The Irresponsible Reader - I Read (a lot) and then Rant, Rave and maybe Review

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.

Saturday Miscellany – 8/17

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2013

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Why We’d Be Screwed if Young Adult Books Were Real
I’ve come across a couple of unique ways to do book reviews in the last week or so: Three Panel Book Reviews and The Bushwick Book Club — wish I was this creative/talented

Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik — it’ll be months, at best, before I can catch up to this one in the series. I’m just happy knowing that Temeraire is still going strong (even if only for one book after this).

…eh, a light week. Sorry

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.

—-

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.

—–

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.

Archie Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough

By HCNewton

On August 14, 2013

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin

A slightly briefer version of this appears on Goodreads.

—–

Archie Meets Nero Wolfe: A Prequel to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Back in Junior High when I first discovered the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books, I was quite relieved to learn that his family had approved a new author to write new books in the series. Murder in E Minor was pretty good — even if it sort of spoiled A Family Affair, it read like Stout on an off-day. His follow-up, Death on a Deadline, did some interesting things and was good enough. But from there, the quality really started slipping, and I can honestly say I really didn’t enjoy Silver Spire or The Missing Chapter at all — not because the latter was about an author continuing a popular series and dealing with backlash from the fans (that was actually sort of amusing). The passion and drive Goldsborough had initially was clearly gone — it’s this experience that keeps me from wholly embracing Ace Atkins as Spenser’s new scribe (as much as I really want to).

So why did I pick up Archie Meets Nero Wolfe? Well, it’d been eighteen years — so for Goldsborough to come back, there had to be a good reason — a story he cared about. He had time to get the voice right, the details “just so.” I was more than a little curious, too, just how did he see this initial meeting?

Oh, and, fine — I’ll be honest. You put out anything with the label “Nero Wolfe” on it and I’ll read it. Janet Evanovich, Nick Hornby, or Richard Russo wants to take a crack at it? I’ll bite.*

But, I did put it off for months. Take that, Goldsborough.

But I had hope. And that hope was buttressed after a few pages when I read:

…I got grilled by a surly lieutenant named Rowcliff, who had bulging eyes and a snarling voice that broke into a stutter when he got excited, which seemed to be much of the time.
He kept trying to get me to say that I fired at the robbers first. I was nervous, but when I wouldn’t budge off my story, his stuttering got worse, which would have been funny under different circumstances.

. That was a nice character moment. I looked forward to more of them. I even had Evernote ready to capture them like that one. That’s the only quotation I bothered grabbing.

There are two things you have to have (at this point) for an acceptable (if not good) Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin book. You need the characters we know and love and an interesting plot. Here, Goldsborough falls short on both counts.

To be fair(-ish), I thought he got Saul Panzer and Fred Durkin fairly close to right. Fritz and Rowcliff were pretty dead-on (and not really that present), maybe Stebbins, too. Cramer, Orrie and Bill were off. It was nice to spend some time with Del Bascom — and given how little time we spend with Bascom in the books, you can’t really judge how Goldsborough did with him.

Archie’s a tough one to peg — he’s new to New York at this time, fresh out of Ohio — so we can understand he’s not the detective we meet in Fer-de-Lance yet. He has to learn the city, learn more about being a detective — especially doing it Wolfe’s way, and essentially grow up. Sure, there’s traces of our man here — his attitude, his smart-mouth, his ability to handle himself in a moment of crisis. We see Archie’s appreciation for non-gourmet, but well-prepared, food — and a palate ready for education once he comes into Fritz’ influence. I don’t remember him being so fixated on coffee, either. I think there’s enough of Archie there to give Goldsborough credit for his characterization, but something’s holding me back.

I didn’t buy Wolfe at all — this is the big one. The others are seen in different lights than we normally are exposed to them, which can explain away a lot of the weaknesses of their portrayals — but you have to nail Wolfe or the whole thing is a waste of time. And beyond the beer, the dramatic entrance, his provision for guests . . . it was just a fat guy in a suit playing a part.

And as for plot? Pfui. This wasn’t much of a mystery, the bad guys do most of the work. Saul does almost everything commendable (and yes, you could make the argument that this is often the case) — Wolfe himself doesn’t solve much at all. He still holds the big gathering in his office — pretty much because he has to.

A lot of the attitudes expressed — say, for the child’s emotional well-being following the kidnapping, for example — seemed anachronistic. As did the language the characters used to describe that and similar ideas. I’d stopped caring by the point I noticed these piling up, so I didn’t take notes.

Lastly, I don’t buy at all the explanation Wolfe gives for hiring Archie. It’s just we’re at the end of the book, and it has to happen, so he makes up an excuse with no real justification behind it.

In the end, I’ve got to call this one unsatisfactory

If Robert Goldsborough dips back into this well? Will I read his next one? Yes, absolutely. I’ll hate myself, but I will.

I might wait a year or two, first.

