BLEEDING KANSAS

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

Dave Eisenstark’s novel about a Quaker boy heading west to avoid combat (Quakers have a history of opposing war) during The Civil War isn’t going to challenge the likes of Owen Wister’s 1902 novel, The Virginian (see my review of 5/7/2016), or Zane Grey’s 1912 novel, Riders of the Purple Sage (see my review of 5/13/2015), but his novel was somewhat entertaining. However, based on the author’s credentials, I think he could have done much better. I thought the prose was too simplistic and coupled with non-vernacular language made the milieu seem modern, not 1865ish. I did like the author’s use of real Confederate guerrillas, such as William Quantrill, Jesse and Frank James, and the Cole Younger gang. The novel is of the historical fiction genre since it covers the border war between Kansas and Missouri. It seems Kansas (the Jayhawkers/Redlegs) wanted a free state supported by the Union Army. The Missouri bushwhackers favored a pro-slavery state supported by the Confederate Army. The term Bleeding Kansas was coined by New York Tribune editor, Horace Greeley (yes, the same man that said, “Go west, young man”).
 
James Deeter, a Quaker farm boy, is now eighteen and is expected to join the Union Army. His father, a Catholic, recently enlisted after getting drunk and dared to join by a saloon patron. James’s mom, a Quaker, taught him the theological beliefs of Quakers. He knows he can’t kill, or he is going to hell. The local recruiter, Lou Hansen, his sons, and his dogs come to take James into the Union Army. James runs west towards Colorado and the gold rush. The Hansens doggedly pursue. James manages to dodge the Hansens and looks up his Uncle Reno in St. Louis. His rotund uncle lets James ride free to Kansas City on his stagecoach line. On the stagecoach, James meets eighteen year old Anna Contreras and instantly falls in love. Anna’s maid, Mrs. Tucker, easily keeps him at bay. Anna says that she is going to visit her Uncle Jim Lane, who is a general in the Union Army. During a stagecoach stop, James goes into the woods in search of water for their canteens. When he comes back, he sees the stagecoach being held up. James recognizes the bandits voices...it’s Lou Hansen and his sons. Since the bandits ask Anna and Mrs. Tucker if they have seen James Deeter, they think James is part of the gang. James runs again. I’m only on page 37.

Without wanting to tell you anymore of the story, James Deeter eventually meets William Quantrill and his gang of 200 men. James is sucked into the gang and seemingly not allowed to leave. This is where the story takes off on its way to the ginormous concluding gunfight in Lawrence, Kansas. Does James get Anna? What happens to the Hansens? Does James have to kill a man? Who wins the gunfight in Lawrence? After reading many classic westerns (besides the two mentioned in the first paragraph), this novel just didn’t move me. I need to see the colloquial language of the times used in order for the novel to be believable for me. Just read any of the westerns I mentioned, or any Mark Twain novel, and you will understand what I’m saying. However, I am recommending this novel since I rate it “okay.”

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: According to Americancowboy.com, the following are the top ten westerns ever written (they should know):

1) Lonesome Dove (1985) by Larry McMurtry.
2) All the Pretty Horses (1992) by Cormac McCarthy (see my review of 4/2/2013).
3) Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) by Zane Grey.
4) The Time it Never Rained (1973) by Elmer Kelton.
5) Hondo (1985) by Louis L’Amour.
6) Shane (1949) by Jack Schaeffer.
7) The Shootist (1975) by Glendon Swarthout.
8) The Longhorns (1941) by Frank Dobie.
9) Smoky the Cowhorse (1927) by Will James.
10) The Man who Shot Liberty Valance (1949) Dorothy Johnson.

THE GERMAN GIRL

The historical fiction genre is defined as a novel in which the story is made up but is based on a true event. And in The German Girl, Armando Lucas Correa has written a doozy. In 1939 Nazi Germany, Captain Gustav Schroder (the actual captain) of the S.S. St. Louis ocean liner departed Hamburg, Germany with 937 refugees (mostly Jewish) seeking asylum from Nazi persecution. Their destination was Havana, Cuba. These people gave up their wealth, houses, art work and cars in order to escape sure death if they stayed in Germany. Even though these people gave up everything and paid handsomely for their Cuban visas (where they were to wait in Cuba a few months to two years until the USA approved their visas)...Cuba changed it’s mind when the ship arrived in the port of Havana. America and Canada also denied the ship entrance. What were they to do? This plus the dangerous time spent in Germany are the beginnings of the story. The ensuing chapters switched back and forth to what happened in Cuba and in modern day NYC among the relatives of the Rosenthal family. While Mr. Correa’s prose and plot were outstanding, there was a flaw in his story that somewhat troubled me. The author failed to create tension in his story, mostly when the Rosenthals were still in Germany. It seemed like our protagonist, twelve year old Hannah Rosenthal, and her best friend, Leo Martin, were always romping around Berlin in a somewhat, “Ha ha, catch me if you can” attitude, even after Kristallnacht (the Night of the Broken Glass). I don’t know if any other reviewer noticed this shortcoming. Anyway, I still enjoyed this novel, although this foible almost cost it a five-star rating.

