Fiction

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so other participants know what you’re reading.

Today’s teaser comes from That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley. I won this book from the Librarything Early Reviewers program and it seems like a good creepy book for October.

“The day has come, that day I always knew would, and my time is short. But I must protect the Book.” (page 7)

Review – Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead

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Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead

By Sara Gran

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ISBN: 9780547428494

4.5 stars

I always thought I didn’t like mysteries. Obviously, I’ve been reading the wrong ones.  I can admit when I’m wrong. Maybe it it’s the offbeat way the mystery is solved or the setting which is more than a map of clues but also a background for a messed up detective trying to figure out how to fit back into society and whether or not she wants to go through with the plan or leave everything behind.

Claire Dewitt is a detective with issues.  A stint in a hospital has left her slightly skittish, mentally, but also slightly interested in getting back to work.  When a client seeks her out, she decides it might be time to test her own enthusiasm for work.  A case of a missing district attorney brings her home to New Orleans — a city newly devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  Claire starts feeling around for clues in her unorthodox way but what she finds has more to do with herself than the case she’s being paid to resolve.

There are so many things wrong with Claire and not the little things we all might be able to relate to on some level.  She’s screwed up; really screwed up.  A one-time teenage detective, she carries around guilt over never having found a friend who went missing.  She’s an addict — drugs, alcohol, and the above mentioned strange and scary array of guilt.  Like crazy guilt.  And she’s eccentric, especially inher detecting style.  A devout follower of Jaques Silette’s mysterious detective handbook, Detection, she uses out of the ordinary techniques such as omens and mind-enhancing drugs to seek out clues.  In fact, she isn’t the type of detective who looks for clues at all.  She waits for them to find her.  It’s an interesting way of looking at things for someone who is supposed to be a detective.

There are so many small mysteries surrounding Claire that the main case of the missing district attorney seems almost background noise to what’s really going on with her.  New Orleans is a haunted place for Claire and many times you wonder what it is she’s chasing. Is it her own demons or one more clue that found its way out of the ether into her head which is already full of scary ideas? You also aren’t surprised when her client, the only one she has, wants to fire her. Oddly, you’re not surprised either when she manages to have an explanation for everything in the end. Well, not everything, but enough to make you wonder exactly what is with the woman.

There is so much to love about this book and I’m not sure I’m doing it justice so here’s my plea to you — read it.  I recommend it highly.

Review – The Taker

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The Taker

By Alma Katsu

Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books

ISBN: 9781439197059

4 stars

The Taker appeared on my book radar a few months back and I won’t be shy in saying that I jumped at the chance to review this one. From what I read, it was creepy, indulgent, and worth a weekend spent huddled on the couch. I have to agree, Katsu tells one intriguing tale.

Lanore (Lanny) McIlvrae was born to poor farmers in the small town of St. Andrew in the farthest reaches of Maine. The love of her life, Jonathan, is the son of the town’s founder, Charles St. Andrew, and he stands to not only inherit his father’s place of honor but all the town’s burdens as well. Not thrilled with the prospect but refusing to turn from it, Jonathan — an extremely beautiful and desired person — copes by taking advantage of almost every woman in town, single and married. Lanny, while a good friend also longs to be on the receiving end of his love. She gets her wish and soon finds herself pregnant while desperately trying to keep her world from falling apart. On the day Lanny tells Jonathan she’s pregnant, he tells her he can’t be with her. Minutes later, Jonathan’s father announces his engagement breaking her heart twice in the same hour.

Knowing she cannot remain silent, Lanny tells her family. She’s promptly sent off to a convent in Boston to have the baby and redeem her soul. Wanting to keep the only tie she has left to her beloved Jonathan, she leaves the boat before the nuns can pick her up from the dock. On a dark residential street, lost and overwhelmed, she meets three individuals who offer her shelter and a warm meal while she figures out what to do. Drugged and used, she realizes soon there is no escape. Unfortunately, the world she fell into only grows more mysterious as time goes on. The longer she stays, the worse it gets. Lanny eventually becomes the courtesan of a man named Adair who shares a secret with her — he’s immortal and so is she now. What he wants in return for saving her and giving her eternal life is her beloved Jonathan.