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* I have nothing against any of these authors, at all, I like them a lot. I just don’t think they’re right for the books. Lee Goldberg, on the other hand…

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

By HCNewton

On August 13, 2013

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Doctoral candidate Sara Westen gets a summer job (that she didn’t apply for) in Prague to help a royal Czech family in the creation of a museum displaying the greatness of that family over the centuries, as they’ve recently been reunited with their treasures after the pillaging of the Nazis and Communists. Once there, she stumbles into international (as well as inter-chronological) intrigue, the mysterious apparent suicide of her mentor, and paranormal events of some order. Oh, and there’s sex, too. Can’t forget that, it’s part of the sales pitch.

I don’t know. I just don’t know.

On the one hand, this is well-written, clever, surprising, all the twists and turns you could ask for (and then some), a novel approach to time travel and supernatural-ish storytelling. The hero, Sarah Weston is great — the kind of strong women character you can relate to. The writing is brisk, and often amusing. The conclusion is wild, heart-warming, and not what anyone would expect. It’d almost seem worth reading just for the depiction of Beethoven and the way his music effects even people in the 21st century.

But it left me cold and apathetic. I had to force myself to push beyond page 100, and the only urgency I felt towards the finish was so I could move on to something else (although it was pleasant enough while reading, there was just nothing that kept me going). As amusing as I found some of the characters — the blind girl/musical savant, the impossible and very talented dwarf, a very American Czech prince, the gun-loving Asian from Texas, — I didn’t care about any of them. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the villain of the piece had twirled her moustache at some point. (yes, her moustache…I’d believe she’d have grown one just to twirl at appropriate moments).

And don’t get me wrong, I’m neither a prude nor the son of a prude, but the sex was a too graphic. It felt very incongruous to the rest of the book — especially the first “encounter” Weston had in Prague, which appears to be only semi-consensual for all involved. That really put me off, and I’m surprised two women writers would’ve included that and put it in even a slightly positive light.

Dusted Off: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2013

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly don’t know what to put here. I think that’s a compliment, hope it is anyway. I spent most of this novel leaning forward, as if that would get me to the end quicker. I don’t know how many times I said, “She’s [Collins] isn’t really doing that…” when it was very clear she was.

Yet the book as a whole (even most of the time I was reading it) I felt a mixture of pleasure and disappointment. I really don’t think that Collins could’ve done better, I don’t think there was any way to stick the landing. The setup over the first two novels created expectations that were too high — a plot that couldn’t be wrapped up in just one book (but I don’t think 2 would’ve done it either, then she would’ve had to resort to filler, I think).

So let me put it this way…did we get honest character growth/development? Yup.
Did we get to spend more time with people we’ve grown to like? Yup.
Did we see man’s cruelty to man clearly displayed? Yup.
Did we get a conclusion (however unsatisfying or sad) to every storyline? Yup.

Pretty much what we would want to see from a conclusion. Was it the ending that I wanted? No. Was it the ending that I feared we’d get? Thankfully, no. Can’t complain about that.

The most redeeming thing about this series (which, please don’t get me wrong, I loved) is the commentary on the relations between media, government actions (military and otherwise) and entertainment/distraction of the masses. I don’t think Collins said anything new, but she said it pretty darn effectively. And no one needs to think about these things more than the series’ target demographic.

Dusted Off: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2013

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Freeyow! (not a word, I know, but…) Took The Hunger Games and kicked it up a notch. Compelling just doesn’t cover it.

On the whole, I enjoyed The Hunger Games more, but this was a very worthy sequel, and definitely left me wanting to/needing to move on to Mockingjay

Dusted Off: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2013

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I want to have something more to say about this book, but for the moment all I can say is, wow–believe the hype.

Is it perfect? Nope. Is it a heckuva read? Oh yeah–on the edge of your seat, can’t believe this is a kids’ book, kind of read.

Faith & Life by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield

By HCNewton

On August 11, 2013

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Faith & Life: by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back when Princeton Seminary was the crown jewel of biblical Presbyterian training in the US, notable professors like Archibald Alexander, Samuel Miller, and Charles Hodge would have informal addresses for students on Sunday afternoons. B. B. Warfield, the lion of Princeton, continued this practice. These 41 chapters come from some of these addresses to the students.

I went skimming over the Table of Contents to pick out a few highlights — and I’m having a real problem. Almost every one is a gem. “Prayer as a Means of Grace” and “Prayer as a Practice” were very helpful — the latter was slightly better. “New Testament Puritanism” was great. Despite the reputation men like Warfield have, the chapters involving the work of the Holy Spirit were all tremendous. “God’s Holiness and Ours” was fantastic. I could keep going here, but it wouldn’t be long before I copied the Table of Contents.

For being the exemplar of “old Princeton,” with all the rigor and scholarship that entails — these addresses help us remember that even stalwarts like Warfield, who are known for strong stances on doctrinal issues — were men with vibrant faith, even a sense of humor.

I spent a few months reading 1 or 2 of these each Lord’s Day morning between breakfast and heading out for church — it was a great way to get my head (and heart) in the right frame of mind for worship. It’s everything Christian scholarship should be — warm, Christ-centered, practical, and doxological. It’s also everything that Christian devotional material should be — careful, sound, and deliberately orthodox. Highly recommended.