Inside 1939 Germany bad things were happening to the Jewish population. The Rosenthals owned the apartment building they lived in, yet they were basically hiding in their own apartment. Max was a premier college professor until he was fired for being a Jew. His spouse, Alma, was one of the most envied wives in all of Germany until Jews were declared impure. Their tenants wanted them to leave the building. Their daughter, Hannah, and her friend, Leo, scurried all over Berlin listening for news and avoiding the ogres (Hannah’s name for the Aryan populace). Max and Leo’s dad were conspiring to find a way out of Germany before the s**t hit the fan. Hannah had the looks of a pure Aryan and on one of her romps in Berlin with Leo is spotted by a photographer for Das Deutsche Madel (The German Girl) magazine. Her picture is taken before she can run away. Her parents (as Hannah is) are distraught when they see their daughter’s face on the cover of the Nazi propaganda magazine for German girls. Hannah and Leo overhear the latest news on an ogre’s radio, “We were going to have to list all our possessions. Many of us would have to change our names and sell our properties, our houses, and our businesses at prices they dictated. We were monsters. We stole other people’s money. We made slaves of those who had less than us. We were destroying the country’s heritage. We had bled Germany dry. We stank. We believed in different gods. We were crows. We were impure.” The Rosenthals and the Martins had to find a way out of Germany. Don’t get fidgety, I’m only on page 31.

Meanwhile, the novel switches to NYC 2014 where we meet twelve year old Anna and her mom. Her dad, Louis, went to work on 9/11/2001 and never returned. “The day Dad disappeared, Mom was pregnant with me. By just three months. She had the opportunity to get rid of the baby but didn’t take it. She never lost hope that Dad would return, even after receiving the death certificate.” All Anna has of her dad's is a picture of him that she keeps in her bedroom. One day a package arrives from Canada via Cuba. Mom tells Anna, “It’s from your father’s family.” Anna knew that her dad’s parents died in a plane crash but was unaware of any surviving relatives.The envelope is filled with negatives, a postcard of a ship and a magazine with a smiling German girl in profile on the cover. Anna says, “It’s time to find out who Dad is.” Mom says to Anna, “I think it’s time you knew something. On your father’s side, you’re German as well." Anna goes to her bedroom, “In front of the mirror, I try to discover the German traits I must have inherited from a father who up till now I thought was Cuban. What do I see in the mirror? A German girl. Aren’t I a Rosen?” Anna is excited to go to Cuba and meet the woman from Germany who provided for her dad. They develop the pictures but don’t know who the people in the pictures are. Anna and her mom fly to Cuba to meet Great Aunt Hannah.

From hereon in, the novel switches back and forth to 1939 Germany...NYC 2014...the escape from Germany on the ship... the early years for the Rosenthal family in Cuba...to present day Cuba. Normally I don’t like novels that keep switching from present to past, however the author did such a great job with it that I didn’t even notice my past distaste for that writing style. In order for people not to forget, Holocaust books must remain innovative as this novel was. Was this Holocaust novel written without the usual apprehension on purpose or was I right that the author failed to provide any angst? Either way, I highly recommend this historical novel.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: My all-time favorite historical fiction novel/movie involving the Holocaust is Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel, Schindler’s List. It was heartwarming, if that could be said about the Holocaust.

Goodreads.com says, “During the Holocaust at the German concentration camp near Plaszow, thousands of Jews lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis. More than a thousand others would have been counted among the dead if not for a womanizing, heavy drinking, German-Catholic industrialist and Nazi Party member named Oskar Schindler."

THE KILLING GAME

The author sent me a copy of her novel to read and review:

What started out as a somewhat mushy love story slowly turned into a tension filled crime story pitting the FBI against a Mafia Don (Vincent Luca) in an attempted sting operation. How mushy was the love story between our two protagonists: Ives Andrich, head of the New York division of the FBI, and author, Allina Kovar? Do you remember (if you are old enough) the “we can’t keep our hands off each other” schmaltzy TV show, Hart to Hart (1979 to 1984) starring the two lovebirds, Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers? Well, this novel’s romantic duo outdid the TV show’s pair by a landslide, although the Andrich/Kovar love affair got muddled once the sting campaign got underway. Since this novel is 491 pages, can I persevere till the end? Luckily, the author, The Black Rose (that’s her pen name), shifted the story into another gear and came up with a credible and exciting story, but not without some flaws, which I’ll talk about later. I thought the infatuation between Ives and Allina was an important set-up for the novel but lasted a few too many chapters before the attempted sting was in progress. By the way, if you enjoy this novel (I’m sure you will), the series continues with, The Chase and The Lost Days. Okay, let me tell you a little bit about the story...just enough to wet your beak. Do you remember that line from the Mafia Don Fanucci in (I think) the second The Godfather movie?

