THE KEPT

This novel kept me alert and interested in the beginning, kept me dozing off in the middle, and then kept me nonplussed at the end. What is this book? Is James Scott trying to challenge the ultimate dark meister, Cormac McCarthy? If he is, it’s a nolo contendere win for McCarthy. There is no question that Scott can write excellent prose but can he tell a story from start to finish and hold the reader’s interest? That’s the million dollar question. There were some parts in the middle of the novel where I couldn’t remember how the two main characters (Elspeth Howell and her twelve year old son, Caleb?) got beat up. Was I asleep when it happened? I didn’t even care to go back to refresh my memory. Yet, the novel kept me reading because of its potential. A good beginning, middle, and end seems to be troublesome for many of today’s writers. If you want to read a dark novel that possesses all of these traits, read Cormac’s Outer Dark. I’m not shit canning this novel, but as a seasoned reviewer, I feel it’s my duty to point out its weaknesses. Um, well then, what are the novel’s strengths? It’s only 354 pages...just kidding. His character development is strong, although the reader doesn’t feel any empathy for them. His prose is excellent, but I already said that. Look, it’s his first novel, and I’m sure his next will be better. My advise to Mr. Scott is: get another great idea like this one, but this time, annihilate the middle and ending. Okay, what’s this novel about?

It’s the winter of 1897 in upstate New York, Elspeth Howell is trudging through heavy snow (it’s always snowing in these kind of novels) towards her humble cabin after another elongated midwife journey. She has much needed money in her sock and gifts for her five children and husband in her pack. As she gets to the top of the knoll and looks down at her house, she is immediately alarmed. There is no light in the windows and no smoke coming out of the chimney. She runs down the hill and finds her children Emma, Mary, Amos, Jesse and her husband, Jorah shot to death. What happened and where is her last child, Caleb? She thinks that she hears a mouse noise in the pantry and opens the door, only to be blasted by a shotgun. The mouse turns out to be her son, Caleb. He shot her full of pellets thinking that the three killers with red scarfs came back. He is scared. He does his best trying to clean out her wounds. While she is recovering in a semi-coma, he decides to cremate his siblings in the snow outside the cabin (dad is too heavy to move out of his bed). The blaze is wind swept towards the house. Now his cabin is ablaze with mom in it. Caleb drags his mom out and they take refuge in the barn. I told you that the beginning was interesting, didn’t I? After Elspeth somewhat recovers, Caleb and mom hike through the snow towards Watersbridge in pursuit of the three murderers.

Once in Watersbridge, Elspeth decides to dress as a man. Why? They get a room in The Brick and Feather Hotel where we meet a interesting character, Frank the deskman. Elspeth now goes by her dead husband's name, Jorah. She meets Charles Heather (another good sidebar character), who gets her/him a dangerous job at the ice factory. Meanwhile, Caleb visits a very rough and tumble saloon and whorehouse called The Elm Inn, owned by London White. This saloon reminded me of the T.V. series, Deadwood. London White and Al Swearengen of The Gem Saloon could be twins. Anyway, London hires twelve year old Caleb as his general maintenance man/boy. Caleb figures that if he is to find the three killers, this is the kind of place that they would hang out in. Caleb starts to wonder why none of his siblings look alike, and why would anybody want to kill them? At this point the story bogs down for quite awhile. I mean there was action, but for some unknown reason, it didn’t arouse me. And then the last part of the novel left me discontented. Maybe it’s me, but I know when a ending lights my fire. There are a lot of unfinished themes in this novel besides the ending. For instance, several times in the story, Caleb mentions seeing his father shoot a man dead in the field near his house. But we never find out who the man was and why he was killed. It never develops further. And why did Elspeth do what she did? Does that make any sense? I have to give this novel one of my rare neutral ratings. Sorry, Mr. Scott.

RATING:  3 out of 5 stars

Comment: Lets talk about dark novels, such as the one I just reviewed. I’m not going to talk about Cormac McCarthy’s books, since everybody knows he is my favorite dark writer. But what three novels are considered classically ungodly and evil? Wow, there are a lot out there, so what are my choices? Well here goes; wait, lets make it five:

Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley, goodreads.com says: “Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.”

Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker, amazon.com says: “During a business visit to Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania, a young English solicitor finds himself at the center of a series of horrifying incidents. Jonathan Harker is attacked by three phantom women, observes the Count's transformation from human to bat form, and discovers puncture wounds on his own neck that seem to have been made by teeth. Harker returns home upon his escape from Dracula's grim fortress, but a friend's strange malady — involving sleepwalking, inexplicable blood loss, and mysterious throat wounds — initiates a frantic vampire hunt. The popularity of Bram Stoker's 1897 horror romance is as deathless as any vampire.  Its supernatural appeal has spawned a host of film and stage adaptations, and more than a century after its initial publication, it continues to hold readers spellbound.”

Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier, goodreads.com says: “Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding housekeeper, Mrs Danvers…”

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) by Ray Bradbury, goodreads.com says: “A masterpiece of modern Gothic literature, Something Wicked This Way Comes is the memorable story of two boys, James Nightshade and William Halloway, and the evil that grips their small Midwestern town with the arrival of a “dark carnival” one Autumn midnight. How these two innocents, both age 13, save the souls of the town (as well as their own), makes for compelling reading on timeless themes. What would you do if your secret wishes could be granted by the mysterious ringmaster Mr. Dark? Bradbury excels in revealing the dark side that exists in us all, teaching us ultimately to celebrate the shadows rather than fear them. In many ways, this is a companion piece to his joyful, nostalgia-drenched Dandelion Wine, in which Bradbury presented us with one perfect summer as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old. In Something Wicked This Way Comes, he deftly explores the fearsome delights of one perfectly terrifying, unforgettable autumn.”

The Shining (1977) by Stephen King, goodreads.com says: “Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr Halloran he was a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control. As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive?Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel - and that too had begun to shine…”

There are literally hundreds of dark novels available to read from this genre. These are some of my favorites, what are yours?

Picture of actor Jack Nicholson (from the 1980 movie, The Shining) as Jack Torrance uttering his famous line…”Here’s Johnny!”

WONDER

This is a guest review from Patricia Koelmel, an accomplished artist and contending writer:

Very few of us are comfortable in our skin 24/7 for one reason or another. Be it a bad hair day, a cold sore, a pimple. Well, what if every day was like that, only a million times worse?

Wonder is a 2012 work of fiction by R.J. Palacio (for children ages 8-12) that brilliantly tells the story of ten-year-old August (Auggie) Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. Born with a rare congenital disorder characterized by craniofacial deformities combined with an unnamed secondary syndrome, he is referred to as a “medical wonder” of sorts. (His parents and fifteen-year-old sister, Via, by the way, are normal-attractive even.)

Of his condition, Auggie prefers to say only this: “I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”

Now, if you’re wondering what going out in public must be like for Auggie, let me put it this way. Halloween (even over Christmas) is his favorite holiday. “[Of Halloween, Auggie says] I get to wear a mask. I get to go around like every other kid with a mask and nobody thinks I look weird. Nobody takes a second look. Nobody notices me. Nobody knows me. I wish everyday could be Halloween.”

Pretty sad, eh? But be prepared to be uplifted, too. Heartwrenching can turn into heartwarming on a dime. This smart, savvy, funny kid will surprise and touch you in ways you will never expect.

Flawlessly told from alternating character POVs, the story follows Auggie as he navigates his way through the fifth grade in his first mainstream school experience. Homeschooled up until now, he is naturally petrified. But thanks to a loving, supportive family, Auggie somehow manages to bravely march on as he encounters stares, whispers, isolation, and bullies. On the flipside, there are also friendships and wondrous, new times to be had.

In her debut novel, Ms. Palacio has crafted an unforgettable story about a boy, as far from beautiful as it gets, with a spirit more beautiful than most. It is no wonder Wonder made it to the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. So, do I recommend this book? You bet I do! Not only to the children it was written for, but adults alike. Oh yeah, it’s that good.

