Sunday 23 September 2018

ORIGIN - DAN BROWN




It probably doesn't matrer what I think about Dan Brown because everyone and his dog made pronouncements when this came out, just like they did for the others.
This is one where you have to pay attention to get the gist of what's being revealed/discussed/killed for. The foundation of humans and their need to form religions to justify their existence is the bottom line but I remember I wrote a few years back that a person (one I knew) could only justify his moral standards because he was a Christian, that if he wasn't a Christian he couldn't be moral. Brown says that too and it's a worry.
One of the atrtractions for Brown's stories is that they take place over a very short time frame and I don't have to imagine what Langdon looks like -he always looks like Tom Hanks.
This one is set in Spain and included in the settings is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I've seen that, been inside and inspected it, and decided it was a monstrosity. We were convinced it was designed by Gaudi when he was pissed out of his tree one night in a cafe where he drew the outline on a wet serviette with a shaky hand holding a kohl pencil.
I enjoyed the read. Get it from the library.  
THE DESTINY THIEF - RICHARD RUSSO




Some books are a pure pleasure to read and this is one of those. Everyone knows Russo for his past works, notably Empire Falls. My own favourite is Straight Man, one of the funniest books I've ever read. This is a series of long essays and eminently worth reading.

Tuesday 18 September 2018

BEING SIMON HAINES - TOM VAUGHAN MACAULY


Simon Haines is a giant fuck-up. I can't think of a better word to describe him. Genius at some things, plays poorly with others, addicted to drink and self-indulgence. I don't know if the law firm employment system used here as a major part of the plot, is used anywhere else, or even if it's real, but the setting is London and maybe that's how they sort the wheat from the chaff, by driving the candidates into the ground and hiring the survivor as a partner. Fast track, yes, but the effect on Simon and his fellow hopefuls is dramatic and probably would be classed as abuse in other circumstances.
The quest for partnership is the large thread but the relationship with his on again-off again girlfriend Sophie says a great deal about his state of mind and forms a contrast to the job thread. Despite his stated loving and caring talk he's more interested in beer. Overall he treats her badly due to his poor interpersonal relationship skills and she took too long to tell him to get stuffed. 
Worth a read but get it from the library. I'll have a look at anything else MacAuly writes beacuse he'll probably get better.       
JOHN CONNOLLY - THE WOMAN IN THE WOODS





You know what you're going to get with John Connolly. He's found a niche and fills it nicely. His daughters, living and dead, speak to him and his associates do bad things. Angel and Louis are by now old friends and if they were missing from the story it would be a lesser tale.
Charlie Parker is one of those damaged people who face the threats from the living, dead and not quite dead with caution and there's plenty of that in this book. He's not so good with women, and he knows it, but has learnt from his mistakes and I'm sure that in some future time he'll settle down, probably not until he's killed the last wraith.
In his trade he tends to come across serial killers regularly and that's good because we all like serial killer stories. We wonder how they'll be caught, that one little foible that will allow identification and resolution. Bad childhoods, not-so-nice entities, crime and parents get the blame.
John is always worth a read and there's a big back catalogue to enjoy. Oh, he does good short stories too.

THE TOY MAKERS - ROBERT DINSDALE




I SEE THAT THIS IS BEING PRAISED ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR IT'S MAGICAL ATMOSPHERE AND HUMAN NARRATIVE, BUT IT IS SO REMINISCENT OF 'MR MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM' THAT, FOR ME, THIS STORY WAS OVERSHADOWED BY THAT MOVIE. WAS THERE A BOOK THE MOVIE WAS ADAPTED FROM? I DON'T KNOW.
SURE, DINSDALE HAS QUITE A DIFFERENT ENDING BUT NATALIE PORTMAN HAS SENT A SIMULACRUM. IN FACT, THE FATHER FIGURE REMINDED ME OF THE SANTA CLAUS IN 'SANTA CLAUSE THE MOVIE' - LARGE AND HEAVILY INVOLVED IN MAKING TOYS IN THE MOST ALTRUISTIC OF WAYS. ALSO, HARRY POTTER DID THE 'SMALL ON THE OUTSDIE, BIG ON THE INSIDE' THING IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE.  
NO, IT WAS DISAPPOINTING IN THE END.  

