Category: Fiction Page 320 of 341

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (wink, wink)

On August 29, 2013

In Authors, Cormoran Strike, F-J, Fiction, J. K. Rowling, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert Galbraith

A briefer version of this appears on Goodreads.

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The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
Series: Cormoran Strike, #1

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I have to admit, if I didn’t know the name that’s on Robert Galbraith’s birth certificate, I don’t know that I’d have picked this book up. It’s possible– I pick up odd mysteries sometimes(the U.K. cover would’ve been more likely to get me to do it than the U.S. cover). But by the time I was halfway through with this one, I was ready to buy the next 2 or 3 in the series, regardless how this one turned out.

This is not the J. K. Rowling of Harry Potter — that’s obvious, and as it should be. Nor is this the J. K. Rowling of The Causal Vacancy — and that’s just merciful and wise. Let me quote (in it’s entirety) my Goodreads review of that one:

I don’t know, man…I just don’t know.

. It’s ten months later, and I still don’t know. But here, she taps into the same vein that brought her success — a different voice, a different world, different characters — but the same ability to tell a story. Not necessarily all that new, perhaps not written in the most “literary” way, but in a way that grabs the reader, draws them in and keeps them turning pages. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we want? (unless we’re professional critics or professors)

Our entry into this world comes via Robin Ellacott, newly moved to London with her fiancé who comes to the office of a P.I. as a temp secretary. She’s smart (and we eventually get an idea just how smart), spunky, and has long had an interest in detecting, it turns out (which must be nice — I’ve never had a temp job that was in a field I’d been interested for years and years). It’s through her eyes that we get confirmation that yes, the protagonist is a decent guy, despite problems he might be having — and a good detective. While we are introduced to this world through Robin’s eyes, we eventually get to the point where we envy her as she gets to take part in the investigative work.

Her temporary boss, on the other hand isn’t someone we envy — nor is he noticeably spunky, there’s reason to doubt his intelligence from time to time — although he’s clearly an experienced and well-equipped detective. Injured in Afghanistan, he now (almost) ekes out a living doing private investigations. He has an interesting — and novel — past, one that opens doors for him (although he hates having to cash in on it). With the unlikely (but inherently cool) name of Cormoran Strike, he’s a member of a long-line of down-on-their luck, idealistic, hard-boiled, hard-drinking, lone-wolf detectives that goes back to Chandler (if not further). The friendship that Strike develops with Robin gives him the motivation–at least temporarily — to be a better version of himself than he’s apt to be, if only to pay her back for the extraordinary amount of help she’s been to him. It seems inevitable from almost the beginning that thus will develop into at least an unrequited love on his part, as long as Galbraith moves the relationship along in future books as deftly as she does here, I don’t see it becoming the cliche it so really could.

Given the subject of Strike’s investigation — a well-known model from a prominent family, who socializes almost exclusively with A-listers — Galbraith is given plenty of opportunity to comment on celebrity culture –a subject Galbraith has had a certain degree of experience with, and obviously an informed opinion or two about. Hard-boiled detectives tend to comment on society as they go about their detecting, and Cuckoo’s Calling does its fair share, particularly regarding the paparazzi and tabloid journalism, as well as the ridiculous aspects of the lives of celebrities.

The case that Strike is hired to investigate has plenty of twists and turns, more than enough to keep those who don’t care for the rest of the book entertained. I was pretty sure who the Big Bad was early on, and I was right. But I wasn’t in the same time zone as the motive. I was about 50/50 on some of the more minor mysteries, which is nice — for a first time mystery author, I’d have expected to be right about 70% of the time or so. But when I was wrong — I was very wrong. I should add that Galbraith didn’t cheat — everything we needed to know in order to identify the villains of the piece is right out there for us to see, just wish I’d done a better job of it.

A solid set-up for a series, decently interesting characters, and a mystery solid enough to prove that this newbie author (at least in this genre) has some chops. A distinct pleasure. I’ll be waiting for more Cormoran Strike — no matter what author’s name is attached.

Lexicon by Max Barry

By HCNewton

On August 27, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Lexicon by Max Barry
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My guess is that no one reading a book review needs to be convinced of the power of words, you probably know the power of words in your own life, not to mention the pen is mightier yada yada. Beyond the power of the written word, comes the power of the spoken word — a good speaker can bring along a group or an individual to a conclusion they’d never agree to were they reading the material — there’s plenty of anecdotal as well as experimental evidence to support the power of the spoken word.

