Book Review - Zombie Autopsies by Steven C. Schlozman, M.D.

Zombie Autopsies (Secret Notebooks From the Apocalypse)
Steven C. Schlozman, M.D.
Illustrated by Andrea Sparacio
Hardcover
208 pages
Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: March 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-0446564663

We've seen our share of zombie survival narratives, zombie war tales, zombie diaries , and even zombie romances, as well as various guides, manuals, and required weapons lists for combating the shambling-dead. Zombie Autopsies (Secret Notebooks From the Apocalypse), on the other hand, is a story that focuses on the clinical aspects of the coming zombie apocalypse. Drawn heavily on medical, scientific, and forensic jargon, exposition, and illustrations Zombie Autopsies relies too much on the quantifiable and too little on the speculative. By that I mean that this book fails to deliver a memorable piece of fiction beneath too much scientific research and medical rationalization.

At the onset I thought the premise of zombie forensics intriguing. It was, for instance, the first time I’d seen this particular living-dead trope and thought, if handled correctly, could be a unique and entertaining story. Most of you already know that I truly do enjoy a good post-apocalyptic zombie yarn but I really had difficulty with Zombie Autopsies. Mixed in with the analytical descriptions, autopsy reports, medical illustrations, and scientific journals is an interesting fictional account of the walking-dead but the plot gets overwhelmed by too much scientific exposition. This story would have been significantly better had the percentages of technical explanation and plot-driven narrative been reversed. In all honesty, the zombie tale itself, when it does surface, is really a pretty good one and the illustrations are interesting and quite graphic but, in my opinion, the story should have guided the medical reporting rather than the other way around. Mr. Schlozman would have had a much better story had he done so.

If you enjoy all the bloody, gory details of actual autopsies, like to view cross-sectioned diagrams of cancerous or diseased organs, or are curious about the anatomical changes that might occur during the process of zombification then this book is for you. Otherwise, I’d look for other, more narrative- and less clinical- driven zombie tales to read.

2 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

List of Zombie Novels

Ten Best Zombie Books

The Essential Zombie Book List

Book Review - Exile’s Blade - Book One - Clearwater Dawn by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Exile’s Blade - Book One – Clearwater Dawn
Scott Fitzgerald Gray
Kindle Edition
Publisher: Insane Angel Studios
Publication Date: May 8, 2011
358 Pages (eBook version)
ASIN: B005007GHA

          Due to review commitments I do not get to read as much fantasy as I used to, which is really a shame. As a matter of fact the last true “fantasy” review I did was over a year ago. But, thanks to Clearwater Dawn by Scott Fitzgerald Gray I know that I’ll be picking up more in the near future, especially since this is the first book in a planned series. I recall how much fun Raymond E. Feist’s Magician was the first time I read it. That true joy of finding a well-written, creative, and stirring piece of fantasy fiction is hard to replicate. I remember being spellbound by the depth of the characters, the unique and unusual use of magic, the truly original plot, and the new worlds fully created out of nothing more than the imaginations of the author and his audience. Clearwater Dawn had much the same effect on me and, in my opinion, is every bit as good as the stories of the Riftwar series. I cannot pay more of a compliment to Mr. Gray’s work than to compare it with that classic series. The Riftwar books remain one of my all time favorite fantasy series and one of the few that I’ve read more than once. The Exile’s Blade series will be my next.

          Clearwater Dawn falls into that category of near-classic fantasy simply waiting for an audience to find it. Indeed, it’s hard to believe that this book is self-published and selling for only .99 in the Kindle store at Amazon and the Nook store at B&N. The story is clearly written by someone well-versed in the world of fantasy creation and a search of Mr. Gray’s past achievements will confirm that he is a long time author of Dungeons & Dragons manuals, campaigns, and narratives. As luck would have it, that previous experience carries over nicely into this novel. The locations are elaborate but not verbosely so and the characters are both believable and down-to-earth (including the princess who should be haughty but isn’t.) There is murder, and court intrigue, and secrets, and quests, and magic, and secret doors, and arranged marriages, and war and all the things you’d expect to find in a first-class fantasy adventure. With that said, the story is, of course, not perfect and the minor clichéd plot of a noble fugitive is trope-worthy but all-in-all the story is written well enough for that insignificant point to go relatively unnoticed. If you’re anything like me the “what’s going to happen on the next page” factor will have you turning pages furiously and the various character relationships will keep you interested until the very end. This was an enjoyable read and I’m happy to say that I’d recommend it to any and all fantasy fans (no matter age, fealty, or coat-of-arms.)

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

About the Author (From Amazon.com)

Scott Fitzgerald Gray is a specially constructed biogenetic simulacrum built around an array of experimental consciousness-sharing techniques -- a product of the finest minds of Canadian science until the grant money ran out. Accidentally set loose during an unauthorized midnight rave at the lab, the S.F. Gray entity is currently at large amongst an unsuspecting populace, where his work as an author, screenwriter, editor, RPG designer, and story editor for feature film keeps him off the streets.

More info on Scott and his work (some of it even occasionally truthful) can be found by reading between the lines at insaneangel.com.

Websites

Clearwater Dawn Excerpt

Publisher Page - Insane Angel

Impressive list of D&D Credits

Kindle Store Link

Barnes & Noble Nook Store Link

FYI (File under “Getting to Know the Blogger”)

Some of my favorite Fantasy books include (in no particular order):

The Riftwar series by Raymond E. Feist
Riftwar Cycle
1. Magician: Apprentice & Magician (1985)
2. Silverthorn (1985)
3. A Darkness at Sethanon (1986)

Mithgar series by Dennis L. McKiernan
The Iron Tower
1. The Dark Tide (1984)
2. Shadows of Doom (1984)
3. The Darkest Day (1984)
The Silver Call
1. Trek to Kraggen-Cor (1986)
2. The Brega Path (1986)

The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
The Original Shannara Trilogy
1. The Sword of Shannara (1977)
2. The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)
3. The Wishsong of Shannara (1985)

Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
1. Lord Foul's Bane (1977)
2. The Illearth War (1978)
3. The Power that Preserves (1979)

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
The Dark Tower
1. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (1982)
2. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987)
3. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
4. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997)
5. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003)
6. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004)
7. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004)

There are others, of course, and these are all works I read as a young adult but I remember them making an impact on me as some of the best books (not just fantasies) that I’d ever read. To be fair, there are many great fantasy works that are much newer than those listed above and are just as entertaining but these I recall making an impression on me as exciting and stimulating works of fiction when I was a young man. For exceptional works of memorable, newer fantasy look for anything by Emma Bull, Cherie Priest, Jacqueline Carey, Stephen Lawhead, George R. R. Martin, Harry Turtledove, S. M. Stirling, Joe Abercrombie, Markus Heitz, Stan Nicholls, Patrick Rothfuss, or China Mieville, to name a few.

Graphic Novel Review – Falling Skies Vols. 1 - 4 by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra

Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Cover Artist: Steve Morris
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Genre: Science-Fiction, Action/Adventure
ISBN-13:978-1-59582-737-1
Electronic Version (Dark Horse for iPad)

Falling Skies, the graphic novel created from the upcoming T.V. series, is the seminal aliens-invade-earth and human-resistance-retaliates story*. Boston - present day. A global alien invasion has destroyed every world government and major city on earth. But a handful of inexperienced freedom- fighters take up arms to combat the invaders and their powerful mechanized robots. College history professor Tom Mason and his sons are just trying to get by, to survive the devastating invasion, when they meet up with the 2^nd Massachusetts Militia, a paramilitary faction determined to wipe out the aliens that have caused so much planetary death and destruction. But the militia’s supplies are running low and the unarmed population continues to grow as stragglers make their way into Boston. Tom must locate an old friend to help equip his team with the guns and ammunition needed to guarantee the survival of the human race. In the mean time, Tom’s young son is missing and disturbing word is out that the aliens are abducting children and outfitting them with strange spinal braces that are either controlling them or turning them into something non-human. Tom and the 2^nd Massachusetts are in a race to both eliminate the alien threat and locate and free the imprisoned children.

