Rambling Comments #4

I’m always amazed that my reviews draw so many comments on Amazon if my thoughts are contrary to the consensus of the other reviewers. If I like a book, and they don’t, they kill my review. It doesn’t matter if the review is well written or illuminative with multiple paragraphs explaining my position. They will click "no" on the box that says, “Was this review helpful to you?” They will click "yes" to some moron that wrote one line, “The book stinks”. Go figure. Anyway, I recently did a review on the latest Dan Simmons novel, “The Abominable”, and I loved it. Well, the majority of the reviewers didn’t like it. The following are the comments that I received on Amazon:

Jeffrey Swystun says: “I agree Rick. I felt he created a new genre with The Terror and Black Hills. Drood was of another class. Regardless, he is always ambitious and interesting.”

Booklover59 says: “Rick O: Don't know about anyone else, but my criticism has nothing to do with genre and everything to do with quality. I've gone back and read some of his older novels recently: the HYPERION/ENDYMION novels, which hold up well and which will -- because of reprints and such -- keep him comfortable in his dotage; CARRION COMFORT (a book which I enjoyed so much, I read it once a year for about six or seven years), holds up, but with age and experience (mine) does cry out for a bit more editing; SUMMER OF NIGHT (I would have kept the "Dream" portions, but it holds well as is); THE CROOK FACTORY (his best stab at an "entertainment", also holds up well); LOVEDEATH, his best collection of short fiction (other stand-outs in short fiction include "Looking for Kelly Dahl", and everything in PRAYERS TO BROKEN STONES, except "The Offering", which is a teleplay anyway, but also displays Simmons's inability with the form). After that, the only solid novel he wrote (I don't count the "Hard Case" hard-boiled books, because they border on parody, and are too easy to write) is A WINTER HAUNTING (vastly different from "Summer", but all the better for it). Just before that, he wrote the second-worst novel of his career, DARWIN'S BLADE. Just after "Winter", he began to crash and burn, first publishing ILIUM (I say publishing, because I'm aware that books can be written simultaneously, and I think ILIUM was written before Simmons's brain/creativity took a nose dive), which was a very good start -- the first half of something that looked to equal his "Hyperion/Endymion" books -- but then crashed and burned with OLYMPOS (a mess, prose and plot-wise).

THE TERROR stands as his last-ditch attempt to write something worthwhile, and he almost achieved it. But (once again) the absence of a good, strong editor, shows in the superfluous prose throughout the book (which still doesn't harm it fatally, because the tone of the book is created by stagnation and paranoia), but then he seems to have gotten worried and tacked on the SF-style ending (inspired by "The Thing From Another World"). It's almost as if the original Dan Simmons -- the one that wrote so well for nearly twenty years -- wrote a large portion of this novel, and then sent it forward in time to be finished by his less-talented, strangely political older self.

DROOD was a combination of a VERY interesting idea, a GREAT main character (the Wilkie Collins in HIS novel is, indeed, "fictional"), coupled with little or no plot. That might have worked in a novella, but it was death for a book that runs nearly 1000 pages.

And the less said about the didactic BLACK HILLS (western porn mixed with social diatribes and Crichton-style chapters that over-explain everything) or (his worst novel every) FLASHBACK (A TON of social diatribes and political commentary, didactic drudgery, and really, REALLY bad writing, with part of a good SF idea) the better.

Bringing us to THE ABOMINABLE.
Simmons breaks no new ground, here. Meta-fictional narratives have been around a looooooooooong time, so the pretend manuscript, as well as the "Is it true or not?" angle, isn't only new to ingenues (see what I did there? A bit of a rhyme, to lessen the sting).
And as many, MANY others have pointed out already, his writing is STILL slovenly (Simmons messed up the first sentence, for cryin' out loud!), STILL didactic, STILL focused on minutiae, and STILL lacking any interesting plot (the BIG REVEAL -- as many, MANY others have already pointed out) is laughable. And the whole point of most of these parties being ON a mountain is illogical, what people in the writing biz call reaching -- and I DO mean reaching.

No, the criticism of Simmons's writing "style" or abilities for the past fifteen years has been quite valid. And unless he suddenly does a 180 (something I don't believe he will achieve, even when he writes the Hyperion-related book of novellas), his best days as a writer are well behind him.

He should hang up his "pen" and look into getting a job with Fox "Views", since he's made his conservative views painfully public. He'd make a LOT of money with those yahoos”.   

Rick O. says: “I don't think most of these reviewers have read enough of Simmons to make a fair discernment. Simmons can write”.

Rick O. says: “Wilkie Collins was indeed a good friend of Charles Dickens, in fact, four of Wilkie's novels were turned into movies”.

Booklover59 says: “Rick O: Having read enough of Simmons to make MORE than a fair assessment of his writing -- more so, I dare say, than even yourself -- I can tell you that a majority of the criticisms about over-writing and a propensity to be didactic and (especially in the case of FLASHBACK) a recent tendency to insert political beliefs are all spot on.

As for your comment about Wilkie Collins, I'm not sure what that has to do with my statement that when it comes to the _novel_ (which, if you understand the word, means it is a work of _fiction_) by Dan Simmons is, no matter how one tries to parse it, a _fictional_ character (i.e., a character based on a real person, but, nonetheless, a _fictional_ character. Thus, the _fictional_ Wilkie Collins). I must say, I'm a bit -- only a bit -- surprised at how often I have to explain that to people who actually read -- either novels or nonfiction books or both.”

Rick O. says: “If you have soured on Simmons's writings, stop reading him. As for Wilkie, he is not fictional, nor are Dickens and Thackeray in Drood. They are real people put in a alternate history role. It's already assumed that Simmons doesn't know what they said to each other.”

Booklover59 says: “My eyes have been opened: you really _don't_ understand what I'm saying (writing) when I explain about the "fictional" Wilkie Collins (even after I explain "slowly")! :) That, of course, explains why you so easily overlook the inherent flaws and lower quality in Simmons's later writing. You don't see it.