Final words: Here’s to hoping that one day society will no longer react differently upon encountering someone with an appearance as unique as Auggie’s. I can’t help but be reminded of the “Cantina Scene” from the 1977 Star Wars film when some of the most bizarre-looking creatures are seen chatting among themselves, clearly oblivious to their dissimilarities. To this day, I remember thinking at the time: If only “our” world could be like that.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Rick O's blog compliments Patricia for that energized critique. I was thinking about reviewing other novels that dealt with deformities, like Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831), or Christine Sparks’s Elephant Man, but it would ruin the flavor of her review. So why don’t we just go to “The Cantina”... have a drink and talk about it:

Picture is courtesy of WWW.Craveonline.com

The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere

John Chu’s Hugo Award (2014) winning short story is somewhat unusual. It seems that rain has decided to fall on anyone caught in a lie. Wow, would that straighten out politics, or what? Can you imagine the President fielding and answering questions at a press conference? Anyway, the rain could be a drizzle or a downpour to match the severity of the lie. How this phenomenon started or what caused it to begin in the first place doesn’t seem important to the populace in this Tor.com original story. It was tested and found to be safe distilled water. Enough said...what? There are a lot of unanswered questions about this occurrence, but apparently not important, since this story is about a Chinese/American man coming out of the closet.

Matt, the above mentioned gentleman, is in love with Gus, a large Adonis type man. One day Gus says to Matt, “You know.” Gus’s voice is surprisingly steady given how his teeth chatter. “Now that we know how we feel about each other, how about we solemnize the relationship? Make it official.” Matt says, “Lets visit my family this Christmas. The two of us.” Gus says, “Are you sure? I can wait years if that’s what you want.” I smell trouble, especially with all the downpours that that meeting can produce (I finally got to use Mieville’s that that sequence). When they arrive at Matt’s sister Michele’s mansion for the holiday, Michele senses trouble and takes Matt into her office and says, '“How dare you?” She slams the door behind her and I remind myself that I’m bigger than her now and it’d be harder for her to beat me up. “Are you trying to kill Mom and Dad?”'

The story gets interesting from here on because Matt’s parents (not speaking English since they retired) want a grandson to carry on the family’s name and bloodline. Michele’s husband Kevin’s parents only speak Cantonese and Mandarin. Will they understand? Will Matt chicken out and say nothing? And the big question is: will it drizzle or downpour on this home? I thought that this story was astute and well thought out. It reminded me of Karen Thompson Walker’s The Age of Miracles (see my review of 3/28/13). Both stories had amazing events happening to Earth, but the incidents took a backseat to the human interest part of the story. I do recommend this short story (and I mean short).

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: This award has been won by the heavyweights of science fiction: Larry Niven, Philip Jose Farmer, Poul Anderson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, George R.R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, John Varley, and Isaac Asimov. Is that some lineup or what? The problem is since these are short stories, they are mostly out of print. What I suggest is simple... try to buy these great writers in short story collections, such as:

The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke: The Star, Volume III (Arthur C. Clarke Collection: Short Stories Book 3) by Arthur C. Clarke. 

Amazon.com says of Clarke’s Hugo Short Story winner (1956), The Star: “In the title story of this outstanding collection, a group of cosmonauts discovers the remains of an advanced civilization in a remote star system-destroyed when their sun went supernova. They find that the civilization was very similar to Earth's-and that its people knew of their coming doom centuries before it occurred. What they find leads their chief astrophysicist-also a Jesuit priest-into a deep crisis of faith, sparked by a shocking revelation that has implications not just for history-but for religion."

"This collection of short stories demonstrates not only Clarke's technological imagination-but also a deep poetic sensibility that led him to ponder the philosophical and moral implications of technological advances. These stories demonstrate the range of his vision as an author-based on both our scientific potential and the deeper aspects of the human condition.”

THE BIOLOGY OF LUCK

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

The roots to Jacob M. Appel’s novel can be traced back to the eighth century BC. That is when Homer wrote his epic poem, The Odyssey. Now bear with me. In 1922, James Joyce, in an attempt to match the characters and happenings of Homer’s poem, published Ulysses. And in 2013, Appel publishedThe Biology of Luck. Okay, so what. Well, Joyce’s novel and Appel’s novel are both one day (in June) occurrence novels. Secondly, Joyce’s protagonist is Leopold Bloom and Appel’s is Larry Bloom. Thirdly, both novels are in big cities, Leopold walks the streets of Dublin and Larry walks the streets of NYC. Both characters meet some very strange people. So there you go, a little literature history. Jacob M. Appel, in a question and answer interview at the book’s end, admits that he paralleled parts of his novel after Homer’s and Joyce’s books. Also, I have read some minor criticism about Appel’s prose...too hard to understand. What? Try reading China Mieville’s neologisms without consulting a dictionary. Appel’s novel is written in an prestigious composition, very easy to understand without having to ‘google’ a word. I also thought the book within the book stratagem was very clever. Enough, lets get to the story.