In my opinion, what really makes this graphic novel an exceptional effort is the remarkable artwork. While Paul Tobin definitely has a handle on this tried-but-true story arc and knows when to be serious and when to joke around Juan Ferreyra’s art truly makes the story in this particular medium something special. The artwork is both realistic and believable and the characters, human and alien alike, come to life under his very competent hand. What I truly love about Ferreyra’s work is his infinite attention to detail. Every panel contains one or two back- or fore-ground detail drawings (flowers in windowsills, trees losing their leaves, debris and trash scattered in the roads, cracks in walls and sidewalks, etc.) that give the overall image a true sense of realism. Where other artist might wash the background Ferreyra populates his with realism. If you’re the type that’s into comics or graphic novels, appreciates exceptional artwork, and loves Science Fiction then you’ll most certainly enjoy this one.

Story - 3 stars out of 5
Art work – 5 out of 5 stars
Total – 4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading

Falling Skies

Falling Skies Webcomics (1)

Falling Skies Webcomics (2)

Falling Skies TV Series Preview

Falling Skies TV Series Wiki Page

Falling Skies TV Series IMDB Page

The Creators

Juan Ferreyra Art

Paul Tobin Interview

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics

Alien Invasion Examples *

The War of the World (H.G. Wells) Free download

The War of the Worlds Radio Drama Wiki Page

Independence Day

Battle: Los Angeles IMDb Page

The Puppet Masters (Robert A. Heinlein)

Invasion From Mars IMDb Page

(John Carpenter’s) They Live!

Book Review - Burn Down the Sky by James Jaros

Burn Down the Sky
James Jaros*
Harper Voyager
2011
Mass Market Paperback
336 pages
Advance Uncorrected Proof

A recent incident has forced the world into post-apocalyptic regression. Most of the planet is now a vast, barren, and burnt-out wasteland. We are never told the specifics of this event though it’s implied that global warming is, for the most part, at fault. Acts of barbarism are at an all-time high. Civilized humans struggle to survive but fight a losing battle. Cults, cannibals, and crazies roam this harsh, lawless environment. The civilized build protective walls around pockets of attainable water, tend wilted crops, and scrape out the most basic existence imaginable. The uncivilized simply take whatever they want; take what others have worked so hard to keep. The continued survival of the human race appears bleak and the back-breaking work of day-to-day subsistence is the only future anyone has to look forward to. Amidst all this turmoil, and to add insult to planetary injury, a sexually-transmitted virus one thousand times deadlier and faster than AIDS has turned sex into a painful, gruesome death-sentence. However, girls who have experienced their first menstrual period in the past twelve months are immune from the plague and are therefore highly desirable to marauders and other men of ill-repute. Rather than protected as saviors of the human race they are abducted from their homes and traded to the most powerful as playthings or as simple vessels of progeny. The stakes grow when a small, struggling community comes under attack by raiders and a group of young, pre-menstrual girls is kidnapped. The mother and sister of one of the abducted girls will stop at nothing to follow the kidnappers and secure her safe return.

To be honest, when I first read the premise in the opening chapter of Burn Down the Sky I thought, That’s a very weak assertion to base a novel on. Biology just doesn’t work that way, does it? Sex deadly? Well, yes, it can be, so wear protection. Oh yeah, the world has stopped production of everything. No more condoms. Wait, what about all those in grocery and convenience stores? Oh, the cities have all been burned to the ground during the food riots. However weak the original plot device might have felt in my mind it was long-forgotten before I was half-way through chapter two. The story became so immediately interesting to me that my questions were quickly forgotten. And then, to my surprise, all my objections were logically addressed and promptly answered in the course of the next few chapters. In some ways I felt the author knew these objections were obvious and that they would quickly occur to the audience. That Mr. Jaros recognized and addressed them early made my reading of the story that much more enjoyable.

You should know up-front that this story is not for the weak or faint of heart. There are quite a few gruesome, shocking, even grotesque moments in the pages of this book and there’s a lot of action and many scenes of intense violence. There’s death by fire and by explosion, there’s dismemberment, torture, death by gun shot and by beheading. Worse, there is life after rape, life after disfigurement, and life filled with unmitigated fear. Parents with young girls are strongly cautioned. Really bad things happen to some of the children in this story. (Some good things happen, as well, but telling you more would spoil things.) In a genre that is usually top-heavy with male characters I enjoyed seeing the woman’s perspective here and Jaros does a great job of creating strong, believable women role-models with real emotions. But, I also must say that combined with the violence and despair there are some very well-written scenes of redemption, perseverance and, of course, love. The atmosphere of Burn Down the Sky is somewhat reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road but only in the sense that each of the worlds have been turned into wastelands and scenes from Mad Max are also recognizable in that the marauders are mostly viscous, cruel, violent, and a bit “touched in the head.” In the end I really could not put this book down. Fortunately for me, since I otherwise would have suffered a few more sleepless nights, it’s a rather quick read. Burn Down the Sky is a fun, well-written, post-apocalyptic quest story that entertains and I strongly recommended it for fans of Stephen King’s The Stand, the Mad Max films, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, or Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Author Interview – Burn Down the Sky

Burn Down the Sky Sample

Official Author Site

Author Blog Page

A Word From the Author

* James Jaros is the pen name used by journalist and author Mark Nykanen.

Website Review – TVTropes.org

Website Review
TVTropes.org
Fiction Writing Help Guide
(and so much more)

TVTropes.org

Want to write good fiction? Want to write, research your subject, and be entertained while doing so? Then head on over to TVTropes.org and get lost for a week or two browsing the immense catalog of available tropes. What is TVTropes.org, you ask? Simply put it’s an encyclopedic index of the “tricks of the trade” for writing fiction. It’s a guide for “what not to do, what to do, what to look out for, and what to avoid” when you’re writing and researching your work of fiction. (Note, according to the site: “Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations.”) All will become very clear once you start delving into this amazing site. And, don’t be put off by the name either, while it’s called “TV Tropes” the site covers and lists examples from every branch of entertainment you could possibly name, including: anime and manga, comic books, fan fic, literature, film, live-action TV, music, webcomics, video games, Western animation, and even Real Life. Want to know about the clichés concerning ammunition or weapons, the worst plot devices, gods or deities, specific apocalypse types, alien classes, or any other subject under the sun? Then this is the place for you. I really can’t remember ever finding such a useful, humorous, intelligent, and complete writing tool as this website. And, this is by no means an exaggeration!

Specifically, I suggest you check out the “Speculative Fiction” category of the site (left-hand sidebar near the bottom). You’ll find hundreds of subjects including tropes on Area 51, Alien Autopsy, Benevolent Alien Invasion, Captain's Log, Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu? , and  The End of the World as We Know It, to name just a few. This single list alone will keep you busy for many, many days. Not only will you become educated in the myriad ways Area 51 has been used in entertainment but you’ll also learn why Every Bullet is a Tracer and why All Myths Are True. There’s even an entire catalog of Discovery Channel Mythbusters tropes found here.

Some of my favorite Speculative Fiction topics include: The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés , The Turkey City Lexicon , Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy , Did Not Do the Research  (which includes hundreds of sub-tropes), and Apocalypse How (which defines the various categories of apocalyptic devastation.)