(By the way: I meant to respond to your statement: Simmons can write. True, he CAN write. Even guys like Rush Limbaugh can write. But...can he write _well_? I say, no: not on the evidence of what he has published in the past six years.)

Because I'm silly, I'll try to explain the "fictional" thing one more time -- as if you were a ten-year-old.

DROOD is a novel. EVERYthing in it is fictional (even if a scene or two, or a character, or two, is _based_ on reality). That's why it's called a novel, and not a book of history, or a biography. Therefore, ipso loco facto obviouso (that's "fictional" Latin, in case you were wondering), the Wilkie Collins who appears in DROOD is, indeed, a fiction, because he is being portrayed in a _fictional_ manner, and doing and thinking and saying things the _real_ Wilkie Collins never did (to further illustrate our point: the guy named Hemingway in THE CROOK FACTORY isn't _really_ Ernest Hemingway -- he's a fictional construct. And if you go to the movies and you see a film called "Saving Mr. Banks", that REALLY ISN'T Walt Disney -- that's an _actor_, someone _pretending_ to be Walt Disney).

On the other hand, if you, like some of the other reviewers of THE ABOMINABLE actually believe that a man named Perry left a manuscript for Simmons to publish, then I've just wasted a bit more of my, and your, time.

Something I promise NOT to do again.
All best wishes for your future enlightenment as you travel the highways and byways of life.”

Rick O. says: “You obviously didn't understand my remarks. Of course I knew Perry wasn't real, "I said the introduction of Jacob Perry's meeting was awesome...it wasn't hard to believe that Perry was also genuine." ( referring to Simmons's writing skills ). In my last paragraph, I said, "In the afterword, Dan Simmons keeps the ruse alive..." You don't seem to understand the different genres of writing. In your view, a book is either non-fiction, or fiction. Wikipedia list 21 different literary genres. Your ideas of what fictional characters are, or are not, is pure flapdoodle.”

Booklover59 says: “Rick O: A grace note before leaving:
Nope, I didn't misunderstand. That was me being a bit sarcastic because of _your_ inability to understand the concept of fictional characters -- even those based on someone who actually existed -- in a novel versus accounts of, or by, humans in a book meant to accurately portray their lives (autobiographical or biographical books). Guess my sarcasm was too subtle.
And, um, my "view" regarding nonfiction and fiction is shared by just a lot of other humans on the planet. Many of whom, like myself, have taken up pen and paper to earn a living by writing. (For guys like _Stephen Glass_, and yourself, apparently, the difference between the two is confusing).

But I can see -- purely from your referencing "Wikipedia" as a scholarly source -- that I'm pounding my head against the proverbial wall.

Take care, and try not to stuff yourself full of too many wild blueberry muffins.”

Rick O. says: “With humble deference to your opinion, I've never met any literary aficionado who shared your thoughts on this subject. You say that you are a writer... I would like to read something that you have written. I'm not saying this as a smart aleck, I just would like to read something that you wrote, in order to understand where you are coming from.”

William G. McQuaig says: “Does reading all of his published works count? I have. And my review of this novel was fair, and more importantly, accurate. I noted that although you claimed this book got unjust negative reviews, you didn't mention how they were unjust. I encourage you to read them, including mine, and find one bit of inaccuracy in it.

I love Mr. Simmons' work as a whole. I am a huge fan of his. But this book is subpar in too many ways to overlook. I found most of the negative reviews thoughtful - at least the ones where the reviewers took the time to explain why they didn't like it.”

Rick O. says: “The reviews were unfair because of what you (yourself) said, that the story was unbelievable. Simmons writes in three genres, one of which is fantasy...duh. The plot was not stupid, just typical Simmons. The ruse that Jacob Perry was real is a brilliant literary ploy. The addition of the Nazi's motive was a little weak, I agree, but plausible. The man can write in three different genres, which is exemplary.”

William G. McQuaig says: “Rick, as a fan of Dan Simmons, I still have to stick to the major pivot point and plot of this story being unbelievable. But in my review, I was very specific about what was wrong. It has nothing to do with your contention that Mr. Simmons can write in three genres. He can. Maybe more, even. At least a half dozen of his novels are my favorites of all time, including "The Terror", which also, as you know, combines fact and fiction.

But in this case the story takes place on Mt. Everest, which is where I find it completely laughable and unbelievable. And in my review I say why, which I'll repeat here (and my apologies for the hijacking of your review, which I don't think is bad, by the way):

Portion of my review -
"So...why on Earth would the original climbers try to hide the photos and escape the Nazis by going all the way to Mt. Everest, specifically? And by trying to climb it? Wouldn't it have been easier to just take the pictures to say...England? Right away?
No, they go where they will undoubtedly become trapped. Again, for some reason, Everest. Dead end. And they're not expert climbers. They're good, but not expert. So they go to the world's highest peak to run from the Nazis. This sinking in yet? Chased by the best climbers in Germany and Austria. Yeah, that makes sense. What...the...heck? If I had possession of those photos, I doubt I would go where I know I will be trapped, outclassed, outmanned, and out climbed. And which is really, really far away from the place the photos need to end up. England."
- end of review.

It is inconceivable (except to the author) that inexperienced climbers would take secret documents from Germany to Mt. Everest to get away from the Germans who are chasing them. It's as if they went out of their way to trap themselves in a far off land, rather than simply go the distance from Germany to England, give the documents to Churchill, and be done with it. If anything, this novel should have taken place on the Eiger. Now THAT would have been more believable, and would take nothing away from the great detailed mountaineering portion of the story (which I loved, by the way). Plus it would take away any expectations of a "Terror-like" creature that we probably all had. Let's face it, many of us bought this book expecting exactly that, and it was a disappointment.

Had the novel taken place in the Alps, that would have been a moot point.

That's all I'm trying to get to with my review. Ultimately, it's all just personal preference and opinion. I don't like Mr. Simmons any less for it. I do wish he'd get himself a new editor though, someone with fresh eyes who can be of more help to him. I don't think he's out of good stories, nor do I think he was just lucky previously. He's a brilliant writer who did not, this time, write a great book. Like a baseball player in a batting slump, he can still get out of it and bat .400 if he wants to.”