The story alternates between Lanny’s past and the present while she tells, Luke, the emergency room doctor, what happened to her. Even though he doesn’t necessarily believe her story, the last thing her wants is for her to stop talking. When she convinces him to help her escape, you think it’s the worst move he can make but he sees it as the only way out of St. Andrews — away from his sad life, and a reason to live which he hasn’t been able to summon for some time. While the snippets of the present break the spell of Lanny’s tale, they’re a necessary part of the story not only serving to bring us back to reality but also Luke. The two cling to each other while running from small town cops. What they’re going through seems improbable and sometimes even stupid but it’s no match for the story Lanny tells. You want her to keep talking just as much as Luke does.

Lanny isn’t a character you feel sorry for even though what she’s been through is emotionally and physically tortuous. The reason you don’t feel sympathy is because you’re too caught up in the story. There’s something entrancing about her even if she doesn’t believe it to be true. She’s learned how to be manipulative; she had to in order to survive. But this stops you from feeling the same way Luke does for her. I like that. It isn’t something many authors can carry off — creating an alluring main character without making her completely likable. For a first time author, it’s a great feat and while not everyone will agree on how likable Lanny is, honestly it’s all personal preference here, she’s hardly innocent of anything and even she reminds you of that.

Enjoyable though the story is, you have to be comfortable with scant details about how Lanny came to be what she is and her explanation for exactly what she is. She’s immortal, but not a vampire. She’s strong and recovers quickly when injured but can die. I wanted more information here and Katsu does do a little distracting with the story itself by letting Lanny leave out some significant details from her tale. But since she’s telling her life story, you go with it. I did wonder why Luke didn’t press for details — it made me wonder what other powers Lanny conveniently left out of her story.

With one book, Katsu is now an author I will be waiting on. She tells a daring, harsh, and unapologetic tale with a main character that has you wrapped around her little finger until the very last word.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above review was done for the Book Reporter and can be found here. The book was provided to me by the publisher.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so other participants know what you’re reading.

Today I’m starting The Magician King by Lev Grossman.

“Quentin rode a gray horse with white socks named Dauntless. He wore black leather boots up to his knees, different-colored stockings, and a long navy-blue topcoat that was richly embroidered with seed pearls and silver thread.” (page 3)

Review – A Storm of Swords

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A Storm of Swords

By George RR Martin

Bantam Spectra (Random House)

eISBN: 9780553897876

5 stars

Dear Mr. Martin:

You are the Maester.

Sincerely,

Amy @ Just Book Reading

I held out for months.  I argued with myself about when to read this book.  Start it now!  No, save it for vacation.  I came close to the vacation timeline giving in a few days before.  I wanted time to savor and oh, did I savor.

Spoiler rule is in effect from here on out. It’s book three in a proposed seven book series. I see no other way to write this review without a few spoilers here and there but I’ll do my best to keep it somewhat vague.  But, you’ve been warned.

Stannis Baratheon is in retreat; defeated at King’s Landing by the combined forces of the Lannisters and Tyrells.  Joffrey Baratheon is now sitting on the iron throne, something very few people wanted to see.  Tyrion Lannister is recovering from injuries sustained at the King’s Landing battle and has lost all the power he once held.  Robb Stark is deep in problems of his own; now looking to appease House Frey after backing out of an arranged marriage.  Jaime Lannister is on the road as a hostage of Brienne of Barth; a pawn to get Catelyn Stark’s daughters, Sansa and Arya, back.  Sansa is finally out of Joffrey’s line of torture but she holds little hope for happiness.  And Arya, poor Arya, is still running toward Riverrun.  A host of wildings is marching toward the Wall and questions about John Snow’s loyalties dog him. And in the West, Daenerys Targaryen is making her move to take control of the Iron Throne.

At times, I found myself wondering how this story was going to continue because Martin is a man unafraid of killing off his characters.  I mean it. He’ll kill anyone!  A Song of Ice and Fire is already a monster when it comes to character lists and he’s killing off and adding on like no one’s business.  OK, maybe it’s his business, but anyway.  My point — I don’t want new characters, I want these characters.  Truthfully, I was happy to see a few go but it was still brutal. Also, there’s something to be said for the pace at which these books move and Martin’s ability to keep readers tied to the page through all the drama is utterly amazing. And drama there is. Not one character gets off easy, even the minor ones that at some point you forgot about manage to find their way back in to the story making you wonder where he’s actually going with all this.