Max Barry takes things a step further, what if the power of the spoken word was actual Power — like magic. With enough of a veneer of science/pseudo-science to make Walter Bishop happy and make the whole thing seem grounded. It’s one of the best “magic” systems I’ve come across lately (and there’s been a lot of them)

After a brief — and pretty unconventional — enhanced interrogation scene that made me wonder what I was getting myself into, I came across one of those sentences (or four, in this case) that are enough to convince me that I’m in for the rest of the book. In this case, it was on page 8:

He [our protagonist, drugged and in the midst of being kidnapped] shook his head to clear it, but the world grew dark and angry and would not stay upright. The world did not like to be shaken. He understood that now. He wouldn’t shake it again.

Can’t tell you exactly why — something about the voice would be my guess, but this is one of those things that I don’t want to dissect/scrutinize — but there’s a je ne sais quoi about that quotation that sold me on the novel. And it didn’t let go.

Within the group of practitioners of this magic-y system, there’s some sort of split, with the factions vying over control of an artifact that wields immense power — something along the lines of the prize in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the bodies are piling up.

Told in a series of flashbacks accompanying the present day stuggles, we get the stories of Wil — the only survivor of an event that killed the citizens of an entire Australian town — and Emily — a homeless American teen — as they first encounter, and learn to understand the power of words. These are very human stories — love and loss, betrayal, revenge, opportunities seized and missed. In the midst of the battles, subterfuge and death, it’s these things that stand out in the book.

A real pleasure to read from the opening pages through gripping conclusion, and on to the the entertaining acknowledgments (particularly that last paragraph of the acknowledgments). Max Barry’s an author I’m going to have to come back to.

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

By HCNewton

On August 26, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great read — think of it as the love child of a Michael Connelly novel and a William Gibson novel. If that’s the kind of thing that appeals to you, go grab this now. If not, well, you should grab it anyway, just so you can see how wrong you are.

I can’t think of anything to say about this book without spoiling anything not already on the jacket. Nearly perfect from cover to cover — there was one too-good-to-be-true coincidence that provided the necessary bit of information at just the right time. But that can be forgiven, given the way it worked out.

This is my first novel by Ellis, won’t be my last.

Insane City by Dave Barry

By HCNewton

On August 26, 2013

In Dave Barry, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Insane City by Dave Barry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous. Which is what it was going for, so good on Barry.

I didn’t think it was as satisfying a novel as his first two solo works, bu the further I got into it, and the more out of control the plot got, the more I warmed to it and the more I laughed.

The ending’s fairly predictable, but pretty satisfying — and funny.

Lots of laughs to be had

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Houg

By HCNewton

On August 22, 2013

In Fiction, Science Fiction

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, this was a heckuva read. Solidly built world, you can see it — practically smell it. Yeah, it takes a little while to fill the picture in, but really from the get-go you have a pretty clear idea what this particular distopia is like.

But it’s more than just another distopian novel about survival — thankfully. Actually, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what kind of SF novel this is without giving away everything, because every now and then — just when you think you have an idea what kind of book this is going to be, and what’s going on and what’s going to happen — Hough comes along, slaps you upside the head and says, “Nope, not that,” and proceeds to pull the rug out from underneath you. Characters you think you’ll be spending time with for the trilogy are killed. Constants turn out to be temporary. The shifts in direction aren’t such to give you whiplash, but it is enough to make you rethink everything you’ve read/predicted up to that point.

At some point, I started to mentally fill out one of those AD&D alignment grids for the characters — with 2 exceptions (and I guess you could make the argument for another one or two) they’re all some sort of “Neutral.” A couple of “Neutral Good”s, one “Neutral Evil,” (and of course, the exceptions — one “Lawful Good” and one “Chaotic Evil” (or “Total D*ck”), but on the whole, everyone is “Neutral”, just out to survive. Maybe find a little comfort and fun, but mostly just trying to survive in this uncertain world. Which is no mean feat.

It’s that need to survive that creates most of the conflict, most of the motivation for characters — and makes the whole thing so compelling. Almost every decision becomes a matter of life or death — sometimes for the person making the decision, sometimes for large groups of people, occasionally for the human race.

In the end, I think more questions were raised than were answered — but I didn’t feel cheated by any means, it wasn’t that Hough bit off more than he could chew, or left a lot of red (or potentially red) herrings laying around. Nope. He answered questions, he resolved plotlines, saw characters through their arcs. And those answers, resolutions and arcs led organically to new ones. The way it should be. He didn’t end things on a cliffhanger, but there’s almost no way someone could read that last line and not get impatient waiting for the sequel.

Indexing, Episode 7: Bread Crumbs by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2013

In Fantasy, Fiction, Indexing, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

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Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.7

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Episode 7: Bread Crumbs
Well, didn’t see any of that coming. Wow. Well, not totally true — I’d figured something a lot like what happened with Demi at the end of the episode was coming. But McGuire’s been leading us to that for awhile now, so that’s not a knock on her ability to surprise the reader. Given how many different things happened in this episode, that’s still a really good ratio.