Rick O. says: “Wow! That was an eloquent rebuttal. I do understand and agree that the Nazis chasing the climbers up Mt. Everest was the weakest part of novel, however that shouldn't have induced all those one and two star reviews. That is what I meant in my review's opening statement. It was still a marvelous novel. As you agree, the detailed mountain climbing part was great and as far as I'm concerned a learning experience.

If some of the reviewers thought that the mountain climbing parts were overdone, they should read the American classic Moby-Dick . Herman Melville spends countless pages on whaling to a point where one almost wants to quit reading the novel.

Lastly, if you go to dansimmons.com, you will see that he spends a lot of time talking about the techniques of writing. Click on "writing well-installment fourteen" on top of the page. The man knows what he is doing.”

William G. McQuaig says: “Rick, thanks. It's nice discussing this in this way. I always have to pause and sort of laugh at myself when I write any book review because a writer like Dan Simmons on his worst day still makes me look like a third grader when it comes to writing.

A side note, but related is that I usually buy two copies of DS books because I often loan them to people when I make recommendations to read them. Most of the comments I get back are: 1) That's a long book! and 2) The detail is amazing!

Like James Michener, DS puts more detail in than just about anyone since Victor Hugo, but to me, it's all good detail that fleshes out characters, makes them more real, and creates verisimilitude in his works. The Hyperion cantos is a great example. Those worlds became real because of the detail he put in.”

SOLILOQUY

The author sent me a copy of this novel to review:

Yeah, a YA novel that’s not dystopian. Hannibal Adofo writes a novel akin to the Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series. It’s not the same mythology, but close enough. This could be the start of a new series featuring Atlantis , first mentioned by Plato in 360 BC. This novel should be enjoyable to teenagers, although I’m 69 and I liked it. There are some minor weaknesses, but they don’t affect the overall novel. I found the novel a little too rushed. If another hundred pages could have been added, I think the characters could have fermented better. I love the fact that there are only six main characters, a Cormac McCarthy trait, more or less. And with Dee, Olek, and Ha’ru, we have some interesting side characters. Doesn’t Ha’ru and his gang remind you of the movie Jeepers Creepers ? This is a yeoman’s work by the first time storyteller.

Soliloquy Adams is a sixteen year old teenager living in a poor neighborhood in San Francisco. Her mother works double shifts as a nurse to keep Lily (Soliloquy) in Laurel High, a private school. Lily has been transferred there under the impoverished program, but is not accepted by the rich kids at the school. One day she stops at her favorite diner for breakfast and meets a tall gentleman who says, “I know what you are.” From there on, her life changes dramatically. Lily gets into trouble with a ‘I’m better than you’ student, Sophia Pinhurst. The Dean threatens to expel her. She survives and picks up a friend in Tinka, a fellow student. They meet Scott Niles and Antonio Saldana from the school’s water polo team.  They eventually become a foursome. The tall gentleman, or birdman (Ha’ru) attacks Lily and Tinka on a ferry, but they persist when Lily counters with a siren’s scream. Where did that come from?

On her way home, Lily is confronted by Mr. Reddy, a homeless man living in front of her apartment complex. He says, “I know what you are, and I know what they want.”  He says that he is ‘the watcher of the north’, and has been sent for her protection, then he disintegrates. What is going on? She goes back to school and is called into the Deans office again. She meets Kalisse who says her foundation mentors inner city kids looking to better themselves. Kalisse wants to pay her tuition and provide transportation in the form of a Lincoln limo. She later accepts the offer. Kalisse buys Lily a huge wardrobe, but Lily is suspicious when she notices Kalisse’s ‘gold falcon ring’ (it reminds her of the birdlike Ha’ru, who tried to kill her on the ferry). Who is Kalisse? Is she trying to help, or control Lily? Lily also develops ‘the minds eye’, where she can share a dream with another person. Does Lily have X-Woman powers? If so, how and why?

The last third of the novel reveals all the answers. This is a talented author, who still needs improvement, but I believe this novel is a good first step. I’ve read a lot of maiden authors in the last year and I’m impressed with the talent out there. Why is is so hard for these people to get the backing of a big publishing house? It would be good to have big time editing (I saw some typos) and signing tours arranged. Is it just a matter of luck whether a book is blessed by a publisher, or not? I think so. How qualified are the people that select the novels? I trusted Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis of Viking Press, but she passed in 1994. Can anybody pick up the gauntlet? Well, enough said, I highly recommend this novel, especially for the ten to nineteen group.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: ask.com, says “The lost city of Atlantis is believed to have disappeared around 3,500 years ago. It is believed that a volcanic reaction is responsible for this disappearance. Plato, Greek philosopher is the only direct link to the legend of Atlantis. He used to speak of Atlantis as a kind of paradise. Plato placed Atlantis in the Great Ocean, which is known today as the Straits of Gibraltar." Is this what Atlantis looked like:

Picture courtesy of toptenz.net:


A popular YA novel is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. goodreads.com says, "It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger , has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time."

The novel was released as a movie in November 2013. The following picture courtesy of rotoscopers.com:

the GOLEM and the JINNI

This is a remarkable debut novel by Helene Wecker that brings the fantasy genre to a new level. I haven’t read any better, even my previous favorite, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell , is not a legitimate rival. Well done, Helene. I can’t wait to see what the second novel will be about. Weaving the story of the Golem and the Jinni from the year 1899 to the beginnings and back was brilliant. You took a Jewish myth made of clay and a Arab myth made of fire working and living in N.Y.C. totally believable. Keeping a 484 page novel to six main characters and two or three minor ones is to my liking. The description of 1899 N.Y.C. was very convincing, as were the foreign immigrants living in Little Syria and in the Hebrew sector of lower Manhattan. For me to fall hook, line and sinker for a novel of this ilk is extremely rare, especially by a nascent author. This is storytelling at it’s whimsical best.

