by Jane | Apr 3, 2018 | Write Here Write Now
Anne Rice’s Servant of the Bones is the tale of Azriel, a young man who is turned into a spirit during the Jewish exile in Babylon. Azriel’s spirit is attached to his gilded bones and can be called up by whoever owns then and says the right words. But Azriel is not easily controlled. Called up in the late 20th century, he becomes involved with a cult leader and his family; however, this spirit has his own ideas of right and wrong and follows his heart.
In the vein of Interview with the Vampire, Azriel tells his story to a neutral party, a professor alone in a cabin in the woods. The early pages read somewhat like a late 19th/early 20th century tale and grabbed me from the start. After a short introduction by the narrator, Azriel appears at the cabin door, helps the professor through an illness, and proceeds to tell his story, starting with his days in Babylon.
This was a very enjoyable tale, in which the reader feels for Azriel. Though it becomes evident early on that he is a killer, he has an overwhelming moral sense which leads us to root for him all the way.
Read Servant of the Bones and take a trip through history to an incredible conclusion.
by Jane | Mar 10, 2018 | Write Here Write Now
Dark is a Netflix TV series produced in Germany. From the very beginning, there is crisis. In the first episode, there is a suicide and a missing child. Shortly thereafter, another child goes missing. A dead boy show up who is not either of those two. The community is frightened. Police officer Ulrich, who is very involved in the search, lost his brother thirty-three years earlier. Is there a connection? If you’re a fan of Supernatural, you might guess it’s some sort of monster who surfaces every thirty-three years. The real answer is even more disturbing. Two strange men and a cave system with a secret round out the mystery.
This series is very intriguing and engaging. There are a lot of characters, with a lot of intricate relationships, which makes the show more interesting, but it’s difficult to keep them all straight. This difficulty increases when some of the action moves to the past and you meet them again as younger versions of themselves. Still, there are clues given, and it adds to the fun to learn what past issues have led to the problems of the current day.
I enjoyed this show very much. After only ten episodes, I am ready for ten more. I hope everyone will give Dark a chance.
by Jane | Jan 6, 2018 | Write Here Write Now
Netherspace by Andrew Lane and Nigel Foster is good science fiction. It reminds me of the classic sci fi books I read as a child, sci fi from the 50’s and 60’s, from which I gained a love of the genre. Lane and Foster introduce us to a world where first contact has been made with several alien species, but strangely, there is no real communication. The aliens just come to trade, pointing to what they want and leaving an item of technology, including technology to travel between the stars. But the items they trade for is a total mystery — it could be a broken bicycle wheel or a human being.
In Netherspace, we become acquainted with Kara, an ex-army sniper, and Marc, an artist who has traded with aliens in the past. These two are recruited to travel to an alien planet to resolve a hostage situation. They’re given all the information they need through a machine which puts the information into their heads, but what they don’t expect in treachery on board the ship.
I loved this book! No only does it remind me of sci fi of old, it brings its own take on what first contact could really be like. The technology is wonderful, the characters are well-developed both individually and in their relationships with each other. The aliens are also quite fun. And in classic sci fi tradition, there is a big reveal at the end that is well worth the wait. Pick up Netherspace. You’ll thank me.
by Jane | Nov 27, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley is an interesting little book taking place in Peru in the mid-19th century. It focuses on Englishman Merrick Tremayne, an employee of the India Company, who is sent on an expedition with his colleague Clem Markham. They are set to gather cutting from chichona trees, which produce malaria-curing quinine. This is a dangerous expedition because the Peruvians have declared a monopoly on these trees and will kill anyone who tries to take them out.
So far, this description reads more like an historical novel than fantasy, but there are elements of native beliefs and superstitions that enter into the story. Even before leaving England, Merrick encounters these elements through some specimens his grandfather had brought home years earlier, the most unlikely of them a statue which seems to move. When Merrick reaches his destination in Peru, he sees more of these statues and comes to understand that these are considered sacred, both by the villagers and Raphael, the village priest and Merrick’s native guide.
Because the book starts out like the writing of a 19th century English adventurer, the reader may have trouble connecting to the fact that it is labeled as a fantasy. And truth be told, it doesn’t fit any definition of fantasy which I would normally read. However, there are engaging characters, a hint of mystery throughout, and a poignancy in the issues dealt with day to day by the Peruvians. These attributes make it well worth a read.
by Jane | Nov 10, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
A Gathering of Ravens by Scott Oden is the tale of Étain, a Saxon woman, and her encounters with Grimnir, a creature from Norse mythology. It is set in the 10th and 11th centuries, spanning locations from Denmark to England to Ireland. Early in the story, Étain is kidnapped by Grinmir to help him in his quest for revenge against another creature, known as Half-Dane.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, as Grinmir dragged Étain from Denmark through a spiritual gate into England. It was when the story shifted to Ireland that I lost interest. In what Oden calls “Book 3”, the reader is introduced to several more characters, all with hard-to-pronounce names, who are engaged in some sort of civil war for control of Ireland. The problem was that at this point I was just reading words, getting no enjoyment because I didn’t know who to root for. Should I be sympathetic for the man Grimnir wants dead or hope that he succeeds and kills him?
The only truly likeable character in this book is Étain, and after we catch up to her, she makes what I believe are questionable choices, taking her further and further away from her original goal of spreading Christianity to the Danes. And while characters’ goals can certainly change throughout the course of a book, I saw no rational reason for her to make the choices she did.