More stuff — little things, episodic things, character things, overarching plot things, comic things, curious things, puzzling things — happened in this episode than any other. The pacing was far different, too — there was an urgency to everything that unfolded that matched what was going on for the characters. The team split up to deal with several narrative events — their night was chaotic, messy, and terrible — and the writing matched that. I read this a few days ago, and more than any single plot point, that feeling sticks with me.

Not that the plot points have faded — this is one of those bits of writing that burns itself into your brain for awhile. Every character is well-served, even the constantly under-utilized Andy. He gets more ink — and action — here than in the first six episodes combined. We learn a lot about him along the way — and while Jeff is featured as much as he usually is, we learn as much about him as Andy.

This is an episode where the changes to the narrative are front and center, on display for Henry’s team to see as clearly as it is for the reader — and the rest of the Agency. Not just the potentially earth-shattering events are lived through, but paradigm-shifting realizations are reached. The road for these five just got a lot bumpier ahead.

In the midst of this heaviness, McGuire puts a well-placed bit of comedy (possibly two, depending how you take the latter). Henry and Sloane are working to keep a Peter Pan from attempting to launch himself off a roof and discover that he really can’t fly. I wondered if instead of trying to stop him, what if they made him think a lot of happy thoughts — would that have actually permitted him to fly? In a world where a Snow White manifestation can actually talk to birds, I wouldn’t have thought so. But maybe. With time running out and their normal efforts failing, Sloane does the smartest, most inventive thing I’ve seen anyone in this book do to help this boy grow up. I laughed out loud as I realized what she was up to, and kept it up through her execution. I’m still not sure why Henry was so against it.

I’m more invested in this story than I’ve been at any point since I started reading it, and cannot wait for Episode 8.

Leverage: The Con Job by Matt Forbeck

By HCNewton

On August 19, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Leverage: The Con Job by Matt Forbeck
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Wow, it’s so easy to read men like Lee Goldberg and think that all tie-in novels are really good, this is one of those books that serves as a cold dose of reality. This was sloppy, lazy, heavy-handed and overly-reliant on inside jokes and name dropping. Most of those revolved around Wil Wheaton — and, yes, were amusing. But there were just so, so many of them it became annoying, I started calling this book “Leverage: Forbeck Less-Than-Threes Wheaton.”

I’ll be back for the next book, because I was such a fan of the series and these characters, not because of this book — just thankful it’s a different author.

Indexing, Episode 6: Fox’s Tongue by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2013

In Fantasy, Fiction, Indexing, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.6

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Episode 6: Fox’s Tongue
Again, I’ll just say that without more grounding in the normal way the narrative works in this world it’s hard to get too invested in/fully understand the way it’s working differently now. If McGuire’d asked me, I’d have told her to give us an episode or two of the status quo before Henry has to toss caution to the wind and recruit Demi. But the status is not quo — and McGuire didn’t ask me, so who cares? (frankly, as long as I get my regular Toby Daye fixes, I really don’t care how the rest of her stuff comes out, even this one, which I’m generally positive about.)

This particular case is interesting enough on its face — but once you go behind the surface, this could get really, really ugly. The plot twists and turns in these few pages are very engaging, just the kind of thing to really draw in the reader.

The character moments for Henry and Sloane are likely the best in this series — Henry seems capable and useful — something I’ve not really seen from her — particularly when she dips into her Snow White-ness for the sake of the investigation. And Sloane grappling with her (true?) self was very effective. I was less impressed with the use of Demi here — her being overly honest and complete with her reports was a good, rookie touch. But where’s the training, why weren’t her teammates on top of that thing — she needs to be trained, not only in the written words and procedures, but in the unwritten policies of her team. They’ve really dropped the ball with her.

McGuire really seems to be pointing at someone as the Big Bad of the series — I’m not sure I want to go where she appears to be leading — it’s almost too easy that way. Then again, sometimes the subtle approach isn’t the best. I guess I’ll see over the next 6 installments.

Indexing, Episode 5: Cruel Sister by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On August 16, 2013

In Fantasy, Fiction, Indexing, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Whoops, behind again. Further than I thought, too. I knew I needed to read/talk about Episode 6, but I hadn’t realized that Episode 5 wasn’t up yet — I’d have sworn I posted it last month. Maybe I did. Maybe Internet Termites came along and ate it, leaving the rest of this blog.