Now for the story...Otto Rotfeld of Konin, Prussia is failing in business. He decides to migrate to the U.S.A., but he needs a wife, so he goes to the scurrilous Yehudah Schaalman, a 93 year old kabbalist, or mystic. He makes a golem wife for him. What’s a golem? Well, normally it is formed from clay, has the strength of twelve people and is usually made to protect someone, but in this case to be the wife of Rotfeld. A golem is brought to life by special words spoken by the kabbalist and can be destroyed immediately with another set of words. Rotfeld, with the Golem in a crate, boards a ship and heads for N.Y.C. During the voyage Rotfeld says the words to wake his wife, but he later takes sick and dies. Now the Golem has no master, when they dock in N.Y.C., she has no papers, so she jumps overboard and walks under the water to land. Not to worry, she doesn’t breathe, eat, or sleep. She surfaces in the city totally uncertain of what her future will be.

Meanwhile in Little Syria of lower Manhattan, Boutros Arbeely, a tinsmith, receives a old copper flask  from Maryam Faddoul, a coffeehouse owner with the instructions, “Would it be possible, she asked Arbeely, to repair a few of the dents? And perhaps restore the polish?” The flask has always been in Maryam’s family, as long as she could remember. Boutros Starts working on the bottle and out pops a jinni (you know it better as a genie). The Jinni is disoriented and wants to know where the wizard is that trapped him in the bottle one thousand years ago (in the Syrian desert). After realizing where he is, the Jinni becomes Arbeely’s apprentice. He also doesn’t need sleep and wanders the city at night. He becomes the best tinsmith in Little Syria, forming and shaping objects from the heat in his hands.

The focus switches to the golem, who is wandering the streets. Rabbi Avram Meyer spots her and knows what she is. He takes her in and tries to teach her how to survive in the world. He gets her a job in Radzin’s Bakery, where she becomes the star baker. The Rabbi introduces the Golem (now named, Chava) to his nephew, Michael Levy, who runs a hostel for new immigrants. Levy is infatuated with the golem (he doesn’t know what she is). The Golem is doing well under the tutelage of Rabbi Meyer. In the meantime, the Jinni (now known as Ahmad) is wandering the streets when he meets socialite, Sophia Winston (18 years old). He has an affair with her. Is that a good mating, a human and a jinni? I smell a future problem.  

In the ensuing chapters, we learn about the past of the Jinni and his love affair in the Bedouin Desert with a human, Fadwa, one thousand years ago. This can’t be good. During the interval, we meet the mysterious ice cream maker, Saleh. Why can’t he look people in the eyes? Why is a doctor from Syria selling ice cream in N.Y.C. and contemplating suicide? By happenstance, the Jinni and the Golem meet in Central Park. He can tell she is not human, and she can see him glowing, since he is made of fire. This meeting will become sweet and sour in the following chapters. As a matter of fact, explosive at times. Then Something hits the fan (you know what) as Yehudah Schaalman boards a ship to N.Y.C. to find out what happened to the golem and to seek eternal life. The last time I met someone this evil was in Uncle Tom's Cabin with Simon Legree.

The last two hundred pages were turbulent! This is were I think Helene Wecker does her best storytelling. What the reader thinks he knows goes down the drain. The reader will be amazed how the author ties the Golem, the Jinni, and Yehudah Schaalman into a bundle of excitement in the explosive final chapters. The sidebar stories of Rabbi Meyer, Michael Levy, Sophia Winston, Maryam Faddoul, and Saleh, the ice cream maker, were ingenious accents to the novel as a whole.  Move over Lev Grossman (The Magicians ), Guy Gavriel Kay (Tigana ), and Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind ), there is a new fantasy writer in town and her name is Helene Wecker. Do I recommend this novel? Do one legged ducks swim in circles?

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: According to myjewishlearning.com, "A golem is a creature made out of clay into which life has been injected by magical means. The Hebrew word golem means something incomplete or unfinished, as in the verse (Psalms 139:16) referring to the human embryo: "Thine eyes did see mine unfinished substance (golmi)."

"While the notion that it is possible to bring to life an artificial semi-human figure is found in the Talmud, the term golem for such a creature was not used until centuries later. In Ethics of the Fathers (5.7) the golem is contrasted with the wise man and thus denotes a stupid person, like 'dummy' in English slang."

"In a talmudic passage (Sanhedrin 65b) it is stated that the Babylonian teacher Rava (fourth century CE) created a man and sent him to Rabbi Zera who tried to converse with him but when he saw that the man could not speak he said: 'You belong to that crew (of the magicians), go back to dust."

We know that Chava in the novel was a beautiful woman, but is this what a real golem looks like:

Photo courtesy of portable-infinite.blogspot.com


According to Britannica.com, "jinni, plural Jinn, also called Genie, Arabic Jinnī,  in Arabic mythology, a supernatural spirit below the level of angels and devils. Ghūl (treacherous spirits of changing shape), ʿifrīt (diabolic, evil spirits), and siʿlā (treacherous spirits of invariable form) constitute classes of jinn. Jinn are beings of flame or air who are capable of assuming human or animal form and are said to dwell in all conceivable inanimate objects—stones, trees, ruins—underneath the earth, in the air, and in fire. They possess the bodily needs of human beings and can even be killed, but they are free from all physical restraints. Jinn delight in punishing humans for any harm done them, intentionally or unintentionally, and are said to be responsible for many diseases and all kinds of accidents; however, those human beings knowing the proper magical procedure can exploit the jinn to their advantage."