It’s difficult to describe these books adequately because of the scope.  There’s so much going on — every Lannister, Stark, Baratheon is in deep.  There were times when I wanted to put the book down because it was all too much but I couldn’t.  I needed to know what would happen.  I had to stop myself from buying the next two books knowing I need to pace myself.  The emotional toll is too much and I don’t want to find myself wanting more and find one day there are no more books.  This will happen soon enough.  I don’t want to bring on the end too soon.

I haven’t bought the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, but I will soon. I won’t be able to hold out that much longer. The fate of a few characters has me wondering where Martin is going with all this. I was late to this series, but if you’ve haven’t read them yet, consider it. You won’t be sorry.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so other participants know what you’re reading.

Today’s teaser is from The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen.  It takes place in D.C. and this particular snippet has to do with driving.  It’s why people say we’re the nation’s worst drivers.

“People in D.C. like to drive in the middle of road, Leo had noticed. The narrow side streets lacked lane markers, so each car tended to glide down the center, staying clear of the parallel-parked cars on either side, seemingly confident no other traffic would dare come its way.  Opposing drivers waited until the last possible moment to pull to their own sides.” (page 29)

Review – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

By Jules Verne

Halcyon Classic Series

eISBN: 2940012152060

3 stars

A classic science fiction tale.  How could I not love this?  Maybe I should rephrase that.  How could I love this?  Because truthfully, I wanted to love it, but didn’t.  I didn’t hate it.  I never stopped reading but I more or less meandered through and even skimmed a few passages.

Ships are reporting strange sightings of a creature in oceans across the globe.  Theories abound about what this strange creature could be and it’s Professor Aronnox, a French marine naturalist, who comes up with the best theory.  He believes it’s a huge narwhale attacking ships.  He takes to sea on the Abraham Lincoln with a crew of skillful men to destroy it.  The crew finds the supposed whale and sets about trying to kill it.  Unfortunately, the ship is attacked and the Professor and his manservant, Conseil, are thrown overboard with the ship’s harpooner, Ned Land.  The three get picked up by the Natulis; the underwater ship that was the means of the crash and is the Professor’s supposed narwhale.  Upon meeting Captain Nemo, they’re told they will not be allowed to leave, and with few options left to them, reluctantly, settle in for the ride.  The Professor and Conseil take better to their confinement than Ned, finding the trip an amazing study in nature almost willingly enjoying the sightings and underwater expeditions.  Ned, however, wants his freedom and will stop at nothing to once more set foot on dry land.

There were times I felt bombarded.  There are lists and lists of fish with their classifications.  There are lists of grasses with their classifications.  There are long paragraphs about ocean depths and temperatures.  There are long paragraphs about pressurization.  There are long paragraphs where nothing much happens.  It was these times when I felt myself drifting off.  There are redeeming parts to this story — the underwater expeditions hunting sharks and exploration of an underwater volcano — where I found myself fascinated but those parts didn’t last long.  Also, Captain Nemo, while a mysterious figure, is in parts slightly too mysterious for me.  I know we only see him from one point of view and he’s supposed to be this mythical person but why, even if you’re a marine naturalist fascinated by the things you’re seeing, would you want to stay onboard the ship of a man obviously so depressed and manic?

Another problem I had was the extreme use of the exclamation point.  They! Were! Everywhere!  I was annoyed but then mostly it made me laugh.  I stopped heeding them somewhere around chapter seven but toward the last few pages, they popped back up making me happy to see the end in sight.

I thought I read this book but what I remember about this story actually came from an old movie I watched years ago. My memories of the story were movie based and I had certain expectations that weren’t fulfilled.  But that’s all right.  While the story wasn’t what I was expecting, it was a decent read and I’m glad I stuck it out to the very end.  Exclamation points be damned!

As a note, the cover isn’t the one from my book.  I couldn’t find that cover and this one is much more interesting.

Today’s Book – The Taker by Alma Katsu

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Usually I like to talk about the book I’m currently reading on Thursdays, but I thought I’d take a look at my next read — The Taker by Alma Katsu.

I’ve been craving this book.  Drooling over this book.  Wondering how long I can hold out before buying this book.  Then suddenly I lucked out.  I’ll be getting a copy for review very soon.  Like probably today.  How happy am I right now?  So *very* happy!  So happy, I’m barely able to execute complete sentences.  🙂