Larry Bloom, a nondescript and balding NYC tour guide has written a novel about his dinner date, Starshine Hart, the most beautiful girl in the City (according to everybody in the novel). The story unfolds with Larry taking a group of Dutch visitors on a tour of the city after he visits the local post office. He meets his group at Grant’s Tomb where a protest is taking place. Larry hustles the group to their first destination. Meanwhile, we meet Starshine in the first chapter of the book Larry has written. She lives in a flat with her dingbat roommate, Eucalyptus, a scrimshaw artist with many cognitive problems. The reader finds out that Starshine has two main squeezes: Colby Parker, the heir to a lawn chair tycoon, and an aging former Weather Underground revolutionary, Jack Bascomb. I mentioned in the first paragraph that there were strange characters in this story but wait more to come. In the interim, the letter Larry picked up is from the publisher Stroop & Stone. He decides that he will open the letter at the dinner with Starshine to find out if his book was accepted and to express his undying love to her at the same time. Some big plans for a portly unappealing man wooing the most beautiful girl in NYC (some say in the world).

In the ensuing pages (Larry’s continued tour), and the emerging chapters (Starshine in Larry’s novel), we meet many strange exotic New Yorkers. Does this make any sense to you? If you read this delightful novel, it will. You will encounter: Bone, the one arm super of Starshine’s building who can fix or get anything done; Ziggy Borasch (great name), a failed writer and sometimes maniac philosopher; Kalkhazian, the opinionated Armenian florist; Snipe, Larry’s self-serving boss; Rita Blatt, the homely sexist reporter from The Downtown Rag; and, the annoying Dutch tourist, Willem van Huizen. Somehow, Jacob M. Appel harmonizes all these characters before the story ends. Then comes the ending, ah, the ending. Is it real time or just another chapter in Larry’s proposed novel? I read that many reviewers highly criticized the conclusion. I, for one, think that the ending was absolutely brilliant. The concept that life is fleeting and only takes one day for everything to revise has enthralled many authors into writing memorable novels. I believe this is one of those novels. I am impressed with all the innuendos that are left dangling throughout the novel. By the way, what’s Appel trying to tell us when he consistently mentions Walt Whitman and Herman Melville?  I’m not saying that this work challenges Homer or Joyce, but it is the perfect novel for your local book club discussions. I think that the hoi polloi will embrace this novel; therefore, I highly recommend this novel.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Lets talk about a few one day occurrence novels other than the ones I mentioned in the review. Among Aniya Wells' picks are:

Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf: “The fearless, essential author used one of her most beloved novels to bravely discuss issues relating to mental illness, feminism, human sexuality, existentialism and more. Centered on the Clarissa Dalloway of the title, the book starts with her pondering the decision to marry her husband rather than another man or the woman she loves. Meanwhile, World War I veteran Septimus Smith grappled against post-traumatic stress disorder and symptoms that many literary critics believe parallels the author’s painful battle with bipolar disorder and depression. The eponymous character serves as an outlet for Woolf’s feminist and bisexual leanings, while Smith’s gradual descent provides a scathing commentary on the ways medical professionals rush and marginalize their mentally ill patients. Many of the themes she explores continue to impact today’s society as well.”

Seize the Day (1956) by Saul Bellow: “Like many, many other memorable protagonists created by the incomparable Nobel Prize recipient Saul Bellow, Tommy Wilhelm faces down a particularly grim midlife crisis. Unemployed and isolated from his father, kids and wife — who won’t even grant him the courtesy of a divorce — he spirals into a writhing existential dilemma that only a master such as Bellow could compellingly portray. Set during the 1950s, an era when a clearly defined middle class began coalescing in the United States, Wilhelm’s struggles intend to parallel this shifting societal change. What makes the novel so impressive is how it effortlessly weaves in social commentary, interpersonal reflection and a realistic, appropriately emotional conclusion all within the events of one exceptionally crowded, deeply personal day.”