A man in a library suggest to author Allina Kovar that she should write a book about illegal sports betting. Who is this man? Allina writes a novel, titled The Blood Negotiators. Her normal publisher refuses to publish the book. Why? On a flight to NYC to buy a apartment, she finds herself sitting next to Ives Andrich, a publisher. They both immediately fall in love. She doesn’t know that Ives is FBI. Allina buys an expensive apartment in NYC and Ives publishes her novel. But the FBI bigwigs in Washington, DC believe that she knows the NYC Don Vincent Luca and the contents of her book are real. Ives knows that she knows nothing...it’s just a novel. The pressure is on to cross-examine her and find out the truth. After a night out on the town, Ives and Allina are pulled over and arrested. Allina is sent downtown to be grilled by FBI agent Fogherty, while Ives, who reluctantly knew this was coming down, is uncuffed. Ives observes Fogherty interrogating Allina via the infamous blacked-out window in the next room. Fogherty goes too far and roughs up Allina and exposes Ives as an FBI agent who is duping her. On page 45, Fogherty tells Allina, “He’s standing right behind that mirror over there. He’s been watching you the entire time, laughin’ his ass off.” Why did he do that? Ives goes wacko and has Fogherty dragged out of the room and arrested. When she leaves the room, Ives has no choice but to show her his FBI badge.

Somehow Ives convinces Allina that he has loved her ever since he saw her picture in the FBI file and that he doesn’t care about his career...he only wants to spend the rest of his life with her. After some powerful talking, she believes him and they are lovey-dovey again. But now she is curious about nailing this NYC Don. On page 74, Allina asks, “So what do they (the FBI) want?” Ives says, “They think you can get close to Luca. They know you created the entire story you wrote, but Luca doesn’t know that. Because of what you wrote, he’ll think you understand him, and he’ll want you around. The bureau knows that, and that’s a problem.” By the way, Ives has already infiltrated Luca’s family as a trusted moneyman, so he knows how dangerous Don Luca is. On page 86, Allina shocks Ives by saying, “It can’t be that bad. I told you I would help, and I will.” Can they nail Luca for his illegal sports betting activities and his many killings? What kind of trouble will Allina get into with Luca? Can she avoid his sexual advances? Can the love she has for Ives survive this test? So there you go, I’ve reviewed the first 86 pages of a 491 page novel. The last 300 plus pages are electric and must be read like you were savoring a fine wine. So why am I only giving this novel four stars? Well, my fine-feathered friend, it’s because of the many minor flaws. Okay, Let’s talk about the flaws.

My main beef is the editing...in which the author has to take some blame for since she wrote the novel. It’s customary in the literature world to use italics when someone is thinking something. In this novel they are not used. Instead we have the characters saying everything in quotation marks (or punctuation marks) when really the characters are only thinking, such as, “Oh, lucky me”, She thought. This continues for the entire novel. Is it a big deal? I think so because it’s easier for the reader to know if something is being said or thought if it’s edited properly. Another thing that bothered me was the way Allina continually wise-cracked the Don. What would John Gotti do to her, if she talked to him like that? Also how many times does the author have to write about the breakfast, lunch and dinners Luca and Allina had? The novel would probably be a 100 pages shorter if she only wrote about twenty or more of these repasts. Enough is enough. And finally, every time Luca kisses Allina (which is a lot of times), she has to “fanatically” wipe the kiss off her skin when Luca is not looking. Okay, I know she hates him...stop with the numerous wipes! So as you can see, a lot of things annoyed me, especially the repetitive text...yet I liked the novel. Go figure.
 
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: How funny is it that Andrich Publishing produced Allina Kovar’s fictitious novel and this novel, The Killing Game. Very clever Black Rose or whoever you are. What are you afraid of? What’s your name? Are you also undercover FBI? The days of George Eliot and George Sand are over (Just having some fun). This novel seemed to stretch like a slinky toy with all the repeat facets, but the author picked herself up off the mat by her bootstraps and finished the novel with a flurry.   

SPARX Incarnation: Mark of the Green Dragon

The author sent an autographed copy of his novel to my thirteen year old grandson, Kai, to review:

The Mark of the Green Dragon is an exciting start to a two part series. It starts out with Nud Leatherleaf and his best friend Gariff walking through the bog lands around the town of Webfoot. Nud has just found a mysterious flashing stone. While not sure what to do with it, Nud decides to keep it a secret from his other friends. After some consideration, Nud chooses to visit his grandpa Papolov’s friend, Fyron. The friend is an Elderkin (a race of ancient and wise beings) who Nud calls Uncle Fyron.