A Gathering of Ravens is well-written and the first half had me very engaged in the world of pre-Norman England. But because I was so disappointed in the second half, I cannot recommend this book.
by Jane | Oct 21, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein takes place in 2147 and focuses on the idea of human teleportation. In Klein’s world, there are no governments like we have today — everything is run by corporations, one of which is International Transport in charge of all teleportation. Near the beginning of the book, Joel Byram finds himself prisoner in a conference room. After a brief chapter about his captivity, Klein takes us back to explain how Joel got there before moving forward to tell us how he handles his situation.
If this was Star Trek, I would say this book revolved around the result of a transporter accident, but there’s more to the book than that. There are a couple of groups opposed to human teleportation on religious and ethical grounds who are very present in this scenario. There is also the wrinkle that Joel’s wife Sylvia works for International Transport and is involved in research which would have these fringe groups even more up in arms.
The Punch Escrow is written in first person from Joel’s point of view, and the voice is one of confusion combined with sardonic humor and desperation. That makes it quite fun to read. The only oddity about the writing is the use of footnotes (sometimes quite lengthy) explaining the science referred to in the narrative. While I found much of this interesting, I also found it distracting, since it took me out of the story. For me, an appendix with this information would have been preferable.
That aside, I really enjoyed reading the book. I felt for Joel and his predicament and wanted nothing more than for things to work out for him. What more could you want from a book? Pick up The Punch Excrow. It’ll knock you out.
by Jane | Sep 25, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland combines physics, magic, and time travel into a very exciting novel you won’t want to put down. It’s told in several different perspectives through a number of documents. It starts out with a journal written by the 21st century woman Melisande Stokes in1851 telling the story of how she came to be trapped in that time.
Her story begins with Tristan Lyons, who works for a secret government organization, recruiting her to translate some ancient texts. It quickly gets weird as she comes to realize that the texts involve magic and that Tristan and his bosses are looking to bring magic back to the modern world. They later recruit Dr. Frank Odo, a retired physicist, who through the theory of alternate universes, helps them in their quest.
This book is very interesting to read because as the organization grows, there are documents written by people who really don’t understand what’s going on, which makes it a mystery for the reader to solve. Without going into detail about the time travel aspect, I will say that the protagonists are constantly getting into trouble, and some of these situations lead to comic relief in n otherwise serious novel.
I really had a lot of fun with The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., so much so that I read the last 200 pages in one sitting, not wanting to stop. You will enjoy this book.
by Jane | Sep 15, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
The Himalayan Codex by Bill Schutt and J. R. Finch tells the story of a mysterious group of pre-humans living in the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet. Called Morlocks, Cerae, or Seres by various groups who encounter them, they correspond to the Yeti or abominable snowman of legend.
Schutt and Finch follow three different groups in their search for these people: one led by Pliny the Elder in 46 AD, a group of American scientists and military men in 1946, and a group of nationalist Chinese also in 1946. The description of the Morlocks and their civilization is very inventive, including three sentient species ancient structures, an underground city, and advances in evolutionary biology.
This is a fine read. It’s particularly interesting how the story goes back and forth between 46 AD and 1946, while scientists at the Museum of Natural History are busy translating documents to find out just what Pliny the Elder discovered all those years ago.
I would highly recommend this book. Not only is the science is interesting, there is a lot of action in Tibet with the Romans and Cerae in 46 AD, and among the Morlocks, Americans, and Chinese in 1946. Read it. You won’t be sorry.
by Jane | Sep 9, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
The Discovery is a Netflix movie about death directed by Charlie McDowell. Dr. Thomas Harbor, played by Robert Redford, is a scientist who has proved the existence of an afterlife, a discovery which has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of suicides. His estranged son Will, played by Jason Siegel, decides after many years to see him. They meet back in his lab, which has almost become a cult where people (many of whom have attempted suicide) live and join him in his work.
Will is very reluctant to help his father in work he considers dangerous, but once he agrees, he makes an even more startling discovery, learning where people go after they die. But he’s fearful of this getting out because it could result in an even larger number of suicides.
A very moody, low-key film, The Discovery is not among my list of favorites. It has a message, but it is a little too ethereal for me. While thoughtful films have their place, I would leave this one alone.
by Jane | Sep 2, 2017 | Write Here Write Now
Dean Koontz’s The Silent Corner is one of five science fiction books I saw listed for summer reading in a prominent magazine. Though summer is basically over, I’m finally getting around to the list. I haven’t read a lot of Dean Koontz, but from those I have read, I would have classified him as somewhere between horror and thriller. So I was surprised to find him on this list. But not having read a lot of his books, it could have just been my ignorance.
The front cover of The Silent Corner says “A novel of suspense,” and as I started to read the book, that would have been my assessment as well — suspense/thriller. But as I continued reading, I began to see some science fiction elements. So now I label it “thriller with science fiction elements.” The story itself is of FBI agent-on-leave Jane Hawk, who is investigating her husband’s apparent suicide, and stumbles into a wide-ranging plot of human control and societal manipulation. It reminds me mostly of some of Robin Cook’s work if we were to start in the middle.
All that being said, it is an excellent book, as Koontz is an excellent writer. The reader is kept in suspense from beginning to end. Jane’s life is constantly in danger and she never knows from where that danger will come. Still, she pushes forward to find the source of the plot and end it.
One word of caution — The Silent Corner is the beginning of a new series, so everything will not be resolved in this one book. That could be good news or bad news. If you enjoyed following Jane Hawk through her many travails, you’ll get a chance to do it again in Kontz’s next book The Whispering Room. I, for one, will line up to get it.