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick: “Even those who (unfortunately for them!) never picked up a Philip K. Dick, originally from Illinois, novel in their life still know some elements of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? thanks to Ridley Scott’s iconic film adaptation Blade Runner. As one can probably expect, the movie took some liberties with the original story, though both remain classics in their own right. Dick’s novel presents a day in the life of bounty hunter Rick Deckard, tasked with deactivating some incredibly advanced androids known as Replicants. As time marches on, the protagonist wrestles with some serious questions regarding the nature of life and sentience. With so many ridiculously human robots about, his assignment begins blurring lines between the organic and the technological — a phenomenon that inspires plenty of ethical opining both within and without the covers.”

How’s that for a three pack?

James Joyce on the cover of Time Magazine, 5/08/1939:

MR. MERCEDES

Slowly I turned (the pages?), step by step, inch by inch... Hey Abbott! Yes, at times this slow moving novel by the great Stephen King reminded me of the famous Abbott & Costello Niagara Falls sketch from their 1950’s television show. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a tad but not by much. Remember how exciting The Stand and It was? Well keep remembering. I think Mr. King is writing too many novels at the same time under too many different names. Slow down, you are still the best commercial author out there...oops, did I say that? Okay, I know that I’m being too tough on this author, but seriously, how many chances will I have to criticize one of my favorite authors? All right, the author does reclaim his credibility as the novel finally explodes with action and suspense starting on page 279 (what took you so long?) through the end of the book. During the first 278 pages, I really thought Stephen King lost his ability to provide the reader with apprehension and tension, thus my beginning paragraph rant. So what is the novel about?

A wacko named Brady Hartsfield (he is Hartfield on the inside cover jacket, no ‘s’ in the middle of his last name), who works as an I.T. Tech for a geek squad and as an ice cream man for Mr. Tastey, steals a Mercedes from a Mrs. Trelawney and decides to plow into a crowd of people lined up for a job fair. The results are eight dead and fifteen maimed. He later mentally tortures and convinces the super rich Mrs. Trelawney into believing that she left the keys in her Mercedes and is therefore responsible for all those deaths. She commits suicide. Meanwhile, Bill Hodges, a retired detective, who failed to solve the case (amongst two or three others) sits in his home watching T.V. pondering suicide. Wow, a lot of weak minded people, right? Anyway, one day Bill gets a letter from the wacko stating that he is the Mercedes killer. He wants Bill to contact him on the internet on a super secure site called The Blue Umbrella. This gets Bill out of his doldrums and after giving it some thought contacts Brady Hartsfield (or Hartfield-sorry it’s the editors fault) and types, “Seen a lot of false confessions in my time, but this one’s a dilly. I’m retired but not stupid. Withheld evidence proves you are not the Mercedes Killer. *uck off, *sshole.” Which prompts Brady to think to himself, “You fat *uck, he whispers, unaware that hot tears have begun to spill from his eyes. “You fat stupid useless *uck. It was me! It was me! It was me!” Now you are probably saying to yourself, “I thought you said that it was boring?” Well, believe it or not the story bogs down from here (page 151) until page 279. That’s a 128 pages of trying to keep my eyes open. 

Luckily, page 279 happens, and I wake up big time. Stephen King, you are a sly one. You took a three star novel and made it a four star novel in the last 158 pages. Two of the sidebar characters in the story, Holly Gibney, a twice institutionalized cousin, who has had ‘breaks with reality’, and Jerome Robinson, a grass mower and brilliant student, become big time contributors in pursuing this case. You probably noticed that I like to use a lot of commas and polysyndeton syntax. Anyway, the wacko decides to do one more mass killing. Now, if you have read Stephen King before, you know that the wacko (Brady) could succeed or not. It depends on the author’s mood at the book’s end. I thought this novel was going to ape King’s Lisey's Story, which started out boring and became even more monotonous. Mr. Mercedes wasn’t as good as the two Stephen King novels I mentioned in the first paragraph, or Thinner , one of my personal favorites, but outstanding none the less. One has to wonder how this author can crank out so many noteworthy novels, but he does. Based on the first 151 pages and the last 158, I must recommend this novel.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: Lets talk about my three favorite Stephen King novels mentioned in my review. First there is, The Stand: Goodreads.com says, “This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death."And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen. A world in which good rides on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail -- and the worst nightmares of evil are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the dark man.