When the Jinni came out of the flask at Boutros Arbeely's, did he look like this:

The Tragedy of Fidel Castro

The author sent me a copy of this novel to review: 

The real tragedy is that this novel changes direction way too many times. At one point I think I’m reading a book version of the movie, Red Dawn (1984), then I think, wait a minute, I’m reading Monty Python's Flying Circus . And it ends with an incident from Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , and I thought China Mieville was confusing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the novel was bad, just disorganized. The back cover says alternative history. Really? How about satire, fantasy, tall tale, and political satire as a new combined genre. I think Mr. Cerqueira gave the literary world a new look, but this novel is not ready for prime time. Does Joao Cerqueira have talent? Absolutely! But it must be harnessed in one direction, it can’t alternate literary genres from chapter to chapter. Look, I don’t know how prestigious the USA Best Book Awards are in the literary world. I am aware that this novel won for Fiction: Multicultural, but it’s not like this story won a Hugo Award. I don’t think I’m being too critical, because I generally liked the novel. I just simply think that the novel could have been written more reader friendly. In other words, give me a better understanding of what is going on. For instance, isn’t Fatima really the Blessed Virgin Mary ? In the novel, Christ seems to view her as an old acquaintance (isn’t she his mother?) Oh well, this is why this novel is so bewildering.

In the novel’s preface, Mr. Cerqueira denies that any of his characters are real, or even similar to anybody, with the possible exception of Fidel Castro. Throughout the entire novel, the reader doesn’t know what countries are involved or what year it is, because the author states,”This book takes place in an imaginary time and space.” The reader assumes it really is the USA and Cuba because of Fidel and JFK. It’s almost like he wants to wash his hands of everything written in this novel. If God isn’t God, and Christ isn’t Christ, and Fatima isn’t Fatima, who are they? The story itself is unique, although I don’t think it falls into the ergodic literature category. The Fidel character is most interesting. He declares Cuba open to international tourism. The people seem to turn on him, because isn’t that why Fidel deposed the previous leader? Fidel is now convinced that he is going to be overthrown. Meanwhile, he decides to invade the USA (the book doesn’t tell us where he will step ashore). In the USA, JFK prepares for the invasion by having deep pits dug filled with sharp stakes. JFK releases a captured spy, Varadero, against the advice of the counselor (we never find out who he is), but J.E. Hoover is trying to dig up some dirt on him. At least the Hoover part in the novel seems true to form. In Cuba, Fidel gets his spy back. On page 91, Fidel says to Varadero, “You are under arrest because I need to take every measure necessary to stop from being overthrown.” When Varadero challenges Fidel’s idea that he is irreplaceable, Fidel says,”When I am dead, the country will be reconquered by my enemies and by drug traffickers.” Some of this stuff is very funny.

The real fun starts when Fidel lands ashore. The beach has been secured by his trusted Commandant Marcos. After an argument with the spy, Fidel goes for a long walk in the woods alone. He eats a flower, falls asleep, and wakes up not knowing where he is, or what he is doing there. He stumbles upon a Monastery staffed by an aggressive abbot and war-like monks. This is where I stop my synopsis, because the rest of the book is very amusing and should be discovered by you, the next reader. I know that I found a lot of things in the novel that I didn’t like, but I also see a very talented writer as well. Even though I am going to give a neutral rating to this book, I do give it my recommendation because of it’s eccentricity.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: One of the best books written about the USA / Cuba conflict is, The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs . amazon.com says, “The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.”  

According to a 3/18/2012 article on nydailynews.com, “A new book by an ex-CIA spook claims that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro knew about Lee Harvey's plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy and did nothing to stop it.

Author Brian Latell was the agency's former national intelligence officer for Latin America and is now a senior research associate in Cuban American studies at the University of Miami.

In the upcoming volume, "Castro's Secrets: Cuban Intelligence, the CIA, and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy ," Latell writes that on Nov. 22 1963, Castro ordered his intelligence officers in Havana to drop their normal responsibilities and pay close attention to communications coming out of Texas — "any little detail small detail from Texas," The Miami Herald reported.

Javier Galeano/AP

The first phone call from heaven

This is the story of a town’s somewhat cavalier attitude towards the possible presence of heaven. When confronting the possibility of heaven existing versus not existing, the idiom... it’s better to be safe than sorry... comes into play. The town of Coldwater, Michigan (not the real one, says Mitch Albom on page 324) not only falls hook, line, and sinker in this belief, but also drags the rest of the world into the fray. Mitch Albom has written a delightful tale that could be made into a movie as the drama that it is, or even as a comedy. I prefer it as a drama. Also woven into this novel  is anecdotal evidence how Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. It seems to me that this ex-sports columnist is now an inspirational writer. This is another book involving heaven after previously publishing, The Five People You Meet in Heaven , and the enriching, Have a Little Faith  . The style and flow of Mitch’s writing coupled with his exciting chapter endings causes the reader to blow through a hundred pages without realizing it.

The novel starts with Tess Rafferty getting a phone call from her deceased mother, and Chief of police, Jack Sellers getting a call from his son, Robbie, a Marine recently killed in combat. Then it’s Katherine Yellin telling Pastor Warren that her dead sister has just called her. Then the story segues to our protagonist, Sully Harding, leaving prison. It takes way too long to find out why he was in prison, but the reader eventually, in dribs and drabs, finds out. How many idioms have I used so far? Three. Anyway, several other people also get calls from the dead. The calls become public after Katherine Yellin announces in church that she is getting calls from her deceased sister, Diane, from heaven on Fridays. This admission causes Nine Action News to send reporter Amy Penn to investigate. Other people say they are getting calls from heaven on Fridays. The local news becomes national news, as believers and nonbelievers crowd the small town. Katherine has nutcases praying on her lawn, phone sales in town accelerate, while Sully’s young son sleeps with a toy phone expecting a call from his passed away mom.

Sully, disturbed by the insanity in town, decides to investigate the calls from heaven with the aid of the local librarian. Seven terminally ill people, hearing about the proof of heaven, give up the fight to survive in order to enter heaven sooner. Protesters enter the town to clash with the believers. Kelly Podesto admits that she lied about her heaven calls. This causes an uproar with the T.V. stations and the general population. Are all of these people lying? The Mayor arranges for a national telecast of Katherine Yellin getting a phone call from her sister in heaven. The stage is set. Untold amount of tourist descend on Coldwater. What will happen? Will the call come? Why do all of these calls come on Friday? Is this a ruse, or a real event? This is not a long novel (326 pages) and can be easily enjoyed in two days. The twists and turns (4th idiom?) took me by surprise, especially from pages 305 to 323. I’m going to highly recommend this simple to read novel.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: According to examiners.com: Over the years I have received many reports of "phone calls from the dead" from my clients as well as relatives. These are actual phone calls that seem to come in from someone who has passed on. 

