George RR Martin - Fevre Dream

   

      Abner Marsh has had his dearest wish come true - he has built the Fevre Dream, the finest steamship ever to sail the Mississippi. Abner hopes to race the boat some day, but his partner is making it hard for him to realize his ambition. Joshua York put up the money for the Fevre Dream, but now rumours have started about the company he keeps, his odd eating habits and strange hours. As the Dream sails the great river, it leaves in its wake one too many dark tales, until Abner is forced to face down the man who helped to make his dreams become reality.

       The thing that caught my attention the first time I saw Fevre Dream on the shelves was the fact that it had steamboats. I was fascinated by steamboats since I was a child so I couldn't really pass up on this opportunity, especially since the book was filed under Horror/Fantasy. 

       From the start I'll admit to the fact that this is my first George RR Martin book so I didn't know quite what to expect in terms of writing. I know he's famous for the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series but that's about it. I'll just clear this from the start: I'll buy his other books as well.
Fevre Dream is a very rich novel with an amazing cast, deep and complex characters and a superb setting (spanning from New Madrid to New Orleans). And, of course, steamboats. Lots and lots of steamboats, the majority (if not all) being actual steamboats that ran during that period (such as the Robert E. Lee, the Natchez, the Eclipse).
The book is more like an alternative history type of book which doesn't hurt it at all. It mingles vampires (it's not a spoiler, no worries) with actual events and places. And, of course, steamboats (lots and lots!).

       The characters are simply extraordinary, even the ones that are not fully fleshed out. 
Abner Marsh is especially well created and interesting, along with Joshua York (which provides the books main emotional passages) and Damon Julian (who manages to channel some sort of Cthulhu-like majesty, at least that's what RR Martin's depiction of Damon's ancient evil reminded me of).

       Also, the book is extremely well crafted in terms of plot. It never drags out, the pace is even and it keeps you hooked like a vampire to a neck (pun very much intended!). Speaking of vampires, Fevre Dream offers a fresh take on the vampire myth but I won't go into that since it kind of is a major spoiler.

       At the end of the day, I'm very pleased with the book and charmed by Abner Marsh's character and very happy with the in-depth portrayal of the steamboat era. It's a must read!

Just finished...

Just finished reading:

Will be back with a review as soon as I finish re-reading Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby.

Jim Butcher - Storm Front (Dresden Files Book 1)

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.

Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates.

No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or

Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does - and not just because he's the only one who does it. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal capabilities, they come to him for answers. Because the everyday world is not as 'everyday' as it seems. It's actually full of strange and supernatural things - and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a - well, whatever it is the police are having trouble with this time.

There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get...interesting.

Magic. It can get a guy killed.

I initially found out about Jim Butcher and his "Dresden Files" series after purchasing, by mistake, "Turn Coat" which happens to be the eleventh book in the Harry Dresden series. The blurb on the back cover seemed interesting enough the first time around so I decided to purchase and read the first (at least for now) book in the series. I'm glad I made that decision.

"Storm Front" is a very entertaining novel of magic, humor and the financiary struggles of Harry Dresden (actually, Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden) that seems to be just an average Joe. With a twist. He's a wizard and not only that but he is the only wizard you'll ever find in the phone book as he's the only openly practicing wizard in the country.

The novel is written from a first person perspective (obviously Harry's perspective) and from the beginning it's clear that Harry is no usual wizard: he's not very sharp but he has great self-deprecating humor. The supporting characters are not very fleshed out, being mostly reduced to the level of sidekicks or helping the narrative to move along. One particular character that I would've liked to know more about is Bob, the spirit trapped in a skull in a basement. He slightly reminded me of Bartimaeus, from The Bartimaeus Trilogy, albeit on a sexual overdrive.

The villain (trying not to spoil too much there) is basically one-dimensional and has no redeeming qualities but it does not really hurt the novel overall.

There are some interesting things in the novel in terms of the magic system that's being used by the wizards with the staves and rods being used to channel the magic power, the tapping of energy from storms, the usage of summoning circles etc. Sure, it's nothing very original but it is interesting to see how Butcher uses them to suit the book's and/or the character's needs. Unfortunately, the Sight (the Third Eye of the magicians, where they can See the actual energies and forms of the things around them - sort of like the plane scanning in The Bartimaeus Trilogy but on a smaller scale) is something that is not very detailed and I hope that in future books we'll get to find out more about it.

"Storm Front" is in no way a masterpiece of contemporary literature. It's not epic neither in scope nor prose. It's sheer Fun and it's a great way to spend some hours. It never reaches the levels of The Bartimaeus Trilogy, for example, in terms of humor or character development but, as I mentioned above, it's worth a read. I'm very much looking forward to reading the other books in the series and I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun with Harry Dresden.

John Connolly - Every Dead Thing

The Travelling Man is on the move. Few will survive the journey.
Former New York detective Charlie Parker is a man shattered by the brutal killings of his wife and child.
The Travelling Man is an artist of death, making human bodies his canvas and taking faces as his prize.
Now another girl is missing...

I was very excited about John Connolly after reading his "Book of Lost Things", a smart and very well written fantasy novel. I had heard about his Charlie Parker thrillers but didn't really get around to picking one up and reading it (I think it's mostly due to the fact that I've been obsessed with Richard Laymon lately). I eventually bought about 5 of his 8 Charlie Parker books and just finished "Every Dead Thing", his first Charlie Parker novel (named after the american saxophonist and composer).