In 1978 Stephen King published The Stand, the novel that is now considered to be one of his finest works. But as it was first published, The Stand was incomplete, since more than 150,000 words had been cut from the original manuscript. Now Stephen King's apocalyptic vision of a world blasted by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil has been restored to its entirety. The Stand Complete and Uncut includes more than five hundred pages of material previously deleted, along with new material that King added as he reworked the manuscript for a new generation. It gives us new characters and endows familiar ones with new depths. It has a new beginning and a new ending. What emerges is a gripping work with the scope and moral complexity of a true epic.

For hundreds of thousands of fans who read The Stand in its original version and wanted more, this new edition is Stephen King's gift. And those who are reading The Stand for the first time will discover a triumphant and eerily plausible work of the imagination that takes on the issues that will determine our survival.”

Next we have, It: Goodreads.com says, “The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by an eponymous being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children. The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person omniscient mode. It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a façade of traditional small-town values.”

Now for my favorite, Thinner: Amazon.com says, “Billy Halleck, good husband, loving father, is both beneficiary and victim of the American Good Life: he has an expensive home, a nice family, and a rewarding career as a lawyer. But he is also fifty pounds overweight and, as his doctor keeps reminding him, heading into heart attack country. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Billy sideswipes an old gypsy woman as she is crossing the street—and her ancient father passes a bizarre and terrible judgment on him.“Thinner,” the old gypsy man whispers, and caresses his cheeks like a lover. Just one word…but six weeks later and ninety-three pounds lighter, Billy Halleck is more than worried. He’s terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble…that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away.”

Now for some Stephen King quotes:

From The Stand: “Show me a man or a woman alone and I'll show you a saint. Give me two and they'll fall in love. Give me three and they'll invent the charming thing we call 'society'. Give me four and they'll build a pyramid. Give me five and they'll make one an outcast. Give me six and they'll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they'll reinvent warfare. Man may have been made in the image of God, but human society was made in the image of His opposite number, and is always trying to get back home.” 
  
From It : “Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they're always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that's what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.” 
  
From Thinner: “Food was becoming more abstract, more aestheticized and compartmentalized-- and indeed, after kaiseki, who can ever go back to Burger King, or even a well-made gourmet sandwich? Instead of food, I longed for other things to swell my body and buoy its lines--- lists of ancient queens, the grave and stately names for the forgotten regions of the sea, the imagined words for desire in hermetic languages; food, on the other hand, was leaving me increasingly unmoved.... I grew thinner and thinner, streamlined, my blood nourished by ever-slighter molecules, some kind of pale elongated light running the length of my body, nightmares detouring it in the most starved, and so-lightly blue-black-bruised, corners of my flesh. In this state of non-health, every step became a performance, each stride an act of contrition, a question and an answer.... On the once-dry, now-flowering branches of my skeletal limbs, the words sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch were being invisibly but indelibly written. I was a festival of new senses.”

Stephen King on the cover of Time Magazine:

PATRIARCH RUN

The author sent me an autographed copy of his novel to review:

Benjamin Dancer writes a fast paced novel that rivals and apes Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity. Both main characters are government agents of some sort suffering from extreme memory loss. The author claims that this novel is part of The Father Trilogy (this being the third book), but this reviewer had to stretch his imagination to think that this novel had anything to do with being a father. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy this expeditious page turner, because I did; however I did find some minor flaws, mostly involving gunfire that I’ll talk about later. I think authors that write espionage novels, such as Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger (1989) and Red Storm Rising (1986), make sure there isn’t any continuity errors, especially involving weapons. I’ve read and seen many films that suffered from this malady. Anyway, that being said, this novel almost takes your breathe away, and that is a good thing. I’m a big fan of short chapters and cliffhangers, and Benjamin Dancer specializes in both elements. I found the story a little provocative since the reader wants to know right away what Jack Erikson (our protagonist?) has stashed away and when he will remember where it is. Okay, enough said, how about the story?    