Most recently, my newfound friend, in which I will refer to only as “Dave” has had these experiences as well. These calls seem to come from a brother that has passed. The caller ID shows unknown name and unknown number, and the voice appears distant but can be recognized with personalized messages.

Dave has a high interest in the paranormal and his brother knew this at the time he passed. So is it possible this is the reason? Although I have had numerous reports from clients that have never had a paranormal experience, and have contacted me because they were left dumbfounded.

One of the questions that I am asked most often, is why do the calls come into only one family member? Is it because they are more open to it? As a psychic, I believe the answer to that is “Yes”. I also believe that there is no spirit out there that was related to you, that will intentionally scare you.

As a paranormal investigator, common reports are small appliances that will come on and off. Most common reports are televisions, stereos, microwaves and VCR’s. Some of those reports do include a phone that will ring and no one is there. Other reports are phones that will only ring once or twice. I, as well as other members of CVAPI, have personally witnessed some of these events.

On two separate occasions I have seen a dead cell phone begin to charge on its own, witnessed by others. Are phones an easy source to manipulate by the spirit world? Can our loved ones speak to us through the phone where they can be heard? On more than one investigation, we have had voices come through our hand held radios so I believe at this point that it is possible.

The direct phone calls are not only personalized messages, but the person receiving the call immediately recognizes the voice. It is common that the caller id reads unknown name or private number, but I have had reports of a phone number that used to belong to a family member long ago.

Two of Mitch Albom's bestsellers have become movies. Tuesdays with Morrie was a 1999 award winning television film. Picture courtesy of moviegoods.com.

The ABOMINABLE

It seems to me that the latest novel by Dan Simmons is receiving unjustified criticism. If you have read The Terror , Drood , or Black Hills , you will realize that this is how he writes. Yes, his older novels contained more horror and fantasy, but I think he has moved on to another genre. His latest novels are a mixture of historical fiction and alternate history with a dash of “thriller”. This has to be one of his most clever novels. The twenty two page introduction of Jacob Perry’s meeting with Dan Simmons was awesome. Since the novel had a medley of real climbers, like George Mallory, A.C. Irvine, and Felix Norton, it wasn’t hard to believe that Perry was also genuine. Also impressive was how Simmons was able to keep the 663 page novel down to five main characters, thus giving the reader plenty of time to develop a rapport with the group. On page 247, we meet two fictional Sherpas (Ethnic name for the mountainous people of Nepal) Tenzing Bothia and Tejbir Norgay. They are minor characters at best, and I only bring it up to illustrate Simmons’s probable extensive research for this novel. Mount Everest’s summit was finally reached on 5/29/1953 by Edmund Hilary and his Sherpa (you guessed it) Tenzing Norgay. I noticed that the novel was thoroughly peppered with creative tidbits of information by the author. Well done.

The novel starts out with Jacob Perry, Richard Deacon (the Deacon), and Jean-Claude Clairoux (J.C.) climbing the Matterhorn in the summer of 1924. As they are eating their newspaper wrapped lunch, they see the headline that says British climbers, George Mallory and A.C Irvine, were killed in an attempt to reach Mt. Everest’s summit. According to German witness Bruno Sigl... Lord Percival Bromley and Kurt Meyer were following Mallory and Irvine when they were swept away by an avalanche and also killed. The Deacon, a WWI war hero and respected British climber, is a friend of the Bromley family. The Deacon, J.C., and Jacob meet with Percival’s mother, Lady Bromley, who still thinks Percy might be alive and asks the group to find her son on Mount Everest. She will fund the trip but the trio must take Percy’s cousin Reggie with them. The trio spend a lot of chapters practicing and gearing up for the 1925 trip. Once they get to the Bromley tea plantation in India to join cousin Reggie, they are surprised to find out that the cousin is a lady. Deacon protests taking a Lady to Mt. Everest, but has no choice since she controls the funds and also is an accomplished climber. Reggie’s Indian right hand man and M.D. for the climb is Doctor Pasang. Now that the reader has met all five core characters, the group heads to Tibet to find out what really happened on that 1924 expedition.

Once they have permission to enter Tibet (Nepal is off limits to visitors), the core five starts the journey to the mountain. They are warned at a Monastery to look out for bandits and Yeti, or the Abominable snowmen. Simmons’s writing makes the journey so cold that I actually felt chilled reading the novel. The reader learns how the mountain is prosecuted with many Sherpas and animals carrying all the gear and food up and down the mountain. Base camp is pitched along with other camps going to higher elevations. This is where the story bursts with anticipation. Will they find Mallory and Irvine, or Bromley and Meyer? How did they really die? Who is following them? Is it Yeti, or the supposed German witness, Bruno Sigl? Will the core five make a run to the summit? The last 200 pages, or so are filled with intrigue and twists and turns that the reader truly doesn’t see coming. In the afterword, Dan Simmons keeps the ruse alive that Jacob Perry (our narrator) is a real person. Simmons visits Perry’s grave in the autumn of 2012 in a little Colorado town. He says on page 663, “I’m not a religious man, but I’d brought a bottle of the Macallan twenty-five-year-old single-malt Scotch and two small glasses that day. I filled both glasses, left one on the small headstone that said only JACOB WILLIAM PERRY April 2, 1902-May 28, 1992, and lifted the other.” This is a wonderful novel, I highly recommend it.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Mount Everest is 29,029 feet to the summit and is the tallest mountain in the World. The Tibetans and Sherpas call the mountain Chomolungma, which means "Mother Goddess of the Earth." To date there have been 4,000 attempts to reach the summit with only 660 being successful. 