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time you’ll know that in the five years I’ve been posting to Blogger I’ve never reviewed a website before. That alone makes  TVTropes.org very special. I spend a lot of time reading and writing book reviews, my true passion, that I sometimes forget to note some of the more interesting things I’ve found. Not this time! When I found this site I knew I had  share it with you. So, here’s me telling you with complete confidence that I have never, ever run across a subject-dedicated website as entertaining, fascinating, and informative as this. TVTropes.org is a fantastic tool for fiction writers and an entertaining place for anyone interested in the written word. There truly is something for everyone here. Trust me, you’ll get lost in its pages for days and thank me for it later. After visiting TVTropes.org I dare you to come back here and not post something positive about TV Tropes in the comments…

6 freakin’ awesome stars out of 6

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

The website can be found here: TVTropes.org

Book Review - The Graduate Student by James Polster

James Polster
The Graduate Student
AmazonEncore
Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Trade Paperback
360 pages
ISBN: 9781935597537
Advance Reader’s Copy – Uncorrected Proof

When the rainforest slams head-first into Hollywood and neuro-robotics take over where anthropology ends… well, you know something unusual is bound to happen. And, in this case, what happens is not only outlandish but amusing as well. The Graduate Student follows the chaotic antics of Blackwell James as his life takes an unexpected and improbable twist. From near-destitute, almost unemployable, jungle-trekking grad student to overnight Hollywood movie producer and director of a scientific project Blackwell is thrust into two worlds totally beyond his experience. But Blackwell has an uncanny knack of landing on his feet and then stumbling his way into success. Or so it would seem. James Polster navigates through the machinations of Hollyweird and the tricky business of advanced academics and in the process treats us to a comical view of the bizarre worlds of movie producing and graduate studies. Indeed, his main character manages to inadvertently meet Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg, and Henry Winkler and green-light a movie script penned by a UCLA-based computer using cheap software and a database of action movies that have previously made boat-loads of cash. What could possibly go wrong?

The novel is broken down into three fast-paced, near-equal parts. The first section, Blackwell, introduces the reader to the main character. Loosely based on the author’s own experiences this segment reveals a detailed glimpse of the life of the highly unusual and very funny gypsy-like character, Blackwell James. The second element, aptly named Odyssey, is the recounting of a hallucinogenic ménage-a-traipsing through the mind of one of the characters - a psychopath, no less. It recounts, after ingestion of a concoction made from two sacred Amazonian vines, the trip one character takes to find a lost soul who has wandered too deep into the mind of an unstable and impatient movie producer/scientist who’s crimes have been uncovered by the trespass. In part three, Hogeye, the antagonist comes to understand that his crimes (identity theft, larceny, and multiple murders) have been uncovered and he and his wife scheme to destroy the one man who can reveal his unlawful activities to the authorities.

James Polster has, in my opinion, a home-spun blue-collar humor that reminds me of some throw-back Kurt Vonnegut/Hunter Thompson/Carl Hiaasen construct. He takes turns at being subtly and blatantly humorous with both high-brow twists and guttural turns - sometimes, in the same scene. Once you read his bio page you’ll ask yourself if art, in this case, isn’t imitating life. (It is, BTW since Polster actually travelled the Amazon River basin, lived the life of a grad student, and worked for a major television station.) I found a certain underlying level of comfort in Polster’s writing style. By that I mean he creates an intelligent story that is easy to read, contains fast-paced language, and is both clever and humorous. However, The Graduate Student is not a laugh-out-loud belly romp but rather is filled with delightful servings of understated, intelligent, thinking-man humor.

For those who enjoy long, sprawling narratives that take hours to read and unravel be warned. There’s none of that here. In fact, some of the chapters are less than two pages in length. But Polster uses lean, impactful chapters to tell his story and spread a little humor, as well. There’s something to be said about concise, crisp writing – like, “I wish I’d written that!” And Polster has developed the incredibly rare skill of succinctly putting down what he means and then quickly moving on to the next comical scene. You don’t read this story as much as become immersed in it. It’s hard to explain how truly difficult a feat it is to fully draw a reader in but I can tell you this, The Graduate Student is a highly accessible and amusing story that both entrances and amuses the audience. We don’t just get to tag along but are jerked by the shirt collar on this remarkable ride. This one is a no-brainer, folks. Buy it, read it, be entertained by it and then come back here so I can tell you that I told you so…

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:
James Polster Wiki Page
James Polster Interview
The Graduate Student Amazon Page
James Polster News Story

Book Review - The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook

The Meowmorphosis
Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook
Quirk Publishing
Trade Paperback
208 Pages
Published Date: 05.10.2011
ISBN: 9781594745034

The Meowmorphosis is a literary mash-up* or blend similar in technique to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and is produced by the same publishing house, Quirk. This story, however, does not embrace vampires or zombies or even sea monsters or robots. Instead, it re-vamps Franz Kafka’s dark classic The Metamorphosis and replaces the insects with cats. For the most part, large portions of this book are word-for-word redrafts of the original text, modified slightly with the words “kitten/cat” substituted for “insect/beetle” and references to meowing, pawing, and playful kitten antics replacing all things insect-like. And that’s the real problem with this rewritten mash-up. There’s really nothing new or creative or disturbing or frightening about this work and the substitution of the cats for insects diminishes greatly from the dark and foreboding nature of the original. It suffers under this conversion and all its Kafkaesque is lost. While on the outside a substitution mash-up of The Metamorphosis might appear to be a winning combination this narrative is nowhere near as strong as the other works mentioned above. Franz Kafka sometimes wrote absurd, distorted, often sinister stories and those peculiarities do not carry over well in this type of mash-up. I think the romantic period comedies are better suited for this style. Zombies in Victorian England? Well, that just makes all kinds of sense. But supplanting kittens for cockroaches? To me that’s just plain weird. Seriously though, waking up as an unclean, much-maligned, and disease-ridden insect can never compare to the same transformation as a cuddly, soft, warm kitty. The ramifications are nowhere near as astonishing or fear-inducing. The entire “creep factor” is lost when this replacement is made. And believe me when I tell you that the underlying dreadfulness of the morphed insect is the best thing about The Metamorphosis. In Kafka’s original story transforming into an insect becomes a social commentary on alienation, about being set apart from humanity. By substituting a cat for an insect the important distinction of fear and estrangement is less impactful in my mind’s eye. The Meowmorphosis comes off considerably more adorable than creepy, more charming than dark, and more familiar than alienating. On the surface, transforming The Metamorphosis into a mash-up probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it just doesn’t work and probably should have been left alone.

3 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

More mash-ups I’d like to see (or maybe not):
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Cthulhu
A Connecticut Werewolf in King Arthur’s Court
Jane Eyre Vampire Slayer
Little Women of the Apocalypse
War and Pieces – A Zombie Tale
Alice’s Adventures in Flatland
Oliver Twist and the Cannibals
Westward Lo!
The Merchant of Hades
The Wonderful Wizard of Claws
Romeo and Dracula – A Modern Love Story
Uncle Tom’s Cabin Fever
Much Ado About Zombies
Orcs and Crake
(Anyone have any other suggestions?)

Additional Reading:

Quirk’s The Meowmorphosis Page

The Meowmorphosis Book Trailer

Take Five with Coleridge Cook

Note: For a better mash-up of The Metamorphosis (and to see where this idea probably came from) I recommend Peter Capaldi’s Oscar-winning short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life. The plot of the film has the author trying to write the opening line of The Metamorphosis and experimenting with various things that Gregor might turn into, such as a banana or a kangaroo. The film is also notable for a number of Kafkaesque moments.

* The literary mash-up is basically, a classic work of literature (e.g., War and Peace ), with added elements of current pop culture (zombies or  vampires or robots ) with the resulting work an updated version of the original literary classic (War and Pieces – A Zombie Tale.)