A bomb goes off on a vehicle procession in Washington, D.C., Jack Erikson finds himself wounded, handcuffed, bewildered, amnesiac and pursued by a man with an MP5 submachine gun. Somehow Jack escapes and finds his way to Colorado by instinct (why are other reviewers talking about West Texas?). He finds his son Billy, whom he hasn’t seen in ten years. Killers in black vehicles attack Jack and his son. The villains (are they?) die after an intense gun battle with Jack and Billy. Meanwhile, Jack’s wife Rachel is kidnapped. Who are these people, and what do they want? They seem to think that Rachel knows where Jack is (she hasn’t seen him in ten years) and where he has hidden what they want. Got it so far? Later we find out that Jack stole something from the Chinese and is now being chased by a hired group of Mexican Special Forces, an unnamed USA government agency and by Jack’s ex-boss, a slightly discombobulated Colonel. Billy gets separated from Jack and gets rescued by the authorities and turned over to Sheriff Regan, who is Rachel’s lover. While the Sheriff tries to get Billy to safety, they are attacked by the Mexicans. In a brutal gunfight, the Sheriff and the Mexicans die, while Billy escapes. Don’t think that I’m giving the plot away, because all of this occurs early in the novel. Now Jack tries to free his wife from the kidnappers. He still doesn’t know what’s going on. And I’m not sure who are the good guys or who are the bad guys. Anyway, Mr. Dancer, your writing is first-rate hiding the good, and the bad from the ugly (sounds like a movie).

I thought the novel should’ve had more flashbacks pertaining to Jack and Rachel’s initial encounters, which were interesting, in lieu of all that gunfire. Have faith in your prose; it’s very good. More background or flashbacks on the characters would have added more beef to the story. For instance, Rachel had a ten year relationship with the sheriff and the reader learns almost nothing about it. And what did the Colonel mean on page 262, when he said, "Your dad spent much of the last decade in a prison very few people have heard of." What I’m trying to say is the novel could’ve had a lot more meat on the bones. You had some great ideas, but didn’t follow up on them. These minor defects stopped this very good novel from being great. By the way, as an ex-Marine on a rifle and pistol team, I can tell you that it is impossible to shoot a paper plate at two hundred yards with a service revolver (page 88). I know my review sounds critical, but I did enjoy this novel, even though the war/terrorism genre is not my normal cup of tea. Could have it been better? Yes, but there aren’t that many Clancys, Flemings or le Carres out there. I highly recommend this thriller novel, especially to all the espionage fans.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: I wanted to talk about Benjamin Dancer’s first two books in his trilogy, In Sight of the Sun, and Fidelity, but couldn’t find anything about those books on Amazon, Goodreads, or the internet. I’ll have to email him to find out why. Therefore, lets talk about the two Tom Clancy novels I mentioned in the first paragraph:

Clear and Present Danger (1989): Goodreads says, “CIA man Jack Ryan, hero of Patriot Games, finds that he will probably never have a boring summer: The sudden and surprising assassination of three American officials in Colombia. Many people in many places, moving off on missions they all mistakenly thought they understood. The future was too fearful for contemplation, and beyond the expected finish lines were things that, once decided, were better left unseen. Tom Clancy's new thriller is based on America's war on drugs.”

Red Storm Rising (1986): Goodreads says, "Allah!"

“With that shrill cry, three Muslim terrorists blow up a key Soviet oil complex, creating a critical oil shortage that threatens the stability of the USSR.

To offer the effects of this disaster, members of the Politburo and the KGB devise a brilliant plan of diplomatic trickery - a sequence of events designed to pit the NATO allies against each other - a distraction calculated to enable the Soviets to seize all the oil in the Persian Gulf.

But as this spellbinding story of international intrigue and global politics nears its climax, the Soviets are faced with another prospect, one they hadn't planned on: a full-scale conflict in which nobody can win.”

I didn’t mention it before, but my favorite Clancy novel is The Hunt for Red October (1984): 

Goodreads says, "Here is the runaway bestseller that launched Tom Clancy's phenomenal career. A military thriller so gripping in its action and so convincing in its accuracy that the author was rumored to have been debriefed by the White House. Its theme: the greatest espionage coup in history. Its story: the chase for a top secret Russian missile sub. Lauded by the Washington Post as "breathlessly exciting." The Hunt for Red October remains a masterpiece of military fiction by one of the world's most popular authors, a man whose shockingly realistic scenarios continue to hold us in thrall. Somewhere under the Atlantic, a Soviet sub commander has just made a fateful decision. The Red October is heading west. The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. And the most incredible chase in history is on…”

The Russian sub heading west:

Parsival or A Knight’s Tale

This is a guest review from Deron O:

I read Richard Monaco’s Parsival or A Knight’s Tale, the first of his Parsival series, many years ago as a teenager, not too long after its initial publication. Monaco's tale is based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's 13th century poem Parzival about Parzival, a knight of King Arthur, who quests for the Holy Grail. I had already read probably a dozen versions of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, such as Le Morte Darthur, Idylls of the King, and The Once and Future King. I was put off by Monaco's version because his was so, so unlike the others. It was raw, visceral, and chivalrous only in the loosest sense of the word. Yet something about his writing style stuck with me after all these years. 