According to my friend and literary aficionado, Lisa Yoskowitz, the best book written about Mt. Everest is: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster . barnesandnoble.com says, "A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more—including Krakauer's—in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.

By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event. He takes great pains to provide a balanced picture of the people and events he witnessed and gives due credit to the tireless and dedicated Sherpas. He also avoids blasting easy targets such as Sandy Pittman, the wealthy socialite who brought an espresso maker along on the expedition. Krakauer's highly personal inquiry into the catastrophe provides a great deal of insight into what went wrong. But for Krakauer himself, further interviews and investigations only lead him to the conclusion that his perceived failures were directly responsible for a fellow climber's death. Clearly, Krakauer remains haunted by the disaster, and although he relates a number of incidents in which he acted selflessly and even heroically, he seems unable to view those instances objectively. In the end, despite his evenhanded and even generous assessment of others' actions, he reserves a full measure of vitriol for himself."

A GORDIAN WEB

The publishing consultant sent me a copy of this novel to review:

I was pleasantly surprised with Guy Butler’s second novel of a proposed trilogy. While it didn’t have the suspense of Ken Follett’s Eye of the Needle (1978) or the drama of Alistair Maclean’s The Guns of Navarone (1957), it did have it’s moments. I didn’t read the first novel, but I found that I didn’t need to because this invigorating novel can be read as a stand-alone. I am reminded of the various series written by Bernard Cornwell, whose books can also be read separately or out of order. Lastly, I detected the undertone of the alternate history guru Harry Turtledove, author of The Man with the Iron Heart . Whoa! I’m not saying Guy Butler is in the class of the above mentioned authors. I am saying that he is on the right track to have a successful career as a writer. I did find some faults with this book, such as Mr. Butler naming the novel’s elite British group: Special Air Services (SAS on page 30), and Strategic Air Services (SAS on page 200). Which is correct? Also, I find that there are way too many described characters to remember. A sergeant is a sergeant, a officer is an officer, no need to describe them all. I’m still a student of ten or less main characters (Cormac McCarthy’s theory?). I also thought that some of the harrowing events behind enemy lines could have been less predictable and drawn out for a high anxiety affect.

This is the story of Czeslaw Orlowski, aka the Spider or Chez, the fearless folk hero of the Polish resistance of World War II. It seems that the Germans and Spider are being pursued by the Russians in 1945. The Germans for obvious reasons; Spider because Stalin wants no resistance when he takes over Poland. Spider hides out as a farmer with his wife Jadwiga and his in-laws but is hunted down by the Russians. He sends a message to his friend in England, Malcolm McClain, asking for help in getting out of Poland. This prompts Winston Churchill into a meeting with Paddy McBride, a Major of the British elite Special Air Services (SAS). They decide that Spider has saved many British lives with his heroics and should be rescued. A plan is put in place for twelve SAS fighters, known as the Black Widows, to go to Poland and rescue Spider and his family under the noses of the Russians. The mission is successful although it encountered many misadventures. You will have to buy your own copy of this exciting novel to find out what occurred.

This takes the reader to the guts of this novel. Since Churchill saved Spider and his family from sure death, he wants a favor from Spider. The question: Is the real Hitler in the bunker? Brigadier Zumwalt says on page 170, “M16 has solid intelligence suggesting a long standing plot is under way to stage Adolf Hitler’s suicide...as we stand here tonight, Adolf might already subbed in his stooge and be miles away from Berlin.” Do you smell Harry Turtledove’s style? Anyway, Spider, with the help of SAS volunteers, must somehow enter Hitler’s bunker in Berlin and find out if Hitler is actually in there. Spider on page 248 confirms that...”The entire top echelon of the Nazi Party is planning on flying to Spain within the next couple of weeks to pick up a U-boat to South America and freedom.” These last 100 pages, or so, are worth the price of the novel. So once again, I’m reading a new author that should be under contract from a large publishing house, but is not. Why? With a strong editing job, this novel could have been a bestseller. I do recommend this novel and the writer.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: In the beginning of Butler's novel, he tells the reader how he came upon the title of the book, "A Gordian Knot is a metaphor for a problem deemed insurmountable, yet easily solved by thinking outside the box. When the impossible problem involves The Spider, it is better characterized as... A Gordian Web."

Let’s talk about two of my favorite World War II novels that I mentioned in the first paragraph of this review. The first is Ken Follett’s 1978 novel, Eye of the Needle. ken-follett.com says, “It is 1944 and weeks before D-Day. The Allies are disguising their invasion plans with a phoney armada of ships and planes. Their plan would be scuppered if an enemy agent found out… and then, Hitler’s prize agent, “The Needle,” does just that. Hunted by MI5, he leads a murderous trail across Britain to a waiting U-Boat. But he hasn’t planned for a storm-battered island, and the remarkable young woman who lives there.”
                                            
The second book is Alistair MacLean’s 1957 novel, The Guns of Navarone. debate.org/reference says, “The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about World War II by Scottish writer Alistair MacLean that was made into a critically acclaimed film in 1961. The Greek island of Navarone does not exist and the plot is fictitious; however, the story takes place within the real historical context of Dodecanese Campaign- the Allies' campaign to capture the German-held Greek islands in the Aegean in 1943, while "Navarone" is an obvious variation of Navarino, the place of a famous naval battle in 1827. The story is based on the Battle of Leros, and Leros island's naval artillery guns - among the largest... naval artillery guns used during World War II - that were built and used by the Italians until Italy capitulated in 1943 and subsequently used by the Germans until their defeat. The story concerns the efforts of an Allied commando team to destroy a seemingly impregnable German fortress that threatens Allied naval ships in the Aegean Sea, and prevents over 2,000 isolated British soldiers from being rescued. The story is based on the real events surrounding the Battle of Leros in World War II.”
                                     

DEAD ENERGY

The author sent me a copy of this novel to review:
 

