I listened to "The Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I just read/listened to the book.
Categories: mystery, supernatural, superman,
Comments:
Suppose that Cain's mark, back in Bible times, wasn't intended to show God's punishment for murdering his brother, Abel. Suppose it was God's mark of forgiveness for a man who had learned from his failures. Suppose it was to forestall the natural consequences from other people for his crime.
Then, further, suppose that Cain had written down the secret and it had passed down through the ages, coming to rest where there was conflict between a son and his father.
Throw in the mystery of Superman's origin as a comic book hero. (Well, maybe its more of a mystery in the book.) It seems that Jerry Spiegel was one of the creators of Superman as a comic book hero. Jerry's father died of a heart attack as a result of a robbery and young Jerry figured the world needed a hero who was invulnerable to bullets.
Weave those things together with a loner who lost his father as a young boy. In Cal's case, his father was convicted of killing his mother in a family argument that he saw and still inhabits his nightmares.
And the search is on for the book of lies. Everyone has a different reason for wanting it. Everyone really, really needs it. But is it a book at all.
It has: secret societies, biblical quotes, Superman trivia, fanatics, paranoia, the FBI (and not in a good way)
What did I like: The concept is so twisted that it's fun, there is one mystery after another, one story corkscrew after another
What didn't I like: the book felt really dark,
Rating: 3 of 5, I liked it
05 May 2010
Walter Mosley, The Right Mistake
I listened to "The Right Mistake" by Walter Mosley. Subtitle is "The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow"
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I just listened to the book.
Categories: This book defies categorization
Comments:
This is a story of love and redemption. It is told almost in a way that could be a series of somewhat related short stories. Maybe "vignette" is the right word. Maybe not.
I like many of Walter Mosley's books. A few I don't. My typical preference is to have some action of some sort in the book. For example, when I read Alexander McCall Smith's book about the typing school, I finished and told my wife, "It's interesting but its just a series of events only vaguely related and without any action at all."
This book is the same, except, it held my interest and keep me wanting to hear what happened next.
Socrates just kept finding ways he was messed up and kept making himself better. He accidentally made the world better in so doing but mostly he just made his life better.
This book is full of "black" stuff. I don't know of another way to say it. If that bothers you, read something else.
For example, when Socrates and Billy get arrested while driving toward northern California, the police tell them that they matched the description of some wanted drug offenders. When asked what the report said, with no humor at all, they said, "They were black" as if that was description enough to bring the boys in. But that is a too real aspect of real life.
It has: racist cops, angry ex-spouses, homeless folk, reformed killers, lawyers and other felons. Poor people changing their lives for the better. Posers and losers. Winners and free dinners.
What did I like: Socrates didn't blame, excuse or back down. Billy, Luna, Ron and Maxi all transformed their lives. In the end it was good but it was hard too. Most characters were real, live and human.
What didn't I like: Some parts were a little long, some characters were a little too cardboard.
Rating: 4 of 5, I liked it a lot.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I just listened to the book.
Categories: This book defies categorization
Comments:
This is a story of love and redemption. It is told almost in a way that could be a series of somewhat related short stories. Maybe "vignette" is the right word. Maybe not.
I like many of Walter Mosley's books. A few I don't. My typical preference is to have some action of some sort in the book. For example, when I read Alexander McCall Smith's book about the typing school, I finished and told my wife, "It's interesting but its just a series of events only vaguely related and without any action at all."
This book is the same, except, it held my interest and keep me wanting to hear what happened next.
Socrates just kept finding ways he was messed up and kept making himself better. He accidentally made the world better in so doing but mostly he just made his life better.
This book is full of "black" stuff. I don't know of another way to say it. If that bothers you, read something else.
For example, when Socrates and Billy get arrested while driving toward northern California, the police tell them that they matched the description of some wanted drug offenders. When asked what the report said, with no humor at all, they said, "They were black" as if that was description enough to bring the boys in. But that is a too real aspect of real life.
It has: racist cops, angry ex-spouses, homeless folk, reformed killers, lawyers and other felons. Poor people changing their lives for the better. Posers and losers. Winners and free dinners.
What did I like: Socrates didn't blame, excuse or back down. Billy, Luna, Ron and Maxi all transformed their lives. In the end it was good but it was hard too. Most characters were real, live and human.
