"Death Watch," Ari Berk, is a fantastic novel on death and what it means to live.
Lichport is a town where the dead outnumber the living. Amos Umber used to be the town's Undertaker, putting the spirits of the dead to rest and keeping the fragile peace between the world. Amos Umber went missing while working a year ago, though, and his disappearance has haunted his son, Silas. Moving into his uncle's house in Lichport, Silas stalks the old, abandoned streets looking for clues to his fathers appearance. But Silas is no child and the more time he spends looking for his lost father is less time he has to figure out the real problem in Lichport, the one that's got everyone on their toes; a lonely ghost locked in a house, an insane man looking for blood, and the ship wicked that's hovering just beyond the horizon.
You know what's going on forty pages after Silas steps over the threshold and into his uncle's house. Well, you know the basic premise of what's going to happen, but still. That's a hundred pages into a (I want to say) 500 page book? Eh. Could be better.
Also, Silas is a spoiled brat. All he thinks about is his 'girlfriend' and his father's disappearance. Okay, so, maybe he's not a spoiled brat. But he's pretty self-absorbed. He is a basically good person and he's selfless when he can see past his own problem. When Mr. Peale dies he's still wrapped up in his father and he has to do the final rites. Hello? Quit worrying. There's a time for everything. Eventually, though, I do believe that he learns his lesson. It's always nice to see a character grow after reading an absurdly long novel. In my mind, he was cutting an impressive figure by the end, but that might just be my perception and my obsession of good beating evil, good personalities over bad personalities.
I'm not saying that it's a bad book, though. It's one of those books that can carrying on no matter what mood the protagonist is in. There isn't a dreadful amount of dialogue; the descriptions of things outweigh the dialogue by far. The amount of description is like that of C.S. Lewis's, in literary nature, of course. I've heard some people describe the Narnia books as wordy, and if you can't handle those I don't believe that "Death Watch" is for you.
But, lo, the descriptions describe something wonderful. The ghostly worlds jump of the page. It's phenomenal. The town of Lichport is as real as any town on the map, sometimes more real. The closed in lanes of the Narrows; the playground; the cramped, chaotic, and serene sight of that graveyard that's on the hill that I've gone and forgotten the name of; and (one of my favorite parts) the tea house and the alehouse where the spirits go to forget that they ever lived. They all played like a little movie in my head, and I believe that I would recognize those places if I ever stumbled across them.
Also, I love books about death. I know that's extraordinarily morbid, but I do. Books that bring up theories about what happens to you after you die, books that speculate what the meaning of death is. This is a book that does both, with an added question: What is death if you've never really lived at all The question is sort of buried within the many pages, but I agree with it wholeheartedly, or, at least, as much as one can agree with a question. The book also brings up another interesting concept (yes, this one also has to do with death); the memory of the dead.
Not the memory of the spirits, but how people remember them. Silas's mother's grandfather decided not to die, so he's basically a 'zombie' or a corpse with a will. No, he does not try to eat anyone's brains, sorry for the disappointment. Mainly, he sleeps. But, all that aside, Silas's mother's grandfather is a good example of the books theme "Remember the dead," because Silas's mother is afraid of her grandfather. She doesn't want to remember him. In fact, she moves so she doesn't have to remember him anymore. This could be in part because he's a corpse, but it also could be a metaphor, and not just about death. A lot of people are afraid to remember things that are painful to them.
Also, in the spirit world, spirits try to remember things too. I think that those souls 'have lost something but have given up on looking for it' but I don't have the book in front of me so I can't check up on the correct wording. But these souls lost something in their life, and now, upon their death, they've given up looking, but they're still stuck. This could be another metaphor, but about people who are living.
So, really, the book isn't all about death. It's about the living and how death affects them. It has multiple levels, which makes for an enthralling read. All in all, Silas Umber's story isn't half bad, not half bad at all. Now, if only he can stay alive long enough to give us more of them.
Showing posts with label Criminals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Criminals. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2013
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Death Cloud
"Death Cloud" by Andrew Lane is a surprisingly good . . . wait for it . . . mystery.