Because of a previous strange incident, it took a bit of thought to decide to visit Uncle Fyron. What happened was that Nud found a strange box in Fyron’s attic containing a mysterious creature. Wanting to discover what the creature was, Nud took the box into the woods. Then with a hatchet, he opened the nailed shut lid, but to his horror inside the box was a vile spider-like creature, whose first thought was to attack Nud.

After fleeing, Nud’s experience got even stranger. A group of trees formed a circle around Nud... trapping him. It’s only after one of the trees whipped him in the wrist (leaving a intricate marking that would persist for the rest of his life) that he finds a way to escape and get back to Uncle Fyron’s house.

But he decides to visit his uncle’s house regardless of his previous experience. Nud and his friends are quickly invited in to eat. But after the meal ends and Fyron and Nud are alone, strange things start to happen. This is where the story truly starts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author, K.B. Sprague, did a good job with character development and the plot, but most of all, the author left me wanting to read more. I definitely recommend this book, however you are going to have to read the second book for the conclusion.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Once again, my grandson comes up with a quality review.

HEART OF DARKNESS

As with this 1899 classic novella, sometimes too much descriptive writing can somewhat muddy the waters. Written by Joseph Conrad (pen name for Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) and originally published in three monthly issues of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, I occasionally lost touch with the story as I got lost in his flowery language. This is not a bad thing, just a slight sidetrack from the story. You probably remember this seaman/author best for his famous 1900 novel, Lord Jim. Even the first paragraph had to be read several times before I understood it. The Nellie, a cruising yawl was a two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged sailboat sailing down The Thames River in London, England. Since Conrad spent his first 36 years mostly at sea, he assumed his sailor’s cant was a language known by all his readers. I’m not complaining because the story was enjoyable, just not the cat’s meow for a speed reader. An example of Conrad’s descriptive writing (he was very good at describing a character) can be found on page 54 when he is describing the company’s chief accountant that he finds in the muggy jungle, “When near the buildings I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear.” Most of the novel was written with these embellishments.

The story starts out with Our narrator and protagonist, Charlie Marlow, on a cruise ship (the Nellie) anchored on the Thames River telling some of the passengers how he was appointed captain of a steamboat on the Congo River in darkest Africa. Ever since he was a child, he was mesmerized by the blank spaces on maps. The one that intrigued him the most was the Congo and the big snake-like river, The Congo. After many years out to sea, Marlow applies for a riverboat captaincy on a Congo River steamboat with a Brussels, Belgium ivory trading company. He gets the job and heads to the African coast on a French steamer. Most of the story revolves around his difficulties getting to his job, which was more than 200 miles up the river. He gets on a steamer captained by a Swede and gets dropped off 30 miles up river to his company’s first station. It is blazing hot and steamy. He is horrified at the condition of the blacks working on the railroad. They are going to die under these harsh conditions. He takes a caravan of 60 men and travels on foot to the central station where he finds out from the general manager that his steamboat was curiously wrecked. The general manager says they left without him because they were trying to get to a Mr. Kurtz, who was reportedly dying. Is that why they were trying to get to him? Mr. Kurtz ran the trading post in ivory country. Marlow learns that, “Kurtz sends in as much ivory as all the others put together.” By the way, the paragraphs are very long, which was commonplace in that era.

It takes several months to repair the river steamboat before Marlow departs up river to bring back the mysterious Mr. Kurtz from his station. Is Kurtz really sick? Why do the natives adore him? Why does the company want him back? Has Kurtz gotten too big for his britches? The descriptive writing was so good; I felt like I was sweltering on the Congo River in darkest Africa during the entire story. Somehow I missed the crux of Conrad’s novella. Was he chastising Belgium for their imperialistic attitude towards Africa? Or their treatment of the natives? Was he trying to say that (so-called) civilized society should have the right to rule barbarians, or just the opposite? The United States had that attitude in the late 1800s and early 1900s (the Manifest Destiny). Remember Horace Greeley’s famous phrase, “Go west, young man”...and we did, all the way to Japan and China. I know that Joseph Conrad had a reason for writing this novella...I just don’t know what it was. Because of these reasons, I'll give it a weak five star rating (Haha), and I do recommend reading this 117 year old novella.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Conrad’s main character, Charlie Marlow, appears in four of his novels. Besides this novella, Marlow appears in Youth (1898), Lord Jim (1900) and Chance (1914).

In the “Inspired by’ section of Conrad’s novella, we find that, “The adaptation of Heart of Darkness that makes Conrad’s novella particularly relevant to the modern era is Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Apocalypse Now (1979). Apocalypse Now strips away surface and grapples with humanity’s primordial nature, aptly capturing the spirit of Conrad. The film opens with the jungle tree line ablaze with napalm fire and the hypnotic drone of helicopter blades dissolving into a whirring ceiling fan in a hotel room. Captain Benjamin Willard (Sheen) is assigned to track down Colonel Walter Kurtz, a decorated war hero gone missing whom the military has accused of murder. Willard is ordered to terminate Kurtz with extreme prejudice.”