What didn't I like: Some parts were a little long, some characters were a little too cardboard.
Rating: 4 of 5, I liked it a lot.
J. V Jones, A Fortress of Grey Ice
I read "A Fortress of Grey Ice" by J.V. Jones.
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I just read the book.
Categories: fantasy
Comments:
I read "A Cavern of Black Ice" a long time ago. Though I vaguely remembered the story, I found I could pick up the story pretty easily. I also remember being mostly disgusted with myself for reading the first book of a trilogy when the other two weren't out. Well, the trilogy has turned into a set of four books, maybe. But can you trust it when they already didn't do what you expected. The next book is called "A Sword of Red Ice." The 4th book isn't out yet but the 3rd one doesn't end things.
There really is a fortress and the grey ice is really there but it doesn't have much to do with the story until the last 3% of the book. Oh ... and the picture on the front of the book is its own fantasy. There doesn't seem to be any such scene in the book.
What makes this book worth reading is the host of main characters. Well, I guess when we get to the end of the last book we will find out how "main" they are. I started to say that there could be 10 short books except that the stories touch on each other just enough that it wouldn't work unless each story is told in bits interspersed with the other stories.
For example, Vaylo Bludd claimed control of all Dhoone holdings 39 years back. Robbie Dhoone is determined to be the Dhoone king risen from the mists of legend. There has got to be a conflict and, though the story is told from both vantage points, that conflict interweaves itself though the sections of the book dealing with one or the other of the men.
Stories in the book
What did I like: The characters, the places and the histories are fully formed. You cheer, you jeer, you are on the edge of your seat (metaphorically speaking). The place names and people's names make you wonder about the imagination that created them
What didn't I like: There were too many storylines. Of 100 storylines, maybe, one came to a climax and got finished in the whole giant book. There is a little of a comic book nature when I look back. (I'm not sure what that means.)
Rating: 3 of 5, I didn't dislike it
Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I just read the book.
Categories: fantasy
Comments:
I read "A Cavern of Black Ice" a long time ago. Though I vaguely remembered the story, I found I could pick up the story pretty easily. I also remember being mostly disgusted with myself for reading the first book of a trilogy when the other two weren't out. Well, the trilogy has turned into a set of four books, maybe. But can you trust it when they already didn't do what you expected. The next book is called "A Sword of Red Ice." The 4th book isn't out yet but the 3rd one doesn't end things.
There really is a fortress and the grey ice is really there but it doesn't have much to do with the story until the last 3% of the book. Oh ... and the picture on the front of the book is its own fantasy. There doesn't seem to be any such scene in the book.
What makes this book worth reading is the host of main characters. Well, I guess when we get to the end of the last book we will find out how "main" they are. I started to say that there could be 10 short books except that the stories touch on each other just enough that it wouldn't work unless each story is told in bits interspersed with the other stories.
For example, Vaylo Bludd claimed control of all Dhoone holdings 39 years back. Robbie Dhoone is determined to be the Dhoone king risen from the mists of legend. There has got to be a conflict and, though the story is told from both vantage points, that conflict interweaves itself though the sections of the book dealing with one or the other of the men.
Stories in the book
- Ash - full of power, destiny and a little bit spoiled
- Raif - talented, prophesied about, and driven towards his goal
- Iss - blundering, stealing, scheming and coming out ok so far
- Vaylo Bludd - honest but doomed
- Raina - leader and patriot, married to her own rapist but keeping the peace
- Crope - too strong, too big and loved by only one person
- Robbie Dhoone - charismatic and bound for glory
- Bram - smart and quick but missed in his brother's shadow
- Angus - well-liked, slippery with hidden agendas, but good to the core
- Effie - naive, blessed with magic but bound to conflict everywhere she goes
What did I like: The characters, the places and the histories are fully formed. You cheer, you jeer, you are on the edge of your seat (metaphorically speaking). The place names and people's names make you wonder about the imagination that created them
What didn't I like: There were too many storylines. Of 100 storylines, maybe, one came to a climax and got finished in the whole giant book. There is a little of a comic book nature when I look back. (I'm not sure what that means.)
Rating: 3 of 5, I didn't dislike it
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