid traffic and missed out on the violence that happened after the game. Even if we had stayed we were parked well west of Bricktown to be involved or even near by. Speculation is swirling as to whether or not the shooting had anything to do with the NBA playoffs and the watch party. I've heard many rumors including that the incident was completely separate or that the shooting was the result of OKC fans taunting a Lakers fan. In the end I guess it doesn't really matter. It looks like the city is going to shut down the watch party portion of the festivities at the very least.

So what went wrong?

Supposedly the city had an added police force in the area, a force I didn't feel was present walking through the throng with the exception of a police watch tower added to the mix.

Why is it that the city can provide a relatively safe environment during Opening Night (New Years Eve) with an estimated group of 100,000 people but not do the same with a group of 6,000?

The younger crowd mixed with alcohol probably didn't help matters. There was a beer garden area selling drinks as well ice chests all over the place. It seemed to me that everyone had a beer in hand. The prospects of having a beer before the next game look bleak now even if they cancel the watch party portion of Thunder Alley.

Finally I wonder what could've happened if our open carry law was in effect on Monday. Not that the shooting wouldn't have occurred but maybe it would be worse with some idiot gun owner trying to be a hero, causing more injuries. The law was recently signed by our Governor and goes into effect on November 1st.

Just some thoughts to chew on. What was really a great event for OKC and Thunder fans has just turned into a big turd. Welcome to the big leagues OKC! If this had been the NBA finals would fans be expected to riot, loot, and turn over cars? An arrest has been made in the shootings and hopefully it will come to light that it had nothing to do with a silly basketball game. I'd hate to think that OKC has joined a long and pathetic list of fans that act like fools after a sporting event.

Edit: oh and by the way, no one got shot up this weekend at the Gay Pride parade which had a much bigger turnout. Just saying...

Sleep Paralysis

Has anyone ever experienced this phenomenon? I'm pretty sure I did early this morning before waking and it scared the shit out of me.

From the good people at WedMD:

"Sleep paralysis is a feeling of being conscious but unable to move. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking. Sleep paralysis may accompany other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is an overpowering need to sleep caused by a problem with the brain's ability to regulate sleep."

I had a similar experience. I had a feeling of being conscious yet unable to move, mostly. For some reason I thought I was scratching my head and became a little freaked out when there was no sensation to the scratching. I believe now I was actually scratching the pillow underneath me, if that's even possible. I definitely had trouble breathing or at least I thought I did. It was like I couldn't catch my breath and I was convinced that I was suffering some kind of fatal medical condition. I mentally willed myself to breath or move to no avail for maybe a minute. Terror doesn't even begin to describe how I felt throughout this ordeal. Finally I was able to breath normally again and move. I got up off the sofa (my normal sleeping place) and relocated to my bed without any further incidents.

Since I don't have narcolepsy and this has never happened before I'm not really worried about it. Most likely, from the reading I've done, in my case it was probably from a lack of sleep or the alcohol I ingested last night. Still, it was a horrifying experience that I don't want repeated any time soon.

It's also interesting to note that previous, less medically advanced cultures, thought that sleep paralysis was the result of demons or the devil sitting on your chest. Modern scientists conclude that some reported alien abduction encounters and ghost encounters could simply be explained away as a sleep paralysis episode. Who knows, maybe I was possessed by the devil, something that a few people who know me wouldn't dispute! Interesting stuff.

So, dear reader, has this phenomenon happened to you and if so what was your experience?

A Dance with Dragons

I'm finally all up to date with George R. R. Martin's series "A Song of Ice and Fire" with the fifth installment "A Dance with Dragons" (1016 pages). I made the rare hardback purchase with this book, as I just couldn't wait to see where the story was headed. From Goodreads:

"The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance.

In the east, Daenerys, last scion of House Targaryen, her dragons grown to terrifying maturity, rules as queen of a city built on dust and death, beset by enemies.