Book Review - Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh

Soft Apocalypse
Will McIntosh
eBook (Nook)
218 pages
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1597802765
ASIN: 159780276X

“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper”
- T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Have you ever wondered what the end of the world might look like if the actual events leading up to it happened slowly, over years or decades? Will McIntosh’s Soft Apocalypse is an unusual end-of-days story in that the devastating changes that force the collapse of modern civilization do not happen over-night in a tragic flash of all-out nuclear war or global pandemic disease but in a slow, some would say, glacial, multi-layered sequence of events. Unemployment is estimated at a staggering 60%. There are the destitute, the sometimes poor, the always poor, and, as in every age throughout history, the filthy rich. But the jobless middle class has become a mobile nation. Tribes of those who were once office workers, film makers, artists, accountants, or secretaries have lost their positions in The Last Great Depression and now roam the country-side freely. They subsist only on what they can find in the wild or by what they can barter with neighboring tribes for drugs, alcohol, sex, or energy. Outbreaks of designer viruses and the spread of bio-engineered super-bamboo erupt where least expected. Some of the most deadly viruses are neurologic, others flesh eating, and still others cause zombie-like symptoms. Strange things – gases, diseases, pollutants, industrial wastes and whatnots - are rumored to be floating in the air making the gas mask the newest fashion accessory. In Soft Apocalypse we see something completely unusual in a story of this nature - the end of the world is coming but its many miles down the road and moving rather slowly. We’re able to take a step back and sneak a bird’s-eye-view at it and while we can’t stop it we can contemplate the events that lead up to it.

In my opinion, and for what it’s worth, I believe that the Soft Apocalypse may be a more realistic and authentic finale to our way of life than the so-called big bang. I think McIntosh’s idea of a lumbering catastrophe that takes years to develop is a brilliantly creative departure from the formulaic tried-and-true cataclysm story. The suggestion that the end of the civilization will culminate in a slow, erosional collapse rather than a quick “wow-look-at-all-those-bombs-falling” event is an intriguing notion. So, in his version of the apocalypse the world does not end in a single, major tragic event but, over time, in a slow, many-fingered, multi-causal string of unfortunate incidents that force almost every aspect of society to fail.

Soft Apocalypse is, in my estimation, an excellent debut novel. It is well-written, fast-paced, and the amount of detail McIntosh has included concerning his vision of a disintegrating society is disturbing. One could almost say he’s founded a new and creative genre of post-apocalyptic story - the Slow-pocalypse or the Decline-ageddon or, better yet, the Soft Apocalypse. Whereas past writers of this form typically resort to the immediate or near instantaneous destruction of civilization Soft Apocalypse depicts a sluggish yet steady decline as society morphs from the norm in measured increments. There are other works that give us the feeling of this slow death (Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delaney come to mind) but this is the first time I’ve actually read an account of the gradual deterioration fully fleshed out in all its gruesome and morose phases. It proves that in the right hands an interesting concept that’s become almost cliché can be re-written from a fresh, original, and imaginative perspective.

4 ½ out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading

Will McIntosh Author Home Page

Will McIntosh Audio Interview

Soft Apocalypse Short Story

Tor.com Review of Soft Apocalypse

The Alternative’s Book Review Rant

Album Review - On Our Own by Secret Season

On Our Own
Secret Season
The American Studio
2011

In an ever-expanding search for alternative music that is both diverse and unusual, that skirts the mundane, that lives outside the boundaries of the generic, I was introduced to the Secret Season (Mark Moogalian and Isabelle Risacher). On Our Own is their debut album and, in my estimation, it is well worth the price of admission. While admittedly not for everyone On Our Own overflows with haunting, moving guitar work and features a sultry-voiced lead singer (Moogalian) that somehow manages to channel both a young Lou Reed and a mature Joe Strummer at one and the same time. The background vocals by Isabelle Risacher are evocative and ethereal and everything that features her voice is full, smooth, and suggestive of Aimee Mann, Thao, or Hannah Georgas - especially on Sight Seein’ and Lost and Found.

The Secret Season has an Indie/Alternative-pop-minimal sound and the more I listened to the album the more enjoyable I found it. The addition of a really good bass player might help expand their sound but that’s only a minor flaw. What could push this band into greatness, in my opinion, is that it might not be a bad idea to hand over the lead vocals to Isabelle Risacher for a song or two. I just couldn’t get enough of her haunting voice and a lead vocal or two by Isabelle won’t hurt the cause (but, then again, I am partial to female lead vocalists.)

The guitar work on All the Money Says is reminiscent of the lead guitars of the Allman Brothers and the vocals on Till Tomorrow cross over into a swirling, psychedelic Beatle-esque-ness. The hook from Sight Seein’ will keep you humming it in your head for days and the title song On Our Own is a haunting reminder that we are all alone. It also has a nice, but too-short, 70’s guitar rift on the back end. The best songs on the album are Sight Seeing’, All the Money Says, Till Tomorrow, and Dusk Till Dawn.

In the end On Our Own is a decidedly solid debut album from a new band that has yet to hit full stride though I think they will in the not too distant future. I look forward to their sophomore release.

4 stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

On Our Own Track Titles:
Mr. Farride 0:34
Patience 2:57
Sight Seein’ 3:44
All the Money Says 4:44
Lost and Found 3:35
You Only Keep the Love 3:33
Be Still 2:54
Till Tomorrow 3:43
On Our Own 2:54
Dusk Till Dawn 3:26
Sometimes I wonder 3:59
Total 35:19

Secret Season is -

Mark Moogalian : voice, guitars, percussion, edrumz

Isabelle Risacher : voice, keyboards, flute

Album blurb:

SECRET SEASON

Franco American alternative music duo with pop, rock and blues influences. The lyrics are original, poetic, the melodies are rhythmic and airy: eclectic guitars, sober and mysterious keyboards, beautiful vocal harmonies.

Additional Reading /Listening:

Secret Season on iTunes

On Our Own samples

ReverbNation Page

Book Review - Blood of the Reich by William Dietrich

Blood of the Reich
William Dietrich
Trade Paperback
Uncorrected Proof
432 pages
Publisher: Harper
Expected Release Date: June 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-0061989186

Sometimes a book is published at exactly the right moment in time and Blood of the Reich may have hit the jackpot in the way of timing. By that I mean that it may eventually sell a lot of copies due to its timely publication in correlation to the World War II Nazi stories that currently inundate the news. The Associated Press published an emotional article this past week about the grandchildren of high-profile members of the Nazi Party. Also, this week, an Ohio autoworker, John Demjanjuk, was found guilty of 28,060 counts of accessory to murder, one for each of the Jews exterminated during the six months that he worked as a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Poland. This may well be the last Holocaust war crime to capture the public’s attention. The timing may ultimately also help sales of Blood of the Reich.

I enjoy historical fiction and World War II is especially fascinating to me, a child of a WWII veteran. Throw in some action and a little suspense and you have something that piques my interest. However, while Blood of the Reich has its moments, especially the intriguing pre-WWII story line, it fails to pull all the sub-plots back together into a neatly-bundled conclusion. Some suspense/action writers (Steve Berry and James Rollins, for instance) have the remarkable talent of putting us at the edge of our seats and then, as the story concludes, drawing all the sub-plot arcs together into a compact, complete, and satisfying climax. While Dietrich tells a good story and makes a descent attempt at bringing it all together I think it could have been done much better. Indeed, the closer to the finale I got the more hurried it felt. I suspect this had more to do with publication pressure rather than actual writing skill but since I have never read anything by Mr. Dietrich before this is only a guess. However, it felt to me like a book that was forced too soon out of the writer’s hands. On the other hand, perhaps Blood of the Reich might have been more impactful and my opinion less negative had the story not already been told so well by Spielberg, Lucas, and company in the Indian Jones saga. Still, for the die-hard WWII suspense fanatics out there, you should probably check this one out for yourselves.