Did Charlie Marlow get orders to terminate Kurtz in Heart of Darkness? Read the novella and you will find out...My Little Chickadee (W.C. Fields, 1940).     

they SERVE BAGELS in HEAVEN

The author sent me a copy of her novel/book to review:

This is the third novel that I’ve read in the last three years exploring the possibility of heaven. Having read Mitch Albom’s highly entertaining novel The First Phone Call from Heaven (see my review of 1/13/2014) and Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander’s near death experience in Proof of Heaven (see my review of 8/10/2013), I was eager to read what Irene Weinberg had to say in her novel. The novel seems to be on the whimsical side only because it involves several mediums, who were either contacted by Irene’s husband, Saul, or had Saul talk through their vocal cords. Logic tells me that the medium business would be the world’s number one occupation if any recently departed loved one could contact anyone through a medium (or necromancer?). Why did Saul get the opportunity to contact his wife after death and not someone like the great Harry Houdini (who vowed to come back from death) Wouldn’t Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have a course on mediumology? (just kidding, maybe they do)

Listen, I’m not accusing Irene of anything. I’m somewhat suggesting (based on their lifelong love affair) that she would be likely influenced into believing she is talking to her husband. The other thing that baffles me (a tad) is that Saul implies that even bad people are in heaven. The only penalty is that they cannot be reincarnated until all the people they have harmed are dead, including their descendants (this could take a long time). Saul also tells Irene through a family therapist/medium that they have had many past lives together (some not as husband and wife). That reminds me of the 1970 Barbra Streisand movie On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Although the story is entertaining, I’m not buying into it as a credible occurrence. There is no mention of Hell in this book by Saul. All he says on this subject is what he said about a delayed reincarnation. And would The Creator and a group of angels sit down with you in Heaven and strategize your next life on earth? Highly doubtful.

Although the story starts out with Saul falling asleep (or did he have a stroke/heart attack?) at the wheel of his car (12/21/1997) with his wife, Irene, in the passenger seat, the meat of the story for me was the supposed previous reincarnated lives they had relayed by Saul to Irene through a medium. Some of them were interesting...is Irene starting to become a storyteller? Okay, the stories were told to her by Saul, but Irene penned them, so I must give her some credit (don’t think for a minute that I believed they came from heaven, but they were entertaining). I particularly liked the story of Yakov and Devorah, which was very sad. Also absorbing was the time Irene was reincarnated alone as a Jewish violinist in Poland during the start of the holocaust. So what do I think? I think that Irene heard what she wanted to hear or believe in. Again, I’m not saying that Irene is a false witness, but I think that Irene, who was madly in love with Saul, can easily be duped by mediums. I do recommend reading this book/novel...your option at to whether you think it’s a book or novel.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: Everybody hopes that there is an afterlife (if you haven’t been wicked), but Saul’s story doesn’t offer much punishment to sinners. Is there a Hell? If not, I coulda been bad! Also strange is that Saul doesn’t tell Irene what religion God harbors. He is only known as The Source or The Creator. No mention of Jesus Christ. Also if I remember correctly, The Bible rejects reincarnation. There are a lot of unanswered questions which make books like this one at best...intriguing.  

AYAHUASCA

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

After reading Jonathan Huls previous novel, The Nth Day (see my review of 2/10/2016), I didn’t think he could write anything darker than that. Well, I’m wrong, because his second novel is pitch-black! Next stop...Hell. If you are a bit squeamish, don’t read this novel. Nothing pleasant happens to any of the characters in this grisly novel. Ayahuasca is a mind altering drug used by the Peruvian natives along the Amazon River for many purposes. In a way, the drug plays both a small part and big part in this novel. When the novel begins, the reader is unaware of what the two recent college graduates are up to. They tell their parents (who are unconcerned alcoholic party goers) that they are going to Mexico to celebrate graduating college. That seems normal enough, but is that the real reason for the trip? And why do they keep talking about G-88? What does that mean? Do they have an evil pretentious plan or is this trip a normal graduating blow-out? Okay, enough questions, let me tell you a little bit of the story without revealing the explosive conclusion (pages 142-244).
  
