 |
| Bonnie and Clyde from a couple of years ago. |
Anyway, I did buy a few books when I was out, so let's check them out. I'll also provide my reviews of the last two books I completed.
Just Finished
"In my university years, bac in the mid-70s.... (yes I am that old) I took a Science Fiction novel course. Besides the fact that it was an easy grade because our grade was split in two (first term write a new ending to an existing Sci-Fi short story and 2nd term, write a Sci-Fi short story), it also allowed me to really explore the Sci-Fi genre. We were reading and discussing two novels / short stories a week. Anyway, this course introduced me to J.G. Ballard. I believe the novel we read was The Drowned World. Since then, and mainly in the past 10+ years, I've read another 10+ books by Ballard, including this collection of short stories, The Terminal Beach.
Ballard is hit or miss with me. I've enjoyed some of his novels immensely as they present a unique dystopian look at the world. The Drowned World, The Wind from Nowhere, Crash, High-Rise are all examples of stories I found fascinating and in some cases, downright weird. But others, like The Crystal World and The Day of Creation didn't do anything for me. Now, Ballard was a prolific writer and just due to the sheer volume of his work, some are bound not to work for people. Anyway, back to The Terminal Beach. Like the novels, some stories worked, some didn't.
Ballard generally presents a bleak, dystopic world in these stories; the remains of the island where nuclear testing was conducted, a Florida that is being crystalized by some 'virus', Earth where the water is drying up and people are being sent to the planets, cities filled to the maximum, where citizens are forced into smaller and smaller spaces, etc. The description of these visions are dark, cold (even when it's really, really hot) and impersonal. Ballard has an unemotional way of presenting the stories.
My main problem with the stories are that Ballard doesn't seem to be able to wrap them up succinctly. The stories end and kind of leave you hanging. Now, Ballard probably wants you to come to your own conclusions, but I can be lazy that way. There were still some excellent stories in this collection; Deep End - water is drying up, Earth's citizens are being sent to space, except the elderly. Satellites are crashing to earth and in one such crash, the protagonist discovers a fish in a pool of water; Billenium - the streets overflow with people as rural land must expand to feed the masses. People are crowded in 4' square rooms, mass traffic jams of pedestrians, quite well crafted; The Lost Leonardo - Leonardo's Crucifixion is stolen, was the picture changed by a historical character pictured in the painting and others? A neat mystery, quite different from the others.
The book is not perfect by any means, but at the same time, it does present Ballard's unique story telling and if you want to be introduced to it, The Terminal Beach is a good book with which to start. (3.5 stars)"
"Shadow of the Bird is the 2nd and, so far, last book in the Lightfall series by Tim Probert. It follows the continuing adventures of young girl, Bea and her new friend, Cadwaller (Cad) the Galdurian. They are on a double mission; firstly, they are searching for Bea's adopted grandfather, the Pig Wizard, and, secondly, they hunt Kest Ke Belenus, the Bird, who is trying to destroy all of the Lights of Irpa.
As Kest destroys the towns of planet Irpa to steal and absorb the lights, Bea and Cad, along with kitty Nimm, are trying to find the Lorgon, a water spirit, to find out how to destroy Kest. At the same time, Grandpa is trying to help the Warden of Rinn save her citizens from Kest.
It's a fascinating adventure with nice little twists and turns as Bea and Cad find out more about the history of Irpa and also about why Kest is acting as it is. There are wonderful characters, Bea and Cad, first of all, but everyone else who takes part, down to the smallest of characters, like the Arsai and the little Rat. It's bright and dark at the same time, wonderful artwork and just an entertaining story.
Almost too much takes place, but that's no bad thing. Of course I do have a question of Mr. Probert. WHEN IS THE 3RD BOOK COMING OUT!!!! Egads! Enjoyable for both adults and young children (4.0 stars)"
New Books
"On a dark and moonless planet, mutations have left women as little more than wombs, while men can teleport but have limited control over the ability. When aliens come to plunder this world's resources, the already harsh environment degrades exponentially. Will the Galactic Federation find this world in time to help the natives restore their women and save their civilization? A visionary novel in the tradition of Ursula K. LeGuin and James Tiptree, Jr., by a leading feminist author. With an afterword by Nalo Hopkinson."
"A murdered girl, a missing doll, an illegally adopted child - a trilogy of mystery for Lieutenant Luis Mendoza."
"Adegravele was very lovely and a veritable tower of greed and egotism. The Marnys were rich and the little Vicomte very young; and just now the brightly-plumaged hawk was busy plucking the latest pigeon- newly arrived from its ancestral cote."
"Pre-empting novels such as the Booker Prize-winning `Time's Arrow' by as much as twenty years, Counter-Clock world is a story of racial tensions told against the background of the year 1998 in which time flows in reverse as people are born old only to grow younger and younger.
Time runs backwards in the Counter-Clock World. Old people emerge from their graves, grow to middle age, youth, adolescence and childhood to be finally unborn in their mothers wombs. The most powerful - and most feared - organization in the world is the Library, in charge of expunging the written records of events, which have no longer happened.When a powerful black leader is reborn, the Library's one concern is to eliminate him before the renewal of racial violence tears the country apart. But in this counter-clock year of 1998 it isn't that simple...
This eerie and unforgettable premise encapsulates Philip K Dick's ambitious and inimitable approach to fiction writing. The attempts of his characters to cope with the bizarre reality of a world that runs backwards while their minds run forwards like ours, operate as a stunning critique of the way in which we perceive our own civilization."
“She wasn't an ordinary supplicant. She didn't lower her eyes. There was nothing humble about her bearing. She spoke frankly, looking straight ahead, as if to claim what was rightfully hers. ‘If you don't agree to look at our case, my parents and I will be lost, and it will be the most hateful legal error...’”
Maigret is asked to the windswept, rainy border town of Givet by a young woman desperate to clear her family of murder. But their well-kept shop, the sleepy community and its raging river all hide their own mysteries."
See, Castor's stepped over the line this time, and he knows he'll have to pay. the only question is: how much? Not the best of times, then, for an unwelcome confrontation with his holier-than-thou brother, Matthew. And just when he thinks things can't possibly get any worse, along comes Father Gwilliam and the Anathema.
Oh joy...."
Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” continues to thrill and unsettle readers nearly seven decades after it was first published. By turns puzzling and harrowing, “The Lottery” raises troubling questions about conformity, tradition, and the ritualized violence that may haunt even the most bucolic, peaceful village.
This graphic adaptation by Jackson’s grandson Miles Hyman allows readers to experience “The Lottery” as never before, or to discover it anew. He has crafted an eerie vision of the hamlet where the tale unfolds and the unforgettable ritual its inhabitants set into motion. Hyman’s full-color, meticulously detailed panels create a noirish atmosphere that adds a new dimension of dread to the original story."
The longest-running series from Max Allan Collins, author of Road to Perdition, and the first ever to feature a hitman as the main character, the Quarry novels tell the story of a paid assassin with a rebellious streak and an unlikely taste for justice. Once a Marine sniper, Quarry found a new home stateside with a group of contract killers. But some men aren't made for taking orders - and when Quarry strikes off on his own, god help the man on the other side of his nine-millimeter.."
No comments:
Post a Comment