3 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

William Dietrich

William Dietrich’s Official Website

William Dietrich Wiki Page

William Dietrich Interview

Blood of the Reich

Blood of the Reich Amazon Pre-order Page

Blood of the Reich Review

Current News

Associated Press “Crimes of the Fathers” Story

New York Times Demjanjuk Coverage

Book Review - Embassytown by China Mieville

Embassytown
China Mieville
Trade Paperback
(Advance Uncorrected Proof w/ generic cover)
Genre: Science Fiction
368 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Scheduled Release: May 17, 2011
ISBN: 978-0345524492

I was beyond delighted to obtain an early copy of China Mieville’s new novel Embassytown. I can tell you with the utmost confidence that this book is an exceptional read in every respect. It is, in fact, China Mieville’s most important work to date. Not only should it be instantly promoted to Science Fiction classic status but it will forevermore be compared to the great works from the past. Embassytown is an extraordinary feat of fiction and a brilliant work of artistic expression. Its concepts evoke the SF New Wave period but with its own New Weird twist and a Hard Science Fiction edge. The aliens are truly outside of our understanding; their Language doubly so, making them so different from us as to be totally, absolutely unknowable. We may scratch the surface of the Ariekei, or the Hosts as they’re known in Embassytown, but they are so xeno-singular that we could never truly comprehend their race. Mieville’s in-story language is stunning, visual, and conceptual but more than that the entire storyline is language-centric. That it’s not our form of verbal communication and is almost impossible to understand (it’s spoken from two mouths simultaneously) only makes this narrative more intriguing.

The story takes place on the planet of Arieka, in the city of Embassytown. Avice Benner Cho, an Immerser (an extraordinary human able to endure the severe physical and mental effects of travelling through the sub-reality arcs of the universe), has returned home to Embassytown, a melting pot of Hosts, humans, and exotics that share the Ariekie’s home planet. Only genetically manipulated humans, known as Ambassadors, are able to understand and communicate with the Ariekie. But then a new, unexpected Ambassador arrives and the delicate cultural and diplomatic balance of the entire planet is tipped.

China Mieville’s world-building prose makes the reader work harder than most writers. I repeat, everything he writes challenges the reader. His choice of language requires you to think, to understand, to grasp, before proceeding. But the pay-off for your hard work as a reader is worth every minute spent in concentration. This story reminds me very much of other demanding works by past masters. It’s suggestive of Gordon R. Dickson’s Dorsai project, Frank Herbert’s Dune and Whipping Star, Mervin Peake’s Titus Groan, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, and Samuel R. Delaney’s Dhalgren which in my estimation are also challenging but valuable reads. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling Embassytown difficult. It simply demands more of the reader’s attention than most Science Fiction. It may be hard at first to decipher some of the terminology but once you get the hang of it, it grows on you. Mieville’s Embassytown slang is inventive and some readers may feel disappointed that the novel did not come pre-packaged with “The Mieville Lexicon.”

Speaking of inventive, as in some of his earlier works Mieville creates a bizarre alternate-world full of machines, buildings, weapons, vehicles, furniture, ships, and robots. But those found in Embassytown differ from objects in his other works because unlike them we know exactly where these are made. They are grown by the Hosts using advance methods of bio-technology. There’s furniture with skeletons and internal organs and vehicles that breathe and contain body fluids. Houses made of skin with antibodies scurrying about the house on the prowl for intruders. Even the Hosts themselves are described as insect-like and equine, with sharp hooves and antler-like eyes. From those of us who’ve read China Mieville before we’ve come to expect these strange creatures/constructs at least once in each of his stories but Embassytown is full of them adding to the artistry of the world he has built.

While Embassytown is, on the surface, a Science Fiction novel with all the elements of the genre – sub-reality space flight, alien contact, terra-forming, bio-engineering, etc. it is mostly a work of language. Particularly that part of language that allows the lie, the fib, the… untruth. It appears that the Ariekie suffer from a racial oddity. They crave “that which is not” or what we call the lie. Who better to teach the Hosts the art of telling a lie than humans? But this misuse of their language is a drug to them. It is addictive and intoxicating and its dependency may ultimately destroy their entire culture.

I suggest you head out to your local book store this morning and purchase your copy of Embassytown. You’ll definitely want this one in your library and you certainly won’t be disappointed with your choice.

6 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Author:

Official Mieville Page

China Mieville Wiki Page

China Mieville Author Page Amazon.com

Unofficial Mieville Website

Embassytown:

Embassytown Wiki Page

Embassytown Publisher Page

Embassytown Excerpt

Book Review - The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry

The Jefferson Key
(Cotton Malone 07)
Steve Berry
Trade Paperback
462 pages
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Scheduled Release Date: May 17, 2011
Advance Readers Copy – Amazon Vine
ISBN: 978-0345505514

Disclaimer – The copy used to review Steve Berry’s The Jefferson Key was received as an ARC from the Amazon.com Vine Program. In addition, I’d like to mention that I currently own all seven of the books and have been a fan since the first installment (see complete list below for the books in the series.) I’ve enjoyed reading every one of the Cotton Malone books and have previously given either four or four-and-a-half star ratings to each of the six previous volumes. So you know what’s coming…

But first, a short word regarding the main character, Cotton Malone.

In my estimation, Cotton Malone should go down in history as the literary equivalent of such heroic champions as James Bond, Mack Bolan, and Doc Savage. Mr. Berry’s ex-Justice Department operative retains many of the same attributes as the other three but he is also something more. He is the quintessential male action-adventure character with a suave and sophisticated persona but is also thoughtful and dignified and, more importantly, extremely likeable, even to the most pedestrian or casual of readers. He is described as possessing great physical strength and endurance, is sharp-witted with an eidetic memory, and holds a mastery of everything related to working undercover. To those who love exemplary thrillers he is the perfect protagonist. He has a sixth sense for side-stepping trouble and is always one step ahead of his pursuers (even when he appears not to be.) In my opinion, he should be considered one of the most memorable characters of our time. Whether that happens or not is up to the masses to decide. Cotton Malone, however, is important enough in the pantheon of outstanding secret agents to be mentioned separately from the book here and to be included with the other greats of the genre. And, so I have.

And… on to the book review.

An assassination plot against the President of the United States has been discovered and Cotton Malone, unwittingly lured to the scene of the crime, races to stop it. But, along the way, he unearths chilling evidence that links all four past Presidential murders, Lincoln in 1865, Garfield in 1881, McKinley in 1901, and Kennedy in 1963 to a group known simply as The Commonwealth, a secret society of pirates first assembled during the American Revolution. Their work unfinished, they have targeted the President for elimination. Even more disturbing than the attack on the most powerful man in the world is the secret buried in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution that might provide the Commonwealth unlimited power.

With as memorable, fast-paced, and exciting an opening as I’ve ever read The Jefferson Key is another excellent example of a clever plot filled with mystery, intrigue, and action. Berry has the uncanny ability to pull you into the story and not let you back out until the last word. Add an intriguing main character, questionable government activity, loads of action, and a self-serving secret society and you have all the elements of a perfectly crafted thriller. I like to read to escape and most of what I read does just that. With Mr. Berry’s work, however, I also seem to be completely entertained throughout my escapism. Bonus, for me… and for you too. I recommend Steve Berry for mature readers of all ages and genres.