Now that her whereabouts are known many are seeking Daenerys and her dragons. Among them the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister, who has escaped King’s Landing with a price on his head, wrongfully condemned to death for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. But not before killing his hated father, Lord Tywin.

To the north lies the great Wall of ice and stone – a structure only as strong as those guarding it. Eddard Stark's bastard son Jon Snow has been elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but he has enemies both in the Watch and beyond the Wall, where the wildling armies are massing for an assault.

On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will inevitably lead to the greatest dance of all…"

In the acknowledgements of the novel, Martin states: "The last one was a bitch. This one was three bitches and a bastard." At times it was three bitches and a bastard to read! "A Dance with Dragons" covers about half of the characters in the series much like the previous novel "A Feast for Crows" covered the other half. Hopefully the next book in the series won't be so massive that it will need to be cut up like the last two, or at least not split up in such a way as to wait years to see what happens to a good portion of the characters.

I think "A Dance with Dragons" was a stronger effort from the previous installment mostly because it featured the better or more liked characters in the series. It still suffers from the same problems as the previous novel as well, a feeling that the story isn't progressing fast enough in spite of its thousands of pages. In true Martin fashion nearly all the characters end their final chapters in some kind of cliffhanger that won't be revealed until the next book in the series. This isn't necessarily a bad thing unless you consider that the last two novels took five and six years to complete. I hope myself and the author are alive to see the finished product some day!

Again, I love the characters (literally hundreds) and the rich world and cultures that Martin has created. Humor, tension, and plot twists definitely make this series a worthwhile read. I only wish the stories flowed as well and quickly as the first three books in the series. Recommended for fans of fantasy. As I've said before, a friend of mine called it "Lord of the Rings with tits." Start with the first novel "A Game of Thrones" or check out the series on HBO.

The Scarecrow

"The Scarecrow" (419 pages) by Michael Connelly was yet another book I picked up from my mother by an author I've never read. Though the book was a sequel of sorts, at least for the main character in the story, I was pleasantly surprised by the work. From Goodreads:

"Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career.

He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's."

"The Scarecrow" follows crime beat reporter Jack McEvoy who was featured one other time in Connelly's "The Poet," a book I guess I'm going to have to track down now. The story kicks off with a bang and at a fast pace following Jack's investigation into a homicide, which turns into something more sinister than just one random act of violence in L.A. Through some luck and research Jack becomes involved in a story that eventually threatens his very life and those he cares about.

I really enjoyed Connelly's writing style, most notably the pacing and tension of the story. Though some of the novel was a bit contrived and convenient I found myself tearing through the book to see where Jack's investigation would take him next. The only other small complaint I have is with the character "the Scarecrow." A little more fleshing out of this key person in the story would have been appreciated.

Recommended, especially for fans of mysteries and/or thriller.

39!

Well it's that time of year again, my birthday. I'm mildly amused and somewhat surprised that I'm still alive, what with all the booze, drugs, and whoring!

I remember when I was a kid, the father of a friend turned 40 years old. We thought, at the time, that that was so very old. Here I am only a year away from the big 4-0 but I don't feel like it or even look it, or so I'm told. Maybe every generation thinks this but I feel more youthful in my late 30s than my parents and their peers appeared when they were the same age. Or maybe I saved some wrinkles by not having children!

I guess age is what you make it. Though I joke about being old or older I really don't feel much different mentally or physically than I did in my early 20s. Perhaps it has to do with my core group of friends. I'm generally one of the oldest in the group with most others being 5 to 10 years younger than me. Who knows.

So that's my birthday thought for this year. How do you feel compared to how old you really are?

Boys Like Us

"Boys Like Us" (365 pages) edited by Patrick Merla is a book that was given to me by my mother, probably for Christmas, in 1996. I know I started the collection of stories at one point but never finished. I picked the book back up this winter and read it off and on between other readings. From Goodreads:

"In stunning essays written especially for this collection, 29 noted gay writers recount their true 'coming out' stories, intensely personal histories of the primal process by which men come to terms with their homosexuality. These essays form a documentary of changing social and sexual mores, timed to coincide with National Coming Out Day (October 11) and AIDS Awareness Month."