The book starts out with a bang, the death of Charlie Parker's wife and young daughter at the hands of an individual called The Travelling Man. What's striking from the beginning (and it will hold up throughout the rest of the book) is that Connolly does not forbear from depicting very graphical murders (especially involving children and young adults). He also touches on things that are hardly mainstream in books: child rape, child mutilation etc. so this probably isn't a book for people that find such matters distasteful. I do not, however, so I kept on reading. The plot eventually splits in two (I actually enjoyed the secondary plot more, about the dissapearance of Catherine Demeter, than I did the main plot, about the Travelling Man) and, eventually, all will fall into place (as it usually does and you just know everything is connected, more or less).

Moving on to the characters now. Connolly wrote Charlie Parker as a depressed (for obvious reasons) former alcoholic with a sharp tongue. His humor is quite sparkling at times and he does manage to be a likeable anti-hero (the first comparison coming to mind was that of Spencer Grant from Koontz's "Dark Rivers of The Heart" - although, Spencer Grant was not an alcoholic with a sense of humor and Charlie Parker is sans chien). The supporting cast are an interesting bunch as well: Rachel Wolfe (Charlie Parker's psychologist friend), Angel and Louis (the gay assasins pair), Woolrich (Charlie Parker's long time FBI friend). There are some characters that are one-dimensional but I wasn't really bothered by that, as they helped move along the plot in an effective way.

The setting of the novel was something that attracted me from the beginning: part of it takes place in New Orleans (and sorroundings). Connolly's New Orleans is not far from the New Orleans we've come to know in movies such as Cat People (the hyper-sexualized 1982 version), Angel Heart and even Lynch's Wild at Heart. I have no clue if New Orleans was ever like that but I would love to visit it in its pre-Katrina years.

Connolly's prose is gripping from the start and his humorous burts lighten up the mood just at the right times. I do have some gripes with the book, though. The plot twist is a bit too obvious, the final showdown is rather mild and the Travelling Man does not really travel that much (but perhaps it's an allegory that is completely lost to me). Even as it is, I highly recommend this novel and I'll be returning to Charlie Parker once I'm done with what I'm currently reading and I'll most definitely have a complete John Connolly book collection in the near future.

Tick Tock

Well...it's not THAT bad. But it is horrible in a certain way.

Ok, pana acum Koontz nu m-a dezamagit decat de 2 ori: cu sfarsitul de la The Taking (carte care, pana la sfarsit, a fost extraordinara) si cu One Door Away From Heaven (pe care, si acum, la doi ani dupa ce am cumparat-o, nu am reusit sa o termin).

Pana acum.

Ticktock merge pe principiul pe care a mers si Life Expectancy: mai mult umor decat de obicei si personaje mai outrageous decat de obicei. Spre deosebire de Ticktock, Life Expectancy a fost foarte misto.

Problemele cartii asteia este urmatoarele: personajul principal infricosator de enervant, "personaja" principala e mult prea trasa de par (nu la propriu, surprinzator), sfarsitul e cel mai prost sfarsit pe care l-am citit vreodata. As in, CE CACAT. Ca sa zic asa.

Eu n-am nimic cu asiaticii (de obicei) da' the whole idea of the book made me hate them a bit.

It goes like this (ma voi hotari daca vor fi spoilere):

Tommy Phan, vietnamez prin excelenta dar cu mari dorinte arzatoare de a fi american 100%, alienat total fata de familie datorita pasiunii pentru cheeseburgers and american muscle cars primeste o papusa cu un bilet in vietnameza. De cand baga papusa in casa, respectiva(-ul?) incepe sa se transforme intr-un monstru. Si-l urmareste. Toata cartea.

Toata structura cartii se rezuma la asta: alergatura, pauza, alergatura, pauza, alergatura, pauza.

Si cam atat.

Bad mister Koontz in the 90s!!!!! BAD!

Meh, at least his other books are scrumptious.

Books

a.k.a. "Ce carti ne-a mai placut (da' nu chiar toate pe care le-am citit in ultima perioada ca mi-e lene sa-mi aduc aminte si mi-e si mai lene sa ma ridic sa ma uit in biblioteca) si despre care probabil ca voi scrie la un moment dat da' mi-e prea lene acuma asa ca pun doar o poza cu ele sau poate scriu un pic da' nu foarte mult"

Richard Laymon - Quake

Excelentissima carte. A doua carte de Laymon pe care o citesc. In sfarsit, personaje care se gandesc la sex si care au erectii si pentru care a baga pulampizda nu este un act hristosic. Evident, fac comparatie cu personajele lui Dean Koontz care, pana sa se gandeasca la sex, trebuie sa treaca prin 600 de pagini. Nu ca as avea ceva cu domnu' Koontz. God forbid, he's one of my favs!

Richard Laymon - The Cellar

Ah, ce frumos. A breath of fresh air from the 80s. Cu pedofil si tot tacamul. Plus bestiality cu creaturi cu penisuri imense. Mmmm...de-abia astept sa le citesc si pe restul de 3 din serie.

Karen Maitland - The Company Of Liars

Very nice. 9 oameni in timpul ciumei (sau leprei --- heck, i forgot). And the things they do (or actually don't: wash, clean their teeth etc.). De citit.

Jonathan Stroud - Amulet of Samarkand

Prima dintr-o trilogie numita "The Bartimaeus Trilogy". Foarte foarte foarte misto. Daca tuta de Rowling ar fi in stare sa scrie, asa ar scrie Harry Pokerface.

Dean Koontz - Fear Nothing & Seize The Night [SPOILERS!]

Prima not so quite da' a doua e excelenta. Prima e mai cumintica. Da' personajul principal e righteous si goody goody in ambele. Excelent time travel-ul din a doua (the whole egg room thing). Astept s-apara si a treia and it better expand on the second ca il ia mama dracului pe Koontz.

Pula, ca tot am scris de carti si nici poze n-am pus. Well, here's a picture of a Jew just to finish the post in a repulsive way: