Nic Pizzolatto's Galveston is not an especially plot-driven
book. It's more a character study focused on one man, and how his
decisions during a specific period in his life echo across the years.
Roy
Cady is not a good guy. He works as a heavy for an even worse guy, and
one day he gets the sense that his usefulness has come to an end.
Unfortunately for everyone else involved, Roy's just been diagnosed with
terminal cancer and has absolutely nothing left to lose. He manages to
escape the situation, but finds himself burdened with a teenage
prostitute and no plan for the future.
This book is dark, and it
is also quite violent. It's also well-written, gripping, and
surprisingly optimistic about the possibility for redemption and change.
I liked it, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to read it again.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
CBR6 #7: Rise Again by Ben Tripp
Sheriff Danny Adelman has enough problems upon waking on July 4. The Iraq vet has PTSD, a growing problem with alcohol, and a younger sister that has run off...in Danny's beloved Mustang. It seems like the worst that that will happen in the small town of Forest Peak that day is awkwardness over the mayor's terrible patriotic costume and dealing with the town drunk.
That's before the first screamer comes running out of the woods and drops dead in the town square.
Things just keep going downhill from there, and problems start piling up awfully quick when the dead start to rise off the sidewalks.
I liked this book a lot -- as far as the plot goes, it's in many ways a fairly standard zombie book. However, I really appreciated the characters, and was actively rooting for all of them. Danny is a fantastic character, with a lot of real human emotion, despite the bad-ass exterior. Stranded TV star Patrick, local veterinarian Amy, and alcoholic Vietnam veteran Wulf are also great.
The plot moved along briskly, and never did I find myself getting bored. There was action going on in several locations, which kept things interesting, and there were many reasonably well sketched out side characters to people the story. Also, I appreciated not being subjected to an ill-advised love story--the author didn't seem to feel the need to add that particular subplot, which is rare. Plus, the ending provided a surprise twist that I didn't see coming at all.
On the whole, this was a likable book in this genre, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
That's before the first screamer comes running out of the woods and drops dead in the town square.
Things just keep going downhill from there, and problems start piling up awfully quick when the dead start to rise off the sidewalks.
I liked this book a lot -- as far as the plot goes, it's in many ways a fairly standard zombie book. However, I really appreciated the characters, and was actively rooting for all of them. Danny is a fantastic character, with a lot of real human emotion, despite the bad-ass exterior. Stranded TV star Patrick, local veterinarian Amy, and alcoholic Vietnam veteran Wulf are also great.
The plot moved along briskly, and never did I find myself getting bored. There was action going on in several locations, which kept things interesting, and there were many reasonably well sketched out side characters to people the story. Also, I appreciated not being subjected to an ill-advised love story--the author didn't seem to feel the need to add that particular subplot, which is rare. Plus, the ending provided a surprise twist that I didn't see coming at all.
On the whole, this was a likable book in this genre, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
CBR6 #6: The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo
If you are expecting this to be an Ann Rule-style book that simply
details a bunch of cases, you will be disappointed. However, if you're
looking for crime-fighting combined with an excellent, multi-year
character study of three very different men who come together to solve
murders, then this is your story.
The Murder Room details the forming of the Vidocq Society, a group that brings together the best minds from a variety of crime-fighting disciplines (medical examiners, forensic artists, dentists, and anthropologists, police detectives, customs agents, profilers, psychologists, district attorneys, and others) to network and to put their considerable brain-power toward solving cold cases. The three dynamic men behind this endeavor were William Fleisher (former FBI agent and mensch), Frank Bender (eccentric and flamboyant forensic artist), and Richard Walter (equally eccentric and slightly grim profiler)and this book is just as much a tale of their ongoing friendship than it is stories of solved murders.
The book does tend to skip around a bit chronologically, and can occasionally be difficult to follow. There are also some story threads that simply disappear, and are left without any conclusion. However, these men are all fascinating in their own ways, and their interactions with each other are nearly as intriguing as the cases they work on.
I'd definitely recommend this to any true crime lovers who are also interested in well-written character studies.
The Murder Room details the forming of the Vidocq Society, a group that brings together the best minds from a variety of crime-fighting disciplines (medical examiners, forensic artists, dentists, and anthropologists, police detectives, customs agents, profilers, psychologists, district attorneys, and others) to network and to put their considerable brain-power toward solving cold cases. The three dynamic men behind this endeavor were William Fleisher (former FBI agent and mensch), Frank Bender (eccentric and flamboyant forensic artist), and Richard Walter (equally eccentric and slightly grim profiler)and this book is just as much a tale of their ongoing friendship than it is stories of solved murders.
The book does tend to skip around a bit chronologically, and can occasionally be difficult to follow. There are also some story threads that simply disappear, and are left without any conclusion. However, these men are all fascinating in their own ways, and their interactions with each other are nearly as intriguing as the cases they work on.
I'd definitely recommend this to any true crime lovers who are also interested in well-written character studies.
CBR6 #5: The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens
Eric Greitens's story of his life, and of the widely varied experiences he has had is a pretty good read.
Greitens grew up fairly privileged, but always had a desire to help and serve others. He combined his love for humanitarian service with a fighter's desire to conquer and achieve, and managed to make them into a life of which he could be proud.
The book is a bit scattershot, focusing longer on some aspects of the author's life than others -- the main sections concerned his collegiate boxing training, his college and post-college humanitarian missions to a variety of countries, and his training as a Navy SEAL. There were some other areas that I would have liked more detailed description of, but at the same time, I can see how he was trying to fit everything into the theme of the heart (charity work) and fist (boxing/military) working together in order to try and improve the world.
This book reminded me of the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, except Eric Greitens came off a lot more relateable and less like a self-righteous prig.
On the whole I'd recommend this, particularly to those who are struggling to figure out how they might combine power and compassion in order to help others.
Greitens grew up fairly privileged, but always had a desire to help and serve others. He combined his love for humanitarian service with a fighter's desire to conquer and achieve, and managed to make them into a life of which he could be proud.
The book is a bit scattershot, focusing longer on some aspects of the author's life than others -- the main sections concerned his collegiate boxing training, his college and post-college humanitarian missions to a variety of countries, and his training as a Navy SEAL. There were some other areas that I would have liked more detailed description of, but at the same time, I can see how he was trying to fit everything into the theme of the heart (charity work) and fist (boxing/military) working together in order to try and improve the world.
This book reminded me of the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, except Eric Greitens came off a lot more relateable and less like a self-righteous prig.
On the whole I'd recommend this, particularly to those who are struggling to figure out how they might combine power and compassion in order to help others.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
CBR6 #4: Poems New and Collected by Wisława Szymborska
Wislawa Szymborska is one of
my very favorite poets. Her work is often both abstract and specific,
and she combines remarkably evocative imagery with a variety of
emotions, ranging from frustration to detached interest to dry humor.
She is one of the few things I got out of a college lit class that was
worth remembering.
Poems New and Collected is a retrospective of her work, and spans forty years of poetry. My favorites were probably from the pieces published in her 1972 work Could Have, though I liked poems from her entire collection. She writes on a variety of themes, including love, death, and most often what it means to be a part of humanity, and the collective experience thereof. It's kind of interesting to see how the themes change and develop over the course of forty years of writing.
The piece below is an example of one of her shorter works, this time from 1957's Calling Out to Yeti.
FOUR A.M.
The hour between night and day.
The hour between toss and turn.
the hour of thirty-year-olds.
The hour swept clean for roosters' crowing.
The hour when the earth takes back its warm embrace.
The hour of cool drafts from extinguished stars.
The hour of do-we-vanish-too-without-a-trace.
Empty hour.
Hollow. Vain.
Rock bottom of all the other hours.
No one feels fine at four a.m.
If ants feel fine at four a.m.,
we're happy for the ants. And let five a.m. come
if we've got to go on living.
It's brief, and it's simple, but it paints such a clear picture of a particular time and emotion.
For those who like poetry and don't mind a bit of a challenge, I'd highly recommend this.
Poems New and Collected is a retrospective of her work, and spans forty years of poetry. My favorites were probably from the pieces published in her 1972 work Could Have, though I liked poems from her entire collection. She writes on a variety of themes, including love, death, and most often what it means to be a part of humanity, and the collective experience thereof. It's kind of interesting to see how the themes change and develop over the course of forty years of writing.
The piece below is an example of one of her shorter works, this time from 1957's Calling Out to Yeti.
FOUR A.M.
The hour between night and day.
The hour between toss and turn.
the hour of thirty-year-olds.
The hour swept clean for roosters' crowing.
The hour when the earth takes back its warm embrace.
The hour of cool drafts from extinguished stars.
The hour of do-we-vanish-too-without-a-trace.
Empty hour.
Hollow. Vain.
Rock bottom of all the other hours.
No one feels fine at four a.m.
If ants feel fine at four a.m.,
we're happy for the ants. And let five a.m. come
if we've got to go on living.
It's brief, and it's simple, but it paints such a clear picture of a particular time and emotion.
For those who like poetry and don't mind a bit of a challenge, I'd highly recommend this.
CBR6 #3: In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
Stefanie Pintoff's debut novel was both a fantastic historical fiction and a compelling detective story.