4 ½ out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

The complete Cotton Malone collection consists of the following seven books and one short story:
0. The Devil’s Due (2006) Short Story (as part of James Patterson’s Thriller
1. The Templar Legacy (2006)
2. The Alexandria Link (2007)
3. The Venetian Betrayal (2007)
4. The Charlemagne Pursuit (2008)
5. The Paris Vendetta (2009)
6. The Emperor's Tomb (2010)
7. The Jefferson Key (2011)

Additional Reading:

Steve Berry

Official Author Page

Author Wiki Page

The Jefferson Key

The Jefferson Key Amazon.com Page

Author’s Book Page

Bonus material - Cotton Malone Dossier

The Jefferson Key Excerpt

Book Review and Bonus Interview - Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon

Wearing the Cape
Marion G. Harmon
Kindle Edition (eBook)
Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B004XRCC1G
Cover by Jorge Velasquez

When Hope Corrigan is almost crushed beneath the collapsed expanse of a bombed out Chicago Interstate she realizes that her life has taken a dramatic turn. To be sure, cement dust, crushed cars, leaking gasoline and oil, and the haunting screams of the injured and dying still surround her and have barely settled when she finds that she has suddenly been physically altered. In the midst of her trauma an unexpected superhuman transformation has taken place and Astra, a new, “breakthrough superhero,” emerges from the rubble in her place. Due to the distress of the bombing Astra (Hope’s superhero persona) is now able to lift heavy objects, rapidly heal her own wounds, and fly to great heights at great speed. Her future has abruptly and unequivocally been derailed. But life as a “cape” is not all it’s cracked up to be. Public expectations have gone through the roof and superhero privacy is almost non-existent. Not to mention the target she’ll become if she chooses superhero-dom over the mundane activities of a college freshman. Hope/Astra must now make a decision that will affect the rest of her life.

Wearing the Cape is a magnificent blend of diverse superhero mediums. It contains aspects of the Watchmen (graphic novel), The Avengers (cartoon), Superman (the movie), Iron Man (comic), and Dr. Horribles’ Sing-Along Blog (webisodes) all mixed into a unique alternate reality and then rolled up into one incredibly fast-paced and well-defined narrative of superhero goodness. And, here’s the best part for you the reader. Harmon’s prose is appetizing, succinct, and precise. Where other writers might take paragraphs to write a scene or two Mr. Harmon does the same in a single sentence. There are no long expositions or unneeded descriptions, no monotonous monologues, and no drawn out paragraphs that go nowhere. Here’s an example:

“The honey light of the sunrise behind us painted the city with warm colors and long shadows. A brisk wind off Lake Michigan worked its magic to clear the air, leaving the sky a jewel-like, perfect blue unblemished by clouds.”

I don’t know about you but when I read this I fell perfectly into that moment. Early. Sunrise. Long shadows of morning. Pristine, cloudless sky. And, remarkably, the same precision is used to describe the superheroes, the villains, the battles, and pretty much everything else in the story.

One exceptionally appealing concept here is the integration, the inter-weaving, if you will, of alternate pop-culture aspects into the background of the story. What would a newly made superhero think? What would they do? Would they worry about their choice of costume? Their super-name? Would they read Barlow’s Guide to Superhumans cover to cover? Would they be curious as to who’s on the cover of Hero Beat or Power Week or what’s going to happen on the next episode of Protectors? Of course, the answer is… yes, to all of the above.

The main antagonist is comparatively unique and intriguing, as well. He’s dubbed the Teatime Anarchist because of his vaguely British sound and his published manifesto accusing the US government of conspiring to cheat citizens out of their civil liberties. His activities begin as nonlethal pranks but they soon escalate to Interstate bombings and the murders of lawmakers, politicians, and civilians. But who is the “real” Teatime Anarchist and what is his agenda?

Marion G. Harmon’s Wearing the Cape is not only a wonderful and surprising read but his concise writing style and the interesting twists and turns of the plot kept me swiping pages on my iPad post-haste (and well past midnight on a few nights.) In short, Wearing the Cape is fun, diverting, enchanting and highly entertaining. Recommended to geeks, techies, Trekies, Science Fiction, Superhero, and comic book fans of all ages.

Oh, and one last but very important word about this book. As some of you may have guessed by now my reading list is very, very long. (Trust me, the three six-foot-tall stacks of “to-be-read” novels never seems to get any smaller.) So, I didn’t expect to get to this one for at least four weeks but when I opened the eBook and started reading I simply couldn’t put it down. Wearing the Cape muscled its way to the top of my reading heap and I’m happy it did. Kudos to Mr. Harmon for catching my attention in the first few pages of his book and keeping it till the last. It’ll do the same to you.

4 ½ out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Amazon Kindle Page

Marion G. Harmon on Writing “Wearing the Cape”

Marion G. Harmon Bio Page

Wearing the Cape Excerpt

Wearing the Cape Page

Exclusive Interview with the Author:

Q. Being a huge fan of graphic novels myself I certainly understand the desire to tell a story about superheroes and evil villains. What inspired you to write Wearing the Cape?

A. The whole thing began with the thought "How would the real world deal with superheroes?" Just to ask the question is to come up with a lot of fun themes; for one thing we'd regulate the hell out of them (agencies, certification, insurance, psychiatric evaluation, after-action reports...). And of course we'd make huge celebrities out of them, a whole other can of worms. Not all of it would be good--kids killing themselves trying to achieve "breakthrough," for example, is a statement on the human cost our own fame-and-beauty obsessed culture.

Q. Do you have plans for developing other stories set in this same universe? Is a sequel in the making?

A. I am currently writing the second book, Villains Inc., to be published in October. Behind that is at least one more sequel, and two more books (a piece of science-fiction humor, Worst Contact, and a YA adventure story, Tales from Sitka-By-The-Sea).

Q. Is the character Hope (A.K.A. Astra) based on someone you know?

A. Hope is more of a composite of culturally influential Action Girls--I confess that when I began writing her I was almost certainly heavily influenced by Veronica Mars and Buffy Summers; both examples of why you should Fear The Cute Ones. But we all know somebody who doesn't normally look or act confident or competent, who turns around and surprises everybody when it all hits the fan.

Q. How much time did you spend on research? And what specific sources, if any, did you consult for Wearing the Cape?

A. While I'm not a huge comic-book collector, I have been reading them all my life. In Wearing the Cape I set out to break or twist as many of the traditional superhero-tropes as possible, but this didn't require research--just rereading my favorite titles. One resource I discovered in the course of writing WtC, which I recommend to anybody who wants to consider Deep Questions of superheroes and morality is Superheroes and Philosophy (Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way), edited by Tom and Matt Morris.

Q. Where are you from? County, City, State… Where were you educated?

A. Another planet. Actually I was an Air Force brat who grew up all over. I finally settled in Las Vegas, where I got my masters in history before going into financial planning.

Q. When and why did you begin writing? Is it something you’ve always known you wanted to do? Or did it creep up on you?

A. I've been writing for myself all my life; if the internet had come along just a bit sooner I'd probably have become a compulsive writer of fanfic.

Q. When did you first consider yourself a writer?

A. The day I decided on a self-imposed deadline for WtC.

Q. Tell us a little about your publishing experience. Did you expend a lot of effort to have your book published? What are the pitfalls? The rewards?

A. This could fill an essay. In 2010 I submitted query letters to nearly one hundred literary agencies. In early 2011 I decided to self-publish so that I could move on to the next book. I'm still discovering the pitfalls and rewards.

Q. Outside of the good versus evil motif is there a particular message in Wearing the Cape that you want readers to understand?

A. I really just wanted to tell a good story. As I wrote it other themes emerged, but I didn't write WtC with a "message" in mind.

Q. What book(s) are you reading now? Which books have most influenced your life?

A. Food for another essay. As a kid I discovered The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, and those two sets of books inspired my love of fantasy stories and told me what heroes should look like. I am currently reading Bridge of Birds, an epic (and hilarious) adventure in Chinese fantasy by Barry Hughart.

