Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Year Zero by Rob Reid

Year Zero by Rob Reid

There are many, many, many Refined Beings in the universe.  They are skilled at all the arts that humankind knows of, and many more we’re just not cool enough to have discovered yet.  But there is one thing we can do much, much, MUCH better than any alien. (UnRefined Beings as we are.)  We have rhythm and we can carry a tune.  Our music is the best music in the universe.  Nothing has been the same since the Kotter Moment; the moment alien life managed to get into our television frequency in the 70s and heard the theme song from “Welcome Back Kotter.”  (You can’t get the Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back out of your head now can you?)  Ever since then the universe has been obsessed with our music and has downloaded everything we’ve got.  Unfortunately for the universe they believe that the laws of the creative entity formulate the distribution and payment for their art.  In other words every being in the universe owes humankind $150,000 per song (that’s the price for illegally downloading music based on current copyright law) and they have each got a copy of every song ever recorded…  The universe is facing bankruptcy on a MAJOR scale.  That’s why some aliens figure they are better off just blowing us up.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure about this one.  But it grew on me.  And there are footnotes – I have a weakness for fiction with footnotes.  It is funny, it helps to know a bit about late 70s pop culture, and for a short giggling diversion it is a good choice.

Monday, December 24, 2012

The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

This is the story of one of the paintings stolen from the Gardner in Boston over 20 years ago.  I have started describing this book here numerous times and have deleted my summary every time.  I don’t want to give anything away because the plot takes a number of turns that I really enjoyed and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.

I can tell you what you will learn about from this book: techniques of master forgers, methods of painting authentication, how art historians authenticate their works and the blindness of experts when faced with conflicting truths.  A wonderful look into the underbelly of the art world.

The Colony by A. J. Colucci

The Colony by A. J. Colucci

Remember those cheesy horror movies where a tiny insect was mutated into gigantic proportions and threatened to take over the world?  When I was a kid I found them scary.  Good thing those movie writers didn’t have Colucci’s book as a script or I would have never slept again.  What’s scarier than a 10-story tall ant?  Normal-sized mutated ants that eat any living creature they can find.  And when all the rats, bugs and other critters have been devoured what’s left to eat on the island of Manhattan?  You guessed it.  Humans.  Not cool.  Not cool at all.  But oh so great to read. 

This is a smartly written quickly moving novel that will have you squirming and screaming but loving it all the same.  If you miss the creatures gone bad of Stephen King and Michael Crichton you’ll really enjoy this one.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Remember why those four friends journeyed down the train tracks in the movie Stand By Me?  It was to see a dead body.  Hardly anyone remembers the purpose of their walking: they remember the friendships and the way these young boys grow up during their journey.  The Round House reminded me of Stand By Me.  Four goofy young teens are enjoying childish things when an event turns their lives upside down.  The mother of one of the boys is brutally attacked and the quartet decides that they are going to catch the man who did this and make sure justice is served.

The book is set on an Indian reservation in the 80s and details what life was like on a reservation at that time as well as how convoluted the law governing tribal lands were (and are).  A good read, quite dark, with moments of humor, best enjoyed by mystery lovers.

Supervolcano: Eruption by Harry Turtledove

Supervolcano: Eruption by Harry Turtledove

Turtledove is the king of alternate histories.  In this book he has written an alternate present.  The story follows one family and their significant others and friends when the supervolcano at Yellowstone decides to blow. The main character, is a police lieutenant outside of Los Angeles, is busy tracking down a serial killer when the event occurs.  How will the rest of his family fare?

What I really liked about this book is the variety of places characters were when the eruptions happened.  There are characters in California, Colorado, Nebraska, even Maine.  It is interesting to hear about what other parts of the country are experiencing.

I didn’t know that this was to be the first in a trilogy, but I should have guessed since Turtledove is fond of writing trilogies.  I would give the next one a listen to hear what happens next!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Dellarobia is walking through the far part of her husband’s family’s property when she sees that the trees are on fire (she forgot her glasses at home).  When she finds out that her father-in-law is planning on selling the far part of his property to loggers she convinces her husband and in-laws to walk the area first to make sure they know what they are selling; she has a feeling something amazing is up there.  She is right.  Butterflies.  Millions of them covering the trees and turning them bright orange.  It seems that the monarch butterflies which normally migrate to Mexico have decided to winter in Appalachia.  Is it a miracle?  Or a sign of a world in trouble?