It's 1905, and Detective Simon Ziele has moved out to the New York City suburbs after his fiancee perishes in the General Slocum disaster (that detail being what hooked me on the book in the first place, since that wreck is one I was very interested during my maritime disaster phase). He expects the life of a small-town policeman to be fairly quiet, but it isn't long before a horrific murder drops into his lap. The victim seems to have had many enemies, but none with a hatred violent enough to result in bloody homicide. Ziele is at a loss until Professor Alistair Sinclair shows up--Sinclair has been pioneering a field of criminal psychology at Columbia, and he thinks one of his test subjects might be the man the police are looking for...the only problem is finding him.
Ziele and Sinclair wind their way through the neighborhoods of old New York, coming into contact with every strata of society, from the mayor all the way down to local drunks and hoods in the search for the murderer.
This book was awesome -- I really enjoyed the character of Ziele very much, and found him quite sympathetic and believable. I also appreciated Alistair Sinclair's daughter-in-law Isabella, who was a much-needed female presence, and painted as a smart, independent young woman. The mystery wasn't obvious, and while I had my suspicions, I didn't know for sure who had done it until the reveal. I also enjoyed the historical context (though on occasion it did feel a tiny bit "OH HERE IS A THING THAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK IN 1905 THAT WE JUST HAPPEN TO MENTION CASUALLY READER, DO APPRECIATE OUR HISTORICAL CONTEXT!" for the most part it was well done).
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or detective thrillers. I can't wait to get my hands on the second and third books in the series.
It's 1905, and Detective Simon Ziele has moved out to the New York City suburbs after his fiancee perishes in the General Slocum disaster (that detail being what hooked me on the book in the first place, since that wreck is one I was very interested during my maritime disaster phase). He expects the life of a small-town policeman to be fairly quiet, but it isn't long before a horrific murder drops into his lap. The victim seems to have had many enemies, but none with a hatred violent enough to result in bloody homicide. Ziele is at a loss until Professor Alistair Sinclair shows up--Sinclair has been pioneering a field of criminal psychology at Columbia, and he thinks one of his test subjects might be the man the police are looking for...the only problem is finding him.
Ziele and Sinclair wind their way through the neighborhoods of old New York, coming into contact with every strata of society, from the mayor all the way down to local drunks and hoods in the search for the murderer.
This book was awesome -- I really enjoyed the character of Ziele very much, and found him quite sympathetic and believable. I also appreciated Alistair Sinclair's daughter-in-law Isabella, who was a much-needed female presence, and painted as a smart, independent young woman. The mystery wasn't obvious, and while I had my suspicions, I didn't know for sure who had done it until the reveal. I also enjoyed the historical context (though on occasion it did feel a tiny bit "OH HERE IS A THING THAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK IN 1905 THAT WE JUST HAPPEN TO MENTION CASUALLY READER, DO APPRECIATE OUR HISTORICAL CONTEXT!" for the most part it was well done).
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or detective thrillers. I can't wait to get my hands on the second and third books in the series.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
CBR6 #2: The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff
The Harrowing would make a great movie. I'd cast Elizabeth Olsen as Robin, the depressed and lonely protagonist, spending her Thanksgiving break in a supposedly empty dorm. Brittany Snow as her nasty southern belle roommate Waverly, and Chris Hemsworth (or someone younger...I'm old and don't know who the current crop of stars in the "college student" age group are anymore) as Patrick, her jock boyfriend who also ends up staying behind. Rounding out the five "discarded" students who find themselves thrown together for three days in Baird College's Mendenhall dorm would be Eva Amurri as Lisa, the sexy bad girl, Kit Harrington as dark musician Cain, and Dane DeHaan as mousy nerd Martin. The five find themselves riding out a nasty storm together, and then of course they discover an old Ouija board...
This was actually a pretty gripping little horror story. The pace remained pretty consistent, and although the protagonist started out a little bit whiny, she rapidly improved into a likable character. The villain was not immediately obvious, and there was a bit of a twist toward the end that I wasn't expecting.
The only downside about this one was I felt as though it could actually been a little longer. I would have appreciated a bit more development from the secondary characters, particularly since the book was VERY focused on the main five. Some depth to their personalities was sketched out, but I felt like the author may have relied a little too much on archetypes rather than making each supporting cast member into a truly unique person.
On the whole, I thought this was an entertaining read, and would be interested in reading other books by the author.
This was actually a pretty gripping little horror story. The pace remained pretty consistent, and although the protagonist started out a little bit whiny, she rapidly improved into a likable character. The villain was not immediately obvious, and there was a bit of a twist toward the end that I wasn't expecting.
The only downside about this one was I felt as though it could actually been a little longer. I would have appreciated a bit more development from the secondary characters, particularly since the book was VERY focused on the main five. Some depth to their personalities was sketched out, but I felt like the author may have relied a little too much on archetypes rather than making each supporting cast member into a truly unique person.
On the whole, I thought this was an entertaining read, and would be interested in reading other books by the author.
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