This maiden novel by James M. Corkill is satisfactory at best. Mr. Corkill displays raw talent, but is still in Double A ball. I can see that he is trying to create a character similar to Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt, but it’s a ‘no cigar’ comparison. I had a hard time believing in Alex Cave’s credentials. What man could be an ex-CIA agent, a college professor, an advisor to the Director of the National Security Agency, and have the ear of the President of the United States at the age of twenty four. Mr. Corkhill, you must age this man quickly. I know the age wasn’t a typo, because you wrote on page 75, “The President stared at Alex while he listened to the suggestions tossed around the table. He found it odd that this young professor…” While I know Dirk Pitt stories are fast paced, this one is on double-time and a little herky-jerky. Sometimes an author has too many subplots and sidebars. Well, this is one. My suggestion for Mr. Corkhill is to slow done. You have the expertise. Let the story breath at it’s own pace and mature naturally. Lastly, If you want Alex to be a man’s man, don’t let him act cowardly like you did when Alex was in the AOS camp. I know he was faking, but Dirk Pitt would rather die then act less a man. Okay, enough said about that. What about the story?

The story is very busy, with several plots and subplots going on simultaneously, alternating from chapter to chapter. The first scene has our protagonist, Alex Cave, witnessing a flash of light on a oil tanker on the Puget Sound. Just like that the crew and 80,000 tons of crude oil disappear. What happened? The scene switches to Brownsville, Texas were the same event happens to another oil tanker. Six out of the seven crewmen on the first tanker are found 150 miles away frozen to death on Mt. Baker. How did they get there? Seven out of the eight crewmen on the second tanker are found dead on a ranch. How did they get there and where are the two missing crewmen? On page 34, the Director of the NSA calls Alex Cave and says, “The President called a moment ago and informed me the Joint Chiefs think someone is sabotaging our domestic oil supply.” Meanwhile the novel shifts to Boulder, Colorado, where we meet the Minister Menno Simons, his mother and his 350 worshipers. Is the Minister and his group behind the missing oil? He is seen by a government agent passing out vials of a strange crystal to seemingly hypnotised zealots. I think it’s interesting that early in the story Menno Simons seems to be the culprit of the missing oil, yet he disappears until page 322, which is 55 pages from the end of this story. To me, this is incomprehensible.

Now the scene switches to Seattle, Washington, where we meet Harold Woolly, a meek and harassed banker, his wife, Calli, and his two kids, Mark (who loves the military), and Pamela (an A student). Suddenly the West Coast is in a chaotic and rioting mood, since gas and food are now in short supply. The family is on the run when they meet a motel owner, who befriends the family. Mark suggest they drive to Idaho, where a private army, known as the Army of Survival (AOS) resides, headed by a Col. Blackwood. This is the point in the novel were pandemonium and anarchy breaks out everywhere. Now you are probably thinking, “Will all these groups collide, and if so, will it solve the oil problem, or make it worse?”Somehow the author manages the pile-up fairly well, albeit in a semi confused and choppy way. Like I said in beginning of the review, this writer has ability. He needs to get better, and the best way to get better is to write more novels. I will recommend this novel, because it’s the first book in a series that can be improved upon. As for Alex Cave, he needs to get older. If he was born in 1969 (instead of 1989), he would be rejuvenated to a believable 44 year old contender to Dirk Pitt.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: The twenty two Dirk Pitt books by Clive Cussler have been very successful. Two have been made into movies, Raise the Titanic (1976) was made into a film in 1980. clive-cussler-books.com states that: 

 “The Sicilian Project is the undercover plan of the decade. It is undoubtedly the best-kept secret since the atomic bomb. And it's the President's baby. If successful, it will create a defense network that will insure America's security from foreign attack for the foreseeable future. The sole hitch is that the project requires a quantity of Byzantium, an extremely rare element. In fact, it looks as though the only Byzantium in the world lies in the hold of R.M.S. Titanic, sunk in 1912 and still resting more than twelve thousand feet deep in the North Atlantic."

"The task is simple enough: Raise the Titanic! The man in charge of the mission is Dirk Pitt, jack-of-all-trades and master of-most. Using highly sophisticated submersible equipment, Pitt sets to work at his Herculean job. The presence of two Russian spies doesn't help, nor does the intervention of one very nasty lady, Hurricane Amanda. For balance, however, there is one very sweet lady who doesn't in the least resemble your average marine archaeologist."

However, the film (1980) starring Jason Robards, Anne Archer, Richard Jordan (Dirk Pitt), and Alec Guinness was a financial disaster. It grossed 13.8 million on a 40 million budget.
                                             
Sahara (1992) was made into a film in 2005. clive-cussler-books.com states  that:

 “It is 1865. A Confederate ironclad, Texas, fights her way through the Federal blockade and vanishes into the Atlantic as Richmond falls, bearing a secret cargo that could change history... It is 1931. A world-famous Australian aviatrix, Kitty Mannock, vanishes mysteriously in the middle of the Sahara while attempting a record-breaking flight from London to Capetown and is never see again..." 

"It is 1995. Dirk Pitt, on a mission to find the remains of a Pharaoh's funeral barge buried in the bottom of the Nile, rescues an attractive young woman, Dr. Eva Rojas, a biochemist with the UN World Health Organization, from being murdered by thugs on a beach near Alexandria."

"Dirk Pitt and his friends plunge into darkest Africa, battling their way up the Niger to a huge secret, hazardous waste project, a partnership between Yves Massarde, French billionaire entrepreneur, and General Zateb Kazim, the brutal, despotic, corrupt tyrant who rules the West African nation of Mali. Pitt's epic journey up the Niger River against the gunboat fleets and modern jet fighters of two African nations leads him to the discovery of Kazim and Massarde's secret, only to find himself captured and forced to work as a slave under inhuman condition in a gold mine deep in the desert, along with Dr. Rojas and her team of UN scientist."

However, the film starring Matthew McConaughey (Dirk Pitt), Steve Zahn, and Penelope Cruz was also a financial disaster. It grossed 122 million and had a total cost of 241.1 million.