Though the collection of stories is somewhat outdated it's still an interesting read to see the various coming out stories over a couple of generations arranged chronologically from Manhattan in the late '40s to San Francisco in the early '90s. Reading the collection now really makes one appreciate how far we've come as a society in regards to homosexuality.

To quote the inside cover of the dust jacket: "These are intense, sometimes unexpectedly funny tales of romance and heartbreak, repression and liberation, rape and first love-defining moments." Highly recommended especially to those who care to look to the past struggles of being gay throughout the latter part of the 20th century.

The Bone Yard

I picked up "The Bone Yard" (291 pages) by Jefferson Bass at the store in the airport on my way to Atlanta last week, having nothing at hand to read on the plane. I didn't know anything about the author or the series but the cover and description looked intriguing. From Goodreads:

"The onset of summer brings steamy weather to East Tennessee and the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Brockton's human-decomposition research facility at the University of Tennessee. But even Brockton is about to get more heat than he's bargained for when a former student asks him to help prove that her sister's death was not suicide, but murder.

Brockton's quick consulting trip takes a long, harrowing detour to the Florida panhandle and the ruins of the North Florida Boys' Reformatory, a notorious juvenile detention facility that met a fiery end more than forty years ago. Guided by the discovery of a diary kept by one of the school's young 'students,' he finds a cluster of shallow graves, all of them containing the bones of boys who met violent deaths. As Brockton and his team close in on the truth, they find skeletons in some surprisingly prominent closets . . . and they learn that the ghosts of the past pose perilous consequences in the present."

First off does anyone else find Blogger's new interface a little wonky? Anyhow, the "Body Farm" series of books is a collaboration between the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, hence the author's name of Jefferson Bass. Think of the stories as similar to the television series "Bones" featuring a forensic anthropologist as the central figure.

The novel started off well enough with an investigation of suicide by shotgun and quickly evolved into another side story about the discovery of several bones of young men unearthed near the Georgia/Florida border. I never felt that the two different plots meshed well together, ultimately leaving both stories lacking in their conclusion. It seemed as though the two stories were moving along fairly well, though separately, until the last forty pages of the book, when the writers ran out of steam and opted for a hurried conclusion. As I've never read a novel in the "Body Farm" series I wasn't sure if this was an aberration or the norm.

An interesting premise of stories overall that fall well short of being thoroughly hashed out. Indeed the conclusions seemed rushed and a little half-assed at the end. Recommended for mystery or forensic thrillers, minimally. I probably won't be returning to this series of novels anytime soon.

The Vortex Bar Etiquette

One of the cool places I frequented a couple of times in Atlanta last week was The Vortex Bar and Grill in Midtown. This was printed on the cover of their drinks menu:

Bar Etiquette

The Vortex offers one of the most extensive selections of beer and spirits to be found anywhere in the city, and we have a pretty popular bar scene because of it. If you don’t normally spend much time in bars, we would like to offer the following guidelines of acceptable BAR behavior. We hope that you will find this information useful. If you already know the ropes, we hope you find it entertaining.

PROVIDING IDENTIFICATION By law, you must present valid identification to consume alcohol no matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter how old you look. If you didn’t bring your I.D. with you, and you are refused a drink, it’s your own damned fault for being a total fuck-tard. We do not make the laws, but we are required to obey them. Our liquor license, and the livelihood of our entire staff depends on it. No I.D.? No booze.