Q. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

A. Choose One? Terry Pratchett; he tells beautiful stories of grand adventure and human drama with incredible humor.

Q. What was the hardest part of writing your book? Conversely, what was the easiest?

A. Ideas were the easiest bit. Knowing when I was finished was the hardest.

Q. Do you have any advice for other writers, especially new writers?

A. First, get a reading group, locally or online; without people who will tell you when your writing stinks, you'll never be any good. Second, don't wait to publish until your writing is perfect.

Q. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

A. Yes. Comments are welcome.

The Alternative would like to thank Mr. Harmon for his time.

P.S. One of the decidedly worst things about blogger is that you have to have a PHD in HTML to get spacing to work properly on the website. Obviously, I only have a GED.

Book Review - The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

The Silent Land: A Novel
Graham Joyce
Doubleday
2011
Hardcover
262 pages
ISBN: 978-0-385-53380-5

*** NOTE: This review contains THE SPOILER for this novel – Read no further if you have not finished or intend on reading this book. ***

     I wanted to like this book. I really did. Graham Joyce is a very good writer, has an elegant voice, and has written some very entertaining stories (i.e. “The Tooth Fairy” and “Requiem” among others.) But this one I just don’t “get.” Everywhere I look I see four and five star reviews for it. On Amazon.com, LibraryThing.com, and many independent blogs I see the same lofty praise. High-profile writers esteem its virtues publically. Write praiseworthy reviews. But, is this book truly deserving of all the admiration? Unfortunately, in my opinion, I have to say no. The Silent Land is a mediocre read, at best. The climax, which builds from the opening scene, does not deliver the surprise and shock that it should. While Joyce’s final message is a powerful, even spiritual, one it’s also belabored and the delivery method, rather than flowing with prose, drags the plot along. The central idea, the “surprise” ending, is in itself as cliché now as the phrase “I see dead people!”

     Here are some of the reasons why I think this story fails.

     A. Too much orchestration. By that I mean many of the scenes are dramatic enactments pre-staged to make the final payoff more spectacular. To give it that “wow” factor. Sadly, most readers will figure out at least half the ending by page fifty. It doesn’t help much that the reader is often sent on a tangent to deflect from the book’s conclusion which to me ends up reading more like a bad Hallmark movie than a suspenseful thriller.

     B. Giving the pay-off away (over and over again). Subtle vignettes of death abound in this story. Towards the end of the book the story takes a step sideways as the final days of the main characters father’s are recounted. While powerful stories in themselves I have to wonder why they needed to be added here. Joyce flirts with the “shocking” climax of the story over and over again which makes it anything but impactful when we finally do reach it.

     C. Inaccurate advertising. The book is billed as “intrigue,” that will “thrill readers” and is a “dark suspense novel.” I found little intrigue and even less suspense in this book. As a matter of fact it felt more like a love story than a thriller to me. I believe Joyce was attempting to build tension and suspense as the story progressed but it never quite came to fruition. The story lagged (and I lost interest) in a few places and the plot suffered because of it.

     D. The two main characters are somewhat one-dimensional, banal, and under-developed.

     There is very little that is new, unique, or exceptionally creative here so the best I can rate The Silent Land by Graham Joyce is a low three. And so I shall.

     “Near perfect?” “Tour De Force?” These are just a few of the venerable notes I’ve seen in reviews for The Silent Land.

     Scratching my head in amazement, I have to wonder why. 

     Perhaps I should stick to SF&F Speculative Fiction…

3 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Author’s Website

Author Wiki Page

 Author Page on Worlds Without End

Book Review - Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

Retribution Falls
Chris Wooding
Spectra (Ballantine Books)
June 2009
Trade Paperback
461 pages
ISBN: 978-0575085152
Cover Art by Stephan Martiniere

     With a cast of characters seemingly drawn from the scripts of Firefly, Star Wars, and Pirates of the Caribbean and a story that plots like an action-adventure video game Chris Wooding has created a superb new series and, in the process, has fashioned an enjoyable sub-genre with the publication of Retribution Falls. Wooding has invented an innovative and fresh style of speculative fiction that I like to call “PiratePunk.” (Yes, I said it, arrrggghhh, PiratePunk. So keelhaul me.)This story contains elements of the high seas, steampunk, magic, buccaneers, phantasmagoria, science fiction, mutiny, adventure, mystery, fantasy, political intrigue, and a whole lot of swashbuckling for good measure. (Or would that be Swashpunkling?) The flying machines in this story are not slow-moving dirigibles or hot-air balloons but quick, aggressive machines with as much attitude as altitude. And much like the works cited above the ships are almost as famous as the stories themselves (Serenity, The Millennium Falcon, and The Black Pearl, to mention a few.) So to, Wooding has produced the Ketty Jay, a formidable air ship with its own pair of fighter jets that act, in essence, as characters themselves.

     The crew of the Ketty Jay, a motley band of brigands, pirates and cut-throats at best, include a daemonologist, a tortured man with a price on his head, a nine-foot tall golem, a gung-ho fighter pilot, and a ghost of a woman who may be transforming into something, well, not quite human. (You have to read the story to get the whole picture.) Early in the narrative the crew is forced to discover why they were deceived into destroying an airship that killed more than a dozen passengers, one of whom was the son of a high-ranking nobleman of the kingdom. At least three of the seven (nine including Bess, the golem, and Slag, the cat) crew members are hiding something tragic from their pasts, or so we are led to believe. And the Captain, Darian Frey, is a complex, multifaceted character with a tragic past that, and again I use the above mentioned stories as an example, bends morals like Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly and has similar physical attributes, is extremely likeable like the blockade runner Han Solo from Star Wars, with perhaps the confidence and bravery of Indiana Jones and the irreverence for authority of Captain Jack Sparrow.

     An interesting afterthought occurred to me after I finished reading Retribution Falls which was reinforced when I read the Torque Control review below. This story cries out for treatment by the film media. I know, I know. You’ve probably heard this all before about other stories you’ve read. But this one truly has it all. Gun- and sword fights, magic, Pirate- and Swash-punk settings, golems, fistfights, card games, lost love, torture, politics, murder, dog-fights, religion, betrayal, revenge, and the fast-paced flow of gripping entertainment. Add elements of video game play, anime, and the blockbuster action-adventure which is scattered methodically through-out the narrative and it would parse well as an action film (IMHO). Retribution Falls was a fast, fun read that kept me up a few nights in a row turning pages and I enjoyed it so much that I’ve ordered the next book in the series Black Lung Captain as well as Wooding’s Fade, which I’ve heard is also a pretty good read (but not part of this particular series.)

     All in all, Retribution Falls is one of the most pleasurable books I’ve read so far this year and I recommend it for those who enjoy Firefly, steampunk, adventure, magic, Star Wars, swordplay, fantasy, and gun fights. Did I mention Joss Whedon?

4 ½ stars out of 5

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Additional reading:

Official Author Website

Strange Horizons Review

Fantasy Book Critic Review

Torque Control review

Joe Abercrombie’s Review

Ketty Jay Logbook Very nice addition to the Ketty Jay world is this logbook kept on-line and posted to by Captain Frey. Enjoy!