When I learned that he’d written a new Parsival book, Lost Years: The Quest for Avalon, I had to read it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that book begins at the very moment that this book ends. Because I enjoyed Lost Years, despite its flaws mostly due to poor editing, I located my old copy of Parsival that had since been boxed up and stored away in the basement and gave it a second read.

Parsival is the son of King Gahmuret, and after Gahmuret is slain in battle, Queen Herzelroyd vows to cloister her child from the world, to not raise him as a knight and king as is his birthright in an effort to prevent him from meeting the same fate as his father. Years later, in his teens, Parsival is completely innocent of the ways of the world, not even comprehending death.

One day, while in the woods, he encounters three of King Arthur’s knights, one being Galahad. Given their shiny armor and his mother’s description of God taking “the form of a man as bright as the sun”, Parsival confuses Galahad for God. Galahad quickly disabuses him of this notion. The knights mistake Parsival’s naivete for madness, and tiring of answering Parsival’s questions about knights and anxious to get on their way, one knight sarcastically tells the fool Parsival, “Go to King Arthur...perhaps he’ll make you a knight yourself and you’ll know all these things then.” So, like a child, inexpert at detecting sarcasm and trusting unquestionably the benevolence of others, he goes.

His mother is powerless to stop Parsival. Shortly after he leaves, distressed and distraught, she dies of a broken heart. The serfs Broaditch and Waleis are soon dispatched to bring Parsival back to take the throne. Their pursuit forms a second narrative thread of this story.

Parsival muddles along - aspiring to become the ideal knight, marrying, defending the kingdom from the evil Clinschor and his invaders from across the sea, and questing for the Holy Grail both physically and spiritually. For the most part, he fails. His innocence is often his undoing, most ironically in his physical quest for the Holy Grail. With each encounter, Parsival's innocence fades a bit more. He learns that the knights are not so chivalrous, and after taking part in a battle with King Arthur against Clinschor, he humorously concludes, “War...is stupid.”

In contrast, the lowborn Broaditch demonstrates, in his own way, the chivalry, heroism, and dedication that one would expect from Arthur’s knights. Broaditch and his companions are characters I didn’t think I’d care for much, rather wanting to get back to Parsival’s adventure; however, I found that to be untrue and enjoyed their tale just as much as Parsival’s.

The story moves along at a brisk pace. Chapters are short, often just a page or two. Monaco uses flashbacks and flash-forwards. While this could lead to problems following a story, I did not find that to be the case here. Occasionally, Monaco uses a stream of conscious style or sentence fragments that had me rereading some sections. I don’t mean that to be negative, just noting that the author sometime requires a little more of your attention. Overall, I enjoy Monaco’s writing style, and it is one reason why I decided to revisit his book.

This author and his work deserve more recognition. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the others in this series.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comments: The books in this series are: Parsival or A Knight's Tale; The Grail War; Final Quest; Blood and Dreams; Lost Years: The Quest for Avalon.

Both Parsival or a Knight's Tale and The Final Quest were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. 

There is very little information about Richard Monaco on the internet, but I was able to locate this interview.

Wolfram von Eschenbach's poem Parzival is also the basis for Richard Wagner's famous opera Parsifal. Wagner's opera Lohengrin was also inspired by that poem. Lohengrin is the son of Parzival.

Lohengrin figures important in Monaco's series. Lohengrin is a baby at the end of Parsival, and oddly, while Lost Years begins moments after the conclusion of Parsival, Lohengrin is magically a teenager. I recall Monaco explaining in the aforementioned interview that it was necessary for the plot, where Lohengrin plays a rebellious teen fighting to not walk in his father's footsteps.