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Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.5

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Episode 5: Cruel Sister
I thought I had things figured out — at least for the next 2-3 episodes, I thought she’d take the memetic incursion from the last episode and put it to work, and that this would last for a few episodes, if not turning into the Big Bad for the 12 as a whole.

What a relief to be wrong — the way that McGuire took things instead — a good, honest heart-to-heart rather than repeated covert assassination attempts might be smaller on the Drama Meter, but it ranks pretty high on my satisfactory use of characters meter. Characters — particularly those who work in close quarters together — need to talk more and combat less (not that I have a problem with good fight scenes, etc. — it’s just when they’re necessary and/or unavoidable, not the result of sit-com type misunderstandings and circumstances)

The cases that Henry and her team (aka, Henry and People Who Serve a Purpose) have been dealing with lately, the narrative isn’t acting like they expect/have been lead to believe is necessary. That’s definitely the situation this time, which for some reason appeals to me more than the others. Maybe it’s the way that this one veered from the norm, maybe it’s because I’m getting a better and better idea what the norm is supposed to be. Or maybe I just have a thing for people poisoning their families.

I hope it’s not the latter.

I’m thinking we could use more development of each idea in this episode (and in retrospect, the previous episodes, too) — it felt really rushed. Almost too rushed to keep going with. I don’t think each of these is a book-length idea (but it might be), but they need more space than they’re currently getting, at least 2x the words.

Still, a good read, with a lot of tantalizing possibilities for the next episodes. I need to just stop trying to guess what’s going to happen and just enjoy the ride. Don’t see that happening, but that’s what I should do.

Non-Fictional Feelings for Fictional Characters

By HCNewton

On August 15, 2013

In Dogs, Harry Dresden, Harry Potter, Iron Druid Chronicles, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, News/Misc., Spenser

A slightly different post this morning, I’ve been trying some behind-the-scenes work here on the blog this morning — composition, infrastructure, design, etc. The books that I’m overdue to review are hard to write about, I’m plugging away at 4 different reviews right now that I absolutely want to get right , and that’s time-consuming. Also, Grossman’s YOU: A Novel took 2 or 3 days longer to read than I’d expected — worth the time, but it did sort of mess up my schedule. So, like I said. Something different.

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I saw that picture on Grammarly.com‘s facebook page*, and as one does, shared it, which prompted a friend to ask what some of my favorite fictional characters were. I decided to limit the list to fictional characters from books (a. see the picture and b. see this blog), and to characters I had “non-fictional feelings” for — Hannibal Lecter was a favorite (for 2 books, anyway), but I had no emotional attachment to him, or Evanovich‘s Ranger — fun character, but don’t really care about the guy. Here, with added commentary, is my list.

Archie Goodwin — this is the name that jumped immediately to mind. Archie’s the big brother I never had — the quick, agile wit; the athleticism; the way with the ladies — and the rest of the things that older brothers so often exemplify to those of us who never had one (on the other hand, we didn’t have to share a bedroom). ‘Course he makes the list.
Spenser — it’s almost impossible to spend as much time in a guy’s head as I have Spenser’s (or Archie’s) and not have some sort of emotional bond there. Everything I said about Archie applies here too, actually.
Harry Dresden — Chicago’s resident Wizard P. I. He feels like a friend. Hanging with Harry for a night of RPGs, Double Whoppers, and McAnally’s beer sounds ideal.
Scout Finch — she’s plucky, honest, a born-reader, and loves her pa (even when she doesn’t understand him). She’s had a soft spot in my heart longer than most of the people on this list.
Hermione Granger — sure, her famous buddy still gets all the press. But it’s this brave, clever, stubborn and resourceful gal who’s the most consistent hero in the series — and the one you can count on for genuine emotional moments. (this isn’t to take away anything from Ron, Luna, Albus, Neville, Sirius, Dobby, etc. — but Hermione alone manages to do it in every book in the series)
Chet Little / Oberon — it felt like a cheat listing these separately, and it just looked wrong to leave one of them off the list. So…I cheated. Both of these charming gentlemen will win you over within a few pages (in Dog On It and Hounded, respectively), and after you spend a few books with them, they’ll have stolen your heart. They make you laugh, they make you worry — and in Hunted, Oberon commits himself to one of the bravest acts I’ve seen, and choked me up a bit. The humans these guys live with almost make the list just on their testimony.
Angela Gennaro — if you hadn’t grown attached to Angie already, especially after Darkness, Take my Hand‘s events, there’s just no way you can’t fall apart with her at the end of Gone, Baby, Gone

Let me hear from you, reader/follower/happener-upon-this-post — who do you have non-fictional feelings for?

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* I looked but couldn’t find the source for this, otherwise I’d have cited it. If you know who should get the credit, please let me know.