Paxton and Damien are life long friends. Paxton just got his private pilot’s license, and they are going to fly to Mexico (the author doesn’t tell the reader how the boys acquired the Cessna Turbo Skylane). The trip will take two months and culminate in Iquitos, Peru. We learn that the boys have always been evil...Damien the most malicious. Paxton has been recording all their vicious adventures in his personal journal since childhood (were they evil as kids?...yep). While in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, they have wild drunken sexual escapades. They hear about a secret nightclub that has sexual acts on stage including a performance that uses a donkey. They find the club, but things go sour and they have to shoot their way out of the club. They fly out of Mexico into Peru immediately. Paxton falls in love with a local girl named Cecita. After a night of binge drinking, Paxton, Damien, Cecita and her girlfriend go into a remote jungle area where the boys are introduced to the drug Ayahuasca by a local shaman. The drug is supposed to purify their spirits but instead makes them hallucinate and vomit. Such a pleasant novel.

I’m reluctant to tell you anything more about the story. Instead, I was going to define what G-88 means, but then I would have to issue a “spoiler alert” which I don’t want to do. The crux of the novel is G-88 and what it brings to the table. Is this the darkest novel I’ve ever read? Well, I read Cormac McCarthy’s Outer Dark (see my review of 3/01/2013), which I considered to be the blackest novel that I ever read. But I have to admit that Jonathan Huls has surpassed the great Cormac McCarthy with this tragic and somber novel. Do you see why this novel is so grim? What happens in Peru is mind-boggling. Those last 103 pages are explosive. I only reviewed the first 118 pages to whet your whistle. I recommend this novel to readers that aren’t faint at heart. Since I thought Jonathan Huls first novel was very savvy and structured better than this novel, I must rate Ayahuasca a notch below The Nth Day.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: For some reason this novel reminded me of the 1994 Oliver Stone/ Quentin Tarantino movie Natural Born Killers starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. It was the same theme...senseless mass murder. A 52 person killing spree in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, then briefly imprisoned before escaping and continuing with more murders. School is still out with me on these types of novels and movies. Are they written to bring light to the serial killer phenomenon or strictly for the entertainment value? I prefer books on this subject that are nonfiction, such as the social miscreant killers in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, or Vincent Bugliosi’s epic book, Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders.        

PUDD'NHEAD WILSON and THOSE EXTRAORDINARY TWINS

This 1894 novel by Mark Twain was written during his dark period. His mom had recently died and his publishing company had just failed, leaving the great author bankrupt. Is the novel dark? Yes, but also humorous with many surprises and extra features. The novel transpires before the Civil War in the small town of Dawson’s Landing on the Mississippi River...of course. Now if you have read Twain before, you know he uses the vernacular of the times, so don’t be shocked by the vocabulary used by the negro slaves; such as, “Oh, de good Lord God have mercy on po’ sinful me- I’s sole down de river!” Also don’t be upset with the use of the “n” word...it’s Twain’s modus operandi (I will not use it in my review). Twain states that as he was writing this novel,”I had a sufficiently hard time with that tale, because it changed itself from a farce to a tragedy...But what was a great deal worse was, that it was not one story, but two stories tangled together; and they obstructed and interrupted each other at every turn and created no end of confusion and annoyance.” Somehow, Twain (he says he used-a kind of literary Caesarean operation) makes the two stories work by rewriting the twins story after the first story ends. The twins had a lesser role in the first story, but they became the main focus in the second story. Not only that, but they morphed from two dashing Counts (Angelo and Luigi) from Italy into a two headed, four armed, two legged freak. What? I told you that this was Twain’s dark period. Actually, Twain’s first novel written with a deep pessimism was his novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) (see my review of 11/08/2012).

“On the 1st of February, 1830, two boy babes were born in Percy Driscoll’s house: one to him, the other to one of his slave girls, Roxana (Roxy) by name.” Now Roxana was a pretty twenty year old slave who was almost white (she was only one/sixteenth black). She took care of Tom Driscoll and her own baby, Chambers, after Mrs. Driscoll suddenly died within a week of the children’s birth. “In that same month of February Dawson’s Landing gained a new citizen. This was Mr. David Wilson, a young fellow of Scotch parentage...he was twenty-five years old, college-bred, and had finished a post-college course in an Eastern law school a couple of years before.” He certainly would have launched a successful career in law, if he didn’t make a fatal remark on his first day in town. As David Wilson talked to a group of citizens, a dog began to yelp in the background. Wilson said, “I wish I owned half of that dog.” “Why?” someone said. “Because I would kill my half.” “They fell away from him as from something uncanny, and went into privacy to discuss him.” One said, “pears to be a fool.” “pears?” said another. “Is, I reckon you better say.” “Said he wished he owned half of the dog, the idiot", said a third. Just that fast Mr. Wilson became Pudd’nhead Wilson with nobody in Dawson’s Landing willing to let him represent them in a court of law. Wow, what a tough town. He hung up his law shingle but only got minor tangled account-book jobs. So he started taking Fingerprints from the town’s populace as a hobby. Two of the prints he took was from the babies Roxy was in charge of at five months old. By the way, so far I’ve only covered the first nine pages...a lot happens in this crazy novel.