Wednesday 13 June 2018


THE SWAN THIEVES - ELIZABETH KOSTOVA




I had to read this after the Dracula story reviewed below. Another detailed read about a mad artist who, for a change, isn't Van Gogh or a Parisian dauber reduced to insanity by the attraction of Absinthe and wild women.  No, he's just mad.
Once again the slower narrative and detail make for a more interesting story and there are no early explosions or car crashes to attract younger readers. This is a book for grown-ups.  
Of course I have a complaint. Because this story switches between the present and the past it needs fine and accurate detail to be convincing. As we all know, American use of English has led to various bastardisations that grate with me, especially the lazy use of prepositions. Example, "I'll have a vodka tonic." No and or with, just lazy, too busy to say the extra tiny word.
Kostova uses letters for the earlier backstory, written conversations between two people who in the late 1800s use the words "I'm writing you", several times. No 'to'. It jars.   

Sunday 13 May 2018

THE CHARM OF THE UNICORN - REX FAUSETT (ME)


The same fabulous romantic read with a new cover. Smashwords made me increase the cover size so a fesh picture seemed justified. 
As noted, available at Smashwords for a pittance.
HER EVERY FEAR - PETER SWANSON




This story is an interesting idea presented in a way I described to someone else as clunky. Whoever edited it failed to notice the way sentences were constructed in a distracting fashion. On top of that the plot, while interesting, was also reasonably predictable. Worth a read? Yes, but get it out of the library, don't buy it. When you buy a place in a block of apartments, check out the neighbours. Close your curtains. Build a small but undetectable panic room at the back of a wardrobe. Be careful what you place in your storage locker in the basement.    

Monday 12 March 2018

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova



There are now two really good vampire novels, this one being a great successor to the Bram Stoker Dracula. The story is about the search for Dracula's tomb (still not found in real life) in his Vlad Tepes persona. It's told from several points of view and is very long, 657 pages I think it was in paperback.
The research Kostova put into this is fabulous. The tale reminds me of the Millenium (Dragon Tattoo) series which were also highly detailed but completely engrossing. Follow this one from Oxford through Istanbul, Romania, Bulgaria, France and points in between. 
I checked online for reviews - I picked the book up at the library being unaware of its existence though it has been around for quite a long time - and found reviews tended to be polar opposites and it's clear that a lot of readers were disappointed by a detailed well-researched story that had no explosions in the first ten pages. Thankfully, many more enjoyed the story and gave it five stars, as it deserved to get. 
Films? The Lost Boys is very good but Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula is sumptuous and colour-saturated to great effect. That's another Gary Olman triumph. 


Tuesday 6 March 2018

GEORGES SIMENON - THE HANGED MAN OF SAINT-PHOLIEN




I mentioned Joyce Carol Oates below and Simenon was one of her subjects. It reminded me that I used to read Simenon a long time ago, and I enjoyed this rather convoluted detective story. It also reminded me of a gentlemen who worked with me back in the early sixties. He was a former real detective who opted for a quieter life but he turned out to be obsessed with the television Maigret and went so far as to emulate his clothing, pipe and even Maigret's car, a black Citroen bought black so he said he would never have to wash it. Yes, he was intimidating when he climbed out of that car and stared at you on a Monday morning but he caused endless speculation and gossip. 


Saturday 10 February 2018

THE GIRL IN GREEN - DEREK B. MILLER


I'd read Derek B.'s stuff before and enjoyed it. I enjoyed this one for several reasons. Firstly, it's just a good story which revolves only partly around the Girl in Green. Secondly, once you've read it and failed to understand the factions and tribalism that created and maintained the Iraq wars, you'll understand that real, long-lasting peace in that region is almost impossible. Worth a read for that information alone.  


SOUL AT THE WHITE HEAT - JOYCE CAROL OATES



I kinew who she was of course, who doesn't, but I'd never read any of her stuff until I came across this volume. A few chapters about writing and then many chapters about books and writers. 
It was enlightening to read about some famous authors I always liked, H.P. Lovecraft for example. Not just about his writing but a summary of his work and life in a few pages that resonated. She referenced a few stories I haven't read but also name-checked some I've been reading for years, like August Derleth and Arthur Machen. 
Cue a story by Larry McMurtry, The Last Kind Words Saloon. I've never been inclined to read McMurtry although I know several who think he's the greatest living writer. Oates made me want to read this book because, if nothing else, I liked the title. Joan Didion beckons. Margaret Attwood appears. The whole book is great reading.
The final chapter, about her visit to San Quentin, is fantastic, a genuinely moving account of her visit. This line attracted my attention - 

We were aware of high stone walls strung with razor wire like a deranged sort of tinsel.





TWO NIGHTS - KATHY REICHS


Thank God. I was sick to death of Temperance Brennan and her foibles and constant crises. Two Nights is a new direction and a worthwhile direction. Sunday Night and August (Gus) Night - twins with attitude and smarts. This story revolves a plot by a group determined to exact revenge on Islam extremists by an act of violence. Well written and credible, we need more writing about these twins. Read it, you won't be sorry.