Category: Authors

Dusted Off: Potter-time (You can’t touch this)

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On July 15, 2005

In Authors, Fantasy, Fiction, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, YA/MG/Children's Books

at least ’til 12:01 am tomorrow.

In honor of the Potter-mania, I’d like to post a few links:

  • Doug Jones’ “Most Real Fantasy”, best line:”Harry Potter can’t be a threat. Wizardry doesn’t really work. And if your kids are really tempted to join a coven then it’s not a giant leap to say that you’ve failed miserably as a parent. Where is the ballast in your childrearing?”

  • Go watch “Welcome Back Potter” from last night’s The Daily Show (you have to sit through a little bit of other hilarious stuff first). Stewart brings up the oft-quoted Cardinal Ratzinger interview where he talked about the books containing, ““subtle seductions that work imperceptibly, and because of that deeply, and erode Christianity in the soul before it can even grow properly.” Stewart replies “yes, and really who knows better how children can be subtely seduced…”

  • While you’re there, see “Harry Potter Terror” also from the Daily Show

  • I think this photo shows the greatest threat posed by Rowling’s books: those hats catching on.

  • Meghan Cox’ A Classic for the Ages?is worth a read

  • Lastly, sure the themes get a little old, but most of the 11 pages here are worth a read.

Dusted Off: Goblet of Fire

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On July 14, 2005

In Authors, Fantasy, Fiction, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, YA/MG/Children's Books

Down to hours before Half-Blood Prince and we’re starting to get noise about The Goblet of Fire movie. A handful of early reviews at aintitcool already, and now one from a regular.

Can’t wait for this one!

Dusted Off: The Few, the Proud, the Re-Readable

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On March 31, 2004

In Aaron Elkins, Authors, Douglas Adams, Elvis Cole/Joe Pike, Fiction, Gideon Oliver, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais, Science Fiction, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a few select authors that I can say that I’ve read everything they’ve written (or at least published). As of last week, Robert Crais just joined the likes of Douglas Adams, Christopher Buckley, Aaron Elkins, and a few others I can’t think of at the moment.

Robert Crais started off writing cool, Robert B. Parker-ish detective novels. Lots of action, lots of wise cracks, deadly & enigmatic sidekick, etc. Unlike Parker, over time Crais didn’t get lighter on the action and drama–‘tho the wise cracks did become scarce (but in a fitting way due to the subject matter). The plots became more intricate, the characters better… I’m a little worried that the last two Elvis Cole novels have been a bit too serious, a bit too intense–I can’t help but think of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennaro series (which isn’t bad, just not where the series was originally headed, I thought). That doesn’t mean that I don’t have every intention of running down to a bookstore the instant the next book, The Forgotten Man comes out in August (*cough*birthdaygiftidea*cough*).

His two stand-alone novels, Demoltion Angel and Hostage (which I’ve talked about here before), both blew me away, particularly the former. Good to see that he’s not a one-trick pony–even if that one trick is particularly great.

And so far, he stands up to a re-reading. What more could anyone ask for?

Dusted Off: Finished Hostage

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On February 8, 2004

In Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais

Well, I know all of my two readers are eagerly awaiting to find out what I thought of Hostage. Kept up the pacing, kept up the suspense …. but, I’m not sure how satisfying the ending was.

I don’t know how he could’ve resolved everything differently than he did without going into melodrama, so he ended it right. But I didn’t fear for a second that anything else was going to happen.

All in all, tho–great read. Crais is capable of better, but it was still pretty good.

Dusted Off: Couple of fiction notes

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On February 4, 2004

In Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais

1. Someone in IRC just pointed me at ShadowPDF.net, a collection of classic pulps of The Shadow. Takes me back to when I was a kid and listened to the radio shows on tape/radio . . . too cool.

2. Update on Hostage. I was very tempted to pull an all nighter for this one. It’s very different in flavor and pacing than the Elvis Cole series. I’ve stopped missing them, and have been drawn into Chief Tulley’s world. The set up Crais creates in the first hundred pages or so is brilliant. This is all going to go horribly, horribly bad. Which means it will be incredibly fun to read. Only question is how dark Crais will let it go . . . .

my guess is very.

Dusted Off: Now that’s what I call noir

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On February 3, 2004

In Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Crais

Started Robert Crais’ Hostage last night. I didn’t get very far into it before my arch-nemesis, Sleep, won another round in our ongoing battle.

First stand-alone novel I’ve read by him. I can already tell I’m going to miss Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Not that it’s a bad book–but any novel that opens up with a double-murder/suicuide could really use some old friends in it to help you cope, y’know?

Ohh, while writing this I read that the movie based on this book started filming a couple of weeks ago. Bruce Willis stars. That could be cool….

Dusted Off: June 21, 2003

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On June 21, 2003

In Authors, Fantasy, Fiction, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, YA/MG/Children's Books

Well, like so many, many Americans (and Brits and maybe even the Canadians) ) my family was at Barnes & Noble at midnight. Following a church activity, we didn’t have time to deposit the kids anywhere, so at 10 o’clock my 4, 3, and 1 yr old come tromping into the Harry Potter party.

Now all my kids know about Harry is that mommy and daddy really like him, and they’ve seen the trailers for the movies on some of their videos. But they got caught up in all the excitement–the boys got lightning bolts painted on their foreheads, got their picture taken with a cardboard Harry, etc. And all the people dressed up in costumes! Too cool.

It was actually pretty neat–I wish we weren’t carrying tired kids around so we could’ve really gotten into things, but there was a good atmosphere. Okay, I talked to one clerk who was very happy that, unlike The Goblet of Fire she was working on the cash register end–“the happy end”–wherein she was dealing with people who had books. Last time around she had to deal with those ninnies who didn’t preorder, and therefore didn’t get a book (how insane do you have to be to actually think for a nanosecond that you’re going to get a book like this by just walking in from the street with hundreds of crazed fans already in the store?) Oh yeah, I was talking about the nice atmosphere.

All these kids (10-60 in age) assembled to get their hands on a book–to be excited about reading a book. I know, I know this keeps getting brought up as one of the positive things about the series, but it was very satisfying to see this much interest in something that didn’t feature CGI.

Anyhow, we had fun–the kids got an interesting experience, and a nap in the van–

and we got the book

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