ORDERING FROM THE BARTENDER If the bar is very busy, be ready to order when the Bartender approaches. Questions like, “What’s a good shot?” or, “What beers do you have?” are silly and time consuming. As you can see by our 6-page Liquor Menu, our selection of beers and spirits is very extensive. If you’re not sure what you want, please review this list. It should be helpful. Never say; “I’ll have a gin and tonic, and make it strong.” In doing so you call into question our Bartender’s ability to make a drink. You also make yourself look like a cheap idiot. If you want a double, ask for a double –and be prepared to pay for a double. Never snap your fingers or whistle at the Bartender, because nobody on our staff is actually a Cocker Spaniel.

PAYING FOR YOUR DRINK If you are ordering “cash & carry,” at the bar, have your money ready. Fumbling for your wallet or purse prevents the Bartender from waiting on other customers. Trying to pay for one drink at a time with a credit card is really pathetic, so if you don’t have cash, start a tab.

TIPPING FOR SERVICE Tipping is how our Bartenders make their living. Most people tip somewhere within the 15 to 20 percent range. Some “regulars” tip significantly more, particularly when hanging out at the bar. Rest assured, most Bartenders know who tips well and who doesn’t, and right or wrong, it can make a difference. If you can hear your tip hit the bar, chances are you’re being too cheap. As a general rule, don’t mess with the person who signs your paycheck, cuts your hair, or mixes your drinks. The results are guaranteed to be unpleasant.

SHOWING YOUR ASS Few things are as embarrassing as being cut-off at your favorite bar. Do everyone a favor, and cut yourself off when you’ve had enough, hopefully before you start embarrassing yourself. If any of your friends are worth a damn, they should help you in this regard. If they don’t, consider finding some new friends. If you absolutely insist on making a complete jack-ass of yourself when you drink, you should probably only drink on Saint Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve. Those are official “Amateur Nights,” so you will have lots of company.

ACCEPTING YOUR RESPONSIBILITY Don’t be a fool. Never drive impaired. It’s not worth it. If you don’t have a designated driver, and you are not sure of your own condition, don’t hesitate to ask –we will gladly call you a taxi. We’ve got them on “speed-dial.” A cab ride is always cheaper than a D.U.I., and always safer than driving with a buzz. Cab it. It’s the right thing to do!

Hilarious! I think this should be a mandatory mission statement at every bar. Anyways, I just thought I would share.

The Whisperers

Yay insomnia! Well if I'm going to be up I might as well read. "The Whisperers" (407 pages) is only the second novel I've read by John Connolly. I was a little shocked at how well I liked this read. From Goodreads:

"The border between Maine and Canada is porous. Anything can be smuggled across it: drugs, cash, weapons, people.

Now a group of disenchanted former soldiers has begun its own smuggling operation, and what is being moved is infinitely stranger and more terrifying than anyone can imagine. Anyone, that is, except private detective Charlie Parker, who has his own intimate knowledge of the darkness in men's hearts.

But the soldiers' actions have attracted the attention of the reclusive Herod, a man with a taste for the strange. And where Herod goes, so too does the shadowy figure that he calls the Captain. To defeat them, Parker must form an uneasy alliance with a man he fears more than any other, the killer known as the Collector . . ."

Why am I so surprised by this novel? Because it's so totally different from the other book in the Charlie Parker series that I've read by Connolly. I was expecting a by-the-numbers mystery/thriller and was treated to a story that evolved into something with fantasy elements. The story very nearly went over the edge for me near the conclusion but I think it put on the brakes at the last second.

In addition to a unique story, I really enjoy Connolly's writing style. First his ability with descriptions is very much appreciated. A little heavier than a book a year author. Secondly the author really fleshes out all the characters in the story, no matter how large or small their involvement. At certain points he would direct a complete side story about one of the characters that had nothing to do with the overall plot of the book, but it was always interesting. This can bother some readers but I found it to be entertaining.

Recommended for fans of mysteries and thrillers with a little bit of fantasy thrown into the mix.

I Wish I Was in Dixie!

And I will be tomorrow morning! I may try to blog on the road but knowing my recent habits probably not...