Meanwhile one of Percy Driscoll’s slaves is stealing. Percy calls his slaves into his home. He tells them that if nobody admits the theft...somebody is going down the river (which means a much tougher life), but three admit the theft. Percy sells them, but not to the mean people down the river. Roxy now feels threatened. Can her baby be sent down the river? She decides to switch the babies. Chambers is now Tom Driscoll and Tom Driscoll is now Chambers. Percy suddenly dies (but not before he sets Roxy free) and the babies and Roxy are taken in by Percy’s brother, Judge Driscoll and his widowed sister, Mrs. Pratt. Roxy bumps into Pudd’nhead, and he takes fresh fingerprints from the babies. He doesn’t notice the switch (will he later?). Roxy now free, decides to become a chambermaid on a steamboat. She leaves the children in the care of Judge Driscoll and his sister. Tom (really Roxy’s black son) is now growing up to be a mean man with a big gambling habit, while the real Tom is an uneducated slave and lackey for Tom Driscoll. In the meantime down the street, the widow Cooper (Aunt Patsy) advertises that she has a room for rent. She gets an offer of double rent by twins from Italy. The whole town is anxious to meet the dashing counts. They arrive to the exuberant approval of the town. They become the toast of the town. Tom Driscoll insults the twins and gets a swift kick in the butt from Luigi, which starts a course of events that will explode throughout the rest of the novel. So much happens after the kick that the reader needs to take notes to remember the many zigzags that occur afterwards.

This is a somewhat unknown novel of Mark Twain’s (one of my favorite writers), but in my opinion his most brilliant work. In only 201 pages, he was able to spin a tale of hope, despair, and tragedy...yet be humorous at the same time. I highly recommend reading this old classic novel.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: In Mark Twain’s Final Remarks, he tells the reader how complicated this tale was to write:

“As you see, it was an extravagant sort of tale, and had no purpose but to exhibit that monstrous ‘freak’ in all sorts of grotesque lights. But when Roxy wandered into the tale she had to be furnished with something to do; so she changed the children in the cradle; this necessitated the invention of a reason for it; this, in turn, resulted in making the children prominent personages-nothing could prevent it, of course. Their career began to take a tragic aspect, and some one had to be brought in to help work the machinery; so Pudd’nhead Wilson was introduced and taken on trial. By this time the whole show was being run by the new people and in their interest, and the original show was become sidetracked and forgotten; the twin-monster, and the heroine, and the lads, and the old ladies had dwindled to inconsequentialities and were merely in the way. Their story was one story, the new people’s story was another story, and there was no connection between them, no interdependence, no kinship. It is not practicable or rational to try to tell two stories at the same time; so I dug out the farce and left the tragedy.”

“The reader already knew how the expert works; he knows now how the other kind do it.”

By the way, Twain gave us a free lesson on how to use a semicolon in the above final remarks.  

The Demon Conspiracy

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

I’m not going to say this story was banal, but the concept of demons living underground plotting to overthrow the humans living on the surface is clearly not new. Furthermore, the story was not scary as advertised on the novel’s back cover. If you want to read something scary, read Stephen King’s 1986 novel It. The terror the reader feels from the creature who appeared in the form of a clown (coulrophobia) was bona fide. I realize R. L.Gemmill’s story is a YA novel that might scare a young age group (how young is the writer’s target age?), but I expected more after reading all the previous glowing reviews. The prose was simplistic (I’m assuming it was written that way on purpose for YA reading). The story was generally okay but seemed rushed in order to create a euphoria that failed. And I must mention that I quickly tired of the line, “I have a lot of work to do and I must work hard and fast.” I can see that the author has a storytelling ability, but in my opinion, it’s still in the growing stage. Basically, I guess (that) I’m used to reading YA novels that are good to go for adults such as Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games or Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Anyway, I’m saying that Mr. Gemmill’s novel is worth reading with the caveat that it’s not the cat’s meow for adults. Maybe I read too many classics. So, what’s the story about?

We meet the heroes of the story during a tragic event...a car crash that kills their parents. At the time of the accident, Kelly (the novel’s narrator) was six years old and had the ability to read minds. Her brothers are also gifted. Jon, who is ten years old, is a expert in martial arts using swords and knives. The baby of the family is Travis, who was three years old at the time of the accident. Even at a young age, he had the capacity to feel other people’s emotions. Fast forward seven years and we find the kids finally together in the loving foster home of Chris and Angie McCormick. Chris (a teacher) and the children sign up with Jon’s English teacher, Mr. Anton Edwards, for a Saturday caving trip to Pandora’s Cave. In advance of the group arriving at Crystal Creek Park, Ranger Ned Taylor sees something very strange at the cave’s entrance...a man dressed in a blue suit with an object that looks like a fire hydrant. As the ranger approached the cave, Ned says to the man in a suit, “Can I help you, Sir?” “He smiled back at Ned, as if amused.” Suddenly, the man and his device disappeared. Ned went to the dog pen and let the fiercely barking dog, Ripper, loose. The dog ran straight to the cave entrance followed by Ned. “As they reached the entrance, a host of colorful glowing eyes appeared within the cave’s pitch darkness. Ripper skidded to a halt.” What’s going on? What’s behind all those hateful multi-colored eyes?