I really like Dellarobia.  She is such a smart lady who is simply ignorant of the ways of science.  She doesn’t know about the current theories of global warming nor scientific method.  Her high school science teacher was also the gym teacher and he often had them play sports during science period.  This is a great look at small town life in Appalachia and how many people in these poor rural communities live and why many of the people living there can never seem to better their lives or get out.  You’ll find yourselves rooting for Dellrobia and for the butterflies that have taken a drastically wrong turn this winter.

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers 

Private Bartle and Private Murphy have gone through basic training together in New Jersey.  Now they are shipped off to Iraq where the war changes them and makes promises very hard to keep.

I understand why this short novel has been up for awards.  This is a stark look at life as a soldier in Iraq and what the day to day of the war is like.  It is also the story of how these young men return home to the states, bringing the war home with them.  It is about the unpredictability of war and the fragility of the human spirit.  It is a powerful book, especially on audio.

Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

I had heard of the Ringworld series but had never read any of them.  And there are a lot of them.  Where to start?  I decided to go with a prequel, and I have to admit I’m intrigued by the universe even though Ringworld wasn’t present at all.

In the future Colonists (humans) serve the Citizens through farming and the manufacture of items.  They do this willingly out of thankfulness since their ancestors were taken in when their ship was adrift hundreds of years before.  Current Colonists are sent away on a mission to investigate life forms on a newly discovered planet.  Their job is to assess the threat level of these beings to the fleet of worlds which will pass by that way in a hundred years or so.  The actions of the Citizens make the Colonists start to question their beginnings.  Is the story of their rescue all that they have been led to believe?

What a cool book.  The Citizens are fascinating.  They are definitely otherworldly, smart and amazingly timid.  They sort of reminded me of intelligent deer, that’s how skittish they seemed.  The authors do a great job explaining their physique as well as their emotional state.  It was also great to see humans get in touch with their inquisitiveness and sense of fairness among other traits.  Even if you’re not a huge fan of aliens, you would probably enjoy the intrigue created here.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

With the sudden death of Barry Fairbrother the quaint and perfect town of Pagford is thrown into a tizzy and the true colors of its inhabitants comes to the fore.  Fairbrother was on the town council and was the major proponent of some controversial legislation.  With his death there is now a casual vacancy on the council and the fate of this idyllic town is in the hands of his replacement.

This is a dark book but it’s got a lot of humor.  It is definitely an adult book – there are large helpings of sex, drugs and swearing – but I can see older teens not only reading it, but enjoying it.  It shows the dark side of adult life and how youth thinks they have all the answers, but they don’t even know what all the questions are yet.

I didn’t think I’d like this book.  And to be honest, I may not have liked it as much as I did (and I liked it a lot) if I had read it.  The reader of this audiobook was wonderful.  All the voices were distinctive and really made the characters come to life.  I actually got teary-eyed and laughed out loud while listening to this one.  It is now on my favorite audiobooks list.

Of note: You can drive to Maine and back (and make loads of cool stops along the way) in the time it takes to finish a 15 disc audiobook.  

Germline by T.C. McCarthy

Germline by T.C. McCarthy

It is the future.  Wars are now fought underground in mines for precious metals.  The current front is in Kazakhstan.  Men in mechanized suits and genetically created warriors fight side by side on both the American and Russian sides.  We see the war through the eyes of the only reporter allowed (and crazy enough) to be there.  He brings a civilian perspective to the war, the people and the causes.

While I have to admit I didn’t like the audiobook at first it grew on me, just like Oscar, the main character did.  A self-destructive drug addict that is worthless as a reporter was a hard sell – I have a hard time reading books where I don’t like the main character.  But he grew on you.  This is the story of a boy (albeit chronologically already a man) becoming a man through the trials of war.  While definitely science fiction, it read like a historical or present day war story.  It wraps up neatly so I’m anxious to see where the sequel leads.

Leviathan by David L. Golemon

Leviathan by David L. Golemon

What if not only The Count of Monte Cristo but also 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were both based on generations of the same family?  This family controls the seas with a submarine that can travel at speeds and depths that no navy on earth can follow.  And they have a mission to take back the seas on behalf of the inhabitants of the oceans which humans are killing with their toxins and pollutants.  Yes, there is an environmental message here, but it is just a matter of fact one, not a preachy overtone that similar works have taken.

I really enjoy Golemon.  He’s got a great knack of combining science, pseudo-science, action and adventure to form a great story.  If you’re a fan of the X-Files and miss it terribly, you will enjoy Golemon’s Event Group series.