The TV Show Meme

Well it's been a while. I'm a very bad blogger! As always from Sunday Stealing.

Before reading the questions: Pick 5 TV Shows you like. They can be past or present. Hint: pick shows that you are REALLY into. Hey! no peaking at the questions! List them:

1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

2. Futurama

3. Mad Men

4. The Walking Dead

5. Game of Thrones


1. Who is your favorite character in 2?
Philip J. Fry.

2. Who is your least favorite character in 1?
Amazingly no one cast member comes to mind. The ensemble cast of Deep Space Nine not only makes this show a fantastic Star Trek spin-off but a great show on its own.

3. What’s your favorite episode of 4?
Probably the premiere of The Walking Dead. Wake up in the hospital and the whole world has gone to hell? Great start.

4. What is your favorite season of 5?
The first season but it's only three episodes into season two.

5. What’s your favorite relationship in 3?
Don Draper and all of his whores.

6. Who is your anti-relationship in 2?
Bender and Amy hooking up recently. Eww robosexuals!

7. How long have you watched 1?
I've watched the entire series either in first run or on DVD at least three times, some episodes more.

8. How did you become interested in 3?
I really can't remember. I think I liked the premise of an ad agency set in the early 1960's.

9. Who is your favorite actor in 4?
How can all the zombies not be the best actors?

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2, or 5?
Tough choice. Deep Space Nine > Futurama > Game of Thrones.

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?
Deep Space Nine definitely but I have both series on DVD.

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?
Once again I have to go with being a zombie. I love brains!

13. How would you kill off any character in 5?
Just as they did in the novels, unexpectantly.

14. Would a 3/4 crossover work?
Probably not since they take place fifty years apart.

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.
They actually already did this with Major Kira and Odo.

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?
Very hard decision. I'd probably go with Mad Men slightly over Game of Thrones.

Nothing to Lose

I can't believe Lee Child stole the title of my soon to be released biography. Oh I guess that would be the other way around. "Nothing to Lose" (407 pages) is another zigzag attempt to get caught up with all of Child's Reacher novels. From Goodreads:

"Two lonely towns in Colorado: Hope and Despair. Between them, twelve miles of empty road. Jack Reacher never turns back. It's not in his nature. All he wants is a cup of coffee. What he gets is big trouble. So in Lee Child’s electrifying new novel, Reacher—a man with no fear, no illusions, and nothing to lose—goes to war against a town that not only wants him gone, it wants him dead.

It wasn’t the welcome Reacher expected. He was just passing through, minding his own business. But within minutes of his arrival a deputy is in the hospital and Reacher is back in Hope, setting up a base of operations against Despair, where a huge, seething walled-off industrial site does something nobody is supposed to see . . . where a small plane takes off every night and returns seven hours later . . . where a garrison of well-trained and well-armed military cops—the kind of soldiers Reacher once commanded—waits and watches . . . where above all two young men have disappeared and two frightened young women wait and hope for their return.

Joining forces with a beautiful cop who runs Hope with a cool hand, Reacher goes up against Despair—against the deputies who try to break him and the rich man who tries to scare him—and starts to crack open the secrets, starts to expose the terrifying connection to a distant war that’s killing Americans by the thousand.

Now, between a town and the man who owns it, between Reacher and his conscience, something has to give. And Reacher never gives an inch."

Even some of the most lack luster Lee Child novels usually have enough in them to keep me entertained. "Nothing to Lose" falls somewhere in the middle for me. Not the worst nor one of the best in the series. It is gratifying to read about Reacher kicking ass and not bothering to take names, as usual. Mainly my problems with this particular outing for Child is the strange turns the story takes as it progresses. One moment everything is interesting and believable and the next bordering on the absurd. Not a major factor in my enjoyment but an issue. Recommended for fans of thrillers or mysteries, though the trills are really kept to a minimum this time around, as well as for Lee Child fans.