The ranger was relieved by Head Ranger Melinda Laarz before the McCormick’s arrived at the park. Apparently, Ned didn’t tell Melinda what he saw in the cave because Ranger Melinda didn’t warn the McCormicks or the teachers (Dr. Mark Parrish and cave expert Anton Edwards). Was this an error by the author? Or did Ned really not tell Melinda what he saw? (It seems highly unlikely). Anyway, the group enters the cave. Incidentally, I’ve only reviewed the first 31 pages so far. I think I’m making the story more exciting than it was! The group work their way down to an area known as the Cathedral Room. Then, the unforeseen happens...the ground began to shake. EARTHQUAKE. (I can’t believe that I’m making R.L.Gemmill’s novel so intoxicating.) The ledge that the children and Chris were standing on drops about 50 feet. Chris is knocked out and has a broken leg. The kids are shaken but not seriously hurt. The two teachers must have been standing somewhere else because they are unaccounted for. Travis sets the still unconscious Chris’s leg with the metal frame of a backpack. Jon looks down the ledge that they are now on and can’t believe what he sees...a 20 foot demon on a stage addressing thousands of creatures! Okay, you got a taste of the first 51 pages of Mr. Gemmill’s novel. Now you will have to buy your own copy to see what happens in the next 309 pages.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: As I mentioned in the first paragraph, the scariest novel I ever read was Stephen King’s It. It’s amazing how many people have a fear of a clown (coulrophobia). Do you remember the Seinfeld show called The Opera (1992) when a clown took center stage. Wikipedia says:

“Crazy" Joe Davola leaves Jerry a message saying he will put the "kibosh" on him. Kramer has tickets for the opera, Pagliacci and everyone is going, including Elaine and her boyfriend, Joey. Elaine drops in on Joe's apartment where she discovers that he has a wall of pictures of her that he took with his telephoto lens. After repeatedly calling her "Nedda" and insinuating she is cheating on him, he tries to trap her in the apartment, so she maces him with cherry Binaca and ends their relationship.

Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and George go to the opera, where Elaine tells the others that Joey isn't coming, and Susan has to pick up a friend at the airport and can't come either, they have two extra tickets. George and Kramer attempt to scalp the tickets, each trying to get a better deal than the other, because George tries to sell the tickets for too little, and won't listen to Kramer.

As Jerry and Elaine wait for their friends to return, they are asked by a street performer impersonating Canio for a tip. Jerry had flipped a coin earlier, and it was taken by another spectator, so he didn't have any money for the clown, which annoyed him.

Meanwhile, "Crazy" Joe is getting ready for the opera by working out and sobbing as Canio's aria plays. He then puts on the white makeup for Canio's character, Pagliaccio. Later, Joe is seen, now in full Pagliaccio costume, walking through a park on his way to the opera house. He is antagonized by a group of hoodlums, but he uses martial arts to knock them all out.

Kramer is approached by a clown (not knowing it's "Crazy" Joe Davola) who wants to buy the leftover ticket to Pagliacci. Kramer then claims that the clown looks "familiar", to which Davola asks him if he ever went to the circus and if he liked it; Kramer answers that he had gone when he was little and that he was scared of the clowns. Davola then asks Kramer if he's still scared of clowns (while giving a menacing smile), to which Kramer uneasily answers, "Yeah."

Jerry and Elaine are still standing outside, and they get to talking about "their nutjobs" and discover that each of their Joes is the same person. They freak out, because Joe is probably now out to get both of them. Soon, the clown returns, and when Jerry tells him that he doesn't have any money, the clown responds, "I don't want any money." As they both stand there, Elaine thinks she smells cherries. The clown says, "It's Binaca." Just then, the real Canio starts to sing. Jerry and Elaine both scream (realizing it's "Crazy" Joe) and run away.

George has finally agreed to sell the ticket to someone as Susan runs up and says she can join him because her friend's plane was diverted to Philadelphia. George gives her ticket to her, and deftly gives the man his own; since he will not attend the show, he must then invent an explanation that will please Susan.

Kramer shows up with the tickets, and he, Elaine and Jerry take their seats. They are joined by Susan and Harry Fong, the man to whom George sold his ticket. They ask where George is; Harry says that he got George's ticket and Susan also tells them that he was "uncomfortable." Jerry and Elaine ask Kramer to whom he gave the last ticket. Just as the curtain comes up, Kramer answers, "Some nut in a clown suit." Jerry and Elaine panic as the audience applauds and the episode closes."