Excerpt of Retribution Falls

Books in the Series:

Tales of the Ketty Jay
1. Retribution Falls (2009)
2. The Black Lung Captain (July 2010)
3. The Iron Jackal (July 2011)
4. “Unnamed 4th Book” (2012)

The Crew of the Ketty Jay (Wickfield ironclad-class cargo-combat hybrid)

Darian Frey – Captain and owner of Ketty Jay
Gratharian Crake – Daemonologist
Jez – Navigator and a transforming Mane
Silo – Engineer/Mechanic
Malvery – Doctor/Medic
Pinn – Fighter Pilot
Harkins – Fighter Pilot
Bess – Golem and watchdog and…
Slag – Ship’s cat and rat catcher

     Last word: Almost every review of Retribution Falls that I’ve read offers some comparison to Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Indeed, I’ve done it here myself and that’s before I ever read another review. Most espouse that the resemblance is not a bad thing (or is a good thing) and it is an apt judgment, but only as it applies to the general plot and concept. Yes, the crew is similar. They skirt the law, have scrupulous associates, take questionable work, have chip-on-shoulder attitudes, and find themselves in trouble more often than not. But really, those are the only similarities. ;-) Being a confirmed Browncoat I happen to love the idea of a book that resembles Firefly and a ship that lives and breathes like Serenity and perhaps that swayed my opinion when rating it, though I’d like to think that my reviews are based on the merit of the story and not because of similar familiar work that has come before. Regardless, Retribution Falls manages to stand well on its own and had Firefly never been born the comparisons to Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean would still be made. You know why? Because good art is recognizable but is often difficult to find and define. But, those who do see it recognize it for what it is, a rarity waiting for its moment to shine. Retribution Falls does just that.

Book Review – Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield

1. Aftertime
2. Sophie Littlefield
3. Luna
4. 2011
5. Trade Paperback
6. 375 pages
7. ISBN: 9780373803361

Anyone who has read this book review blog for long knows that I really enjoy a good post-apocalyptic zombie story every once in a while (actually find them hard to resist) and that’s exactly what Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield is, a very good zombie book. Forget the Beaters (zombies) for a moment and why they’ve changed into crazed flesh-eaters. Put aside the fact that the world has pretty much come to an abrupt and disappointing end. What carries this narrative is the character development and quest motif. Littlefield’s characters are fully fleshed out (pun intended) and real. Some are mysterious, others evil and self-serving, most are flawed and a few even resemble people I know. Which is what makes them so compelling. Everyone who’s ever loved a child will understand the motive driving the main character. That it occurs in a savage, wasted land makes it that much more interesting. There’s nothing inherently unique about this particular zombie story but because it reads so quickly and the plot is so compelling you won’t want to put it down. An enjoyable time away from the mundane this novel is a recommended for all the zombie and post-apocalyptic fans out there. (You know who you are!)

4 out of 5 stars

1. The Alternative
2. Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Official Author site

Author Blog

Amazon Author site

Author Wiki Site

Aftertime Page

* The Alternative Blog

Book Review - Millennial Mythmaking by John Perlich and David Whitt

• Millennial Mythmaking: Essays on the Power of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Films and Games
• John Perlich and David Whitt
• McFarland
• 2009
• Trade Paperback
• 202 pages
• ISBN: 978-0-7864-4562-20

     Perhaps because of a misunderstanding on my part I originally believed this book of essays would be a comfortably written, easily readable, and pedestrian collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy themes. (Think Stephen King’s On Writing.)I’m not entirely sure where I got that impression but it turns out that Millennial Mythmaking is more of a college textbook or scholarly master thesis than a compilation of soft essays on the subject of SF&F myths. And while that isn’t at all bad it really wasn’t what I expected. Putting my obtuseness aside if you’re the type that loves an in-depth analysis of contemporary Science Fiction and Fantasy then you’ll definitely enjoy this book. However, through all the studied rationalizations, numerous footnotes and references, and in some cases, over-analytical rhetoric, much of the message of each essay will be lost to the casual reader. If you are a college-level student studying the myths of current fiction or enjoy the detailed and often subtle underpinnings of Science Fiction and Fantasy then I recommend this collection of essays for you.

     One slightly irritating theme I encountered was the constant homage and mention of Joseph Campbell. Every essay held an element dealing with or concerning Campbell or his work and almost every reference cited Campbell and Moyer’s The Power of Myth. It seemed the deck was stacked with a pat hand. In other words, the editors may have only solicited essays relative to Joseph Campbell as the common denominator which isn’t a bad thing overall but should have probably been mentioned up front if that was the intention. (I can’t imagine this was coincidental.) On a positive note, and I’d like to end this review on an optimistic note if I may, the subject matter included more modern SF&F examples then many other works of this genre (i.e. Harry Potter, Wicked Witch of the West, Doctor Who, Star Trek, etc.) This gives Millennial Mythmaking an advantage over many other essay collections published in the past few years.

3 stars out of 5

• The Alternative
• Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Stephen Hunt (SF Crows Nest) Review

Perlich’s College Site

Author Interview

Book Review - Nebador - Book One – The Test by J. Z. Colby

1. Nebador - Book One – The Test
2. J. Z. Colby
3. Nebador Archives (Self-Published)
4. ISBN 978-936253-02-9
5. 292 pages
6. Review copy via Librarything.com

Nebador Book One: The Test is an entertaining young adult narrative set in a medieval kingdom where the institution of slavery is an integral part of society. Enter Ilika, a ship captain from the mysterious land of Nebador who is looking for crew members to man his vessel. It is revealed that Ilika is on a quest and one of his major tests is to recruit his own crew. What he doesn’t know is that the only eligible young men and women that fit his recruitment criteria are slaves. The story develops as the young ship captain purchases, manumits, and then educates ten teenaged slaves as possible crewmembers. “The Test” of the title manages to work on two levels. Ilika’s test is to find and train a competent crew for his ship and the test for each slave is to learn enough to be chosen as a crewmember. We get the feeling, though are never really told, that Ilika is no ordinary captain and that his ship is no ordinary craft. Indeed we are told via subtle inference that the vessel is so unusual that is it not a “ship” in the traditional sense at all. I’m sure you can see where this is going…

The first chapter of this book could have been stronger structurally, in my opinion, but the mystery of the strange ship captain was interesting enough to keep me reading the narrative. A stronger introduction to the main character might have given the story a better, less confusing, start. For instance, Ilika unnecessarily talking to animals to introduce himself was to me a bit confusing. Is this a fantasy about a young man that can talk to animals? Or is he just psychotic? No, it was just an awkward way to introduce the reader to the character. An encounter with a fellow traveler or a local farmer might have set up the opening a little better. However, once past that minor fault the book picks up in both pace and plot and I found it to be an enjoyable read.

As a reviewer of a certain age, over 50 but under dead, I feel well-qualified to comment on the plot and content of this young adult narrative which I found to be entertaining, educational, and nostalgic. Entertaining in the fact that the plot was well-written, the characters believable and real, and the premise was interesting enough to keep me reading until the end of the story. When I say that I found the book educational I mean in the sense that it contains elements of basic math and logic intended to educate the young reader (a rare occurrence these days in most young adult fiction.) More often than not we are riddled with YA stories that contain only emotional and relationship driven narratives. Nebador does indeed include relationship building but it is more in the line of binding a team together rather than focusing on romantic alliances although there are elements of romance found in the story. As for why I felt the book nostalgic I have only two words for you, Andre Norton. Yes, the prolific YA and science fiction author. I recall to this day that warm afternoon in the early 70’s when I first opened a borrowed copy of Witch World. I was completely drawn into and enthralled by that story. In fact, I wanted to go and write similar stories. Though I never did get around to writing those tales the important thing was that it made me want to and, in some ways, that experience turned me into a voracious reader. I read more because of it in my search to find books written in a similar style with parallel content. I hope that this book does the same for the young readers that come in contact with it. Hopefully, there are those who will read this in jaw-dropping wonder and begin a long life of reading Science Fiction for the pure pleasure of it. Of course, I am no longer a doe-eyed young adult looking to be blown away by a Science Fiction story (though I often am) and I remember fondly what it feels like and I believe that Nebador has the potential to cause that same type of wonderment in a new generation of young adults.

3 ½ stars out of 5

1. The Alternative
2. Southeast Wisconsin

Additional Reading:

Official Nebador site

Author page at Goodreads.com

BookReview.com review