Young Sherlock Holmes is taken out of his dreaded boarding school and forced to live with his even more dreaded aunt and uncle out in the countryside. What awaits him, he believes, is endless hours of boredom and loneliness, punctuated only with conversation from relatives he hardly knows. When he arrives, he finds what he expected, but with another layer: A mysterious black cloud has been dropping down on citizens from Farnham, and leaving them with great red swollen welts. Is this the beginning of another Bubonic Plague, or is it of a much greater design? Stretching his wit and his mind, Sherlock delves into the heart of the mystery, determined to find the source of the black cloud before it claims any more prey.
I am not qualified to talk about how Young Sherlock Holmes matches up against his older counterpart, but I have to say that I am surprised to how Andrew Lane takes the smallest detail and turns it into a major part of the plot. I mean, I could see the dead badger stunt coming a mile off, but I did enjoy the attention payed to detail. It really makes the story.
Actually, the attention to detail would have to make the story, because the plot was slightly ridiculous. The first half of the plot was intriguing: Why are these people getting killed by a black cloud? What on earth is the black cloud? Why did those people set that warehouse in fire? And then, of course, there is the whimsy of imaging Sherlock and Matty meander the English countryside riding bicycles and the whatnot. But then the plot takes a turn for the worse after Sherlock gets kidnapped for the first time. That's right, the first time. From there, it all descends into madness.
For the characters, well, Sherlock is the only one you know. It's third person narration, so you aren't really inside his head, but still, by the end of a, say, 250 page book you should think you would know a character reasonably well, right? Well enough to predict their actions. That's not the case for this book, in my opinion. I feel like I hardly know Sherlock by the end of his adventures, his past is so shrouded in mystery, even though this book was supposed to clear up some of the mystery left by the first author of the adult Holmes series. Even though Sherlock is a static character in this book--he overcomes no great personal revelations and has no life-changing epiphanies--you still don't feel like you understand what motivates him by the end of the book. He wants to figure out a mystery? Great! Now, please tell me why he would risk his life to do so, and do tell me 'generic kindness' 'cause we all know that altruism is not that strong of a motivator.
You can't really predict the actions of any of the characters. With a good book you'll be able to get into the characters brains' and say, "Well, this person cares for this person, so they would do this. But they don't care for that person that much, so they probably won't do that," or "This person values this, that, and the other, so, according to their values they are probably going to save this person." You get few reasons with this book--Crowe says some reasons why he does stuff, and sometimes Matty does, but Sherlock is all like "This is logical. This is what I'm going to do." Well, it may be logical, but it's not smart.
It may be my natural aversion to mysteries, but this book only comes up on my list as half decent. If the train of events made more sense in my mind, I would like it more. Simple as that. It is a good book, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't rank up there with my favorites, no way, no how. Maybe I'll read the sequel if and/or when it comes out, maybe I won't.
What I would like to say to young Mr. Holmes, though, when he decides that maybe carrying around this possibly poisonous yellow powder wasn't such a good after all is "no duh, Sherlock," because, in reality, maybe this whole venture wasn't such a good idea after all.
Young Sherlock Holmes is taken out of his dreaded boarding school and forced to live with his even more dreaded aunt and uncle out in the countryside. What awaits him, he believes, is endless hours of boredom and loneliness, punctuated only with conversation from relatives he hardly knows. When he arrives, he finds what he expected, but with another layer: A mysterious black cloud has been dropping down on citizens from Farnham, and leaving them with great red swollen welts. Is this the beginning of another Bubonic Plague, or is it of a much greater design? Stretching his wit and his mind, Sherlock delves into the heart of the mystery, determined to find the source of the black cloud before it claims any more prey.
I am not qualified to talk about how Young Sherlock Holmes matches up against his older counterpart, but I have to say that I am surprised to how Andrew Lane takes the smallest detail and turns it into a major part of the plot. I mean, I could see the dead badger stunt coming a mile off, but I did enjoy the attention payed to detail. It really makes the story.
Actually, the attention to detail would have to make the story, because the plot was slightly ridiculous. The first half of the plot was intriguing: Why are these people getting killed by a black cloud? What on earth is the black cloud? Why did those people set that warehouse in fire? And then, of course, there is the whimsy of imaging Sherlock and Matty meander the English countryside riding bicycles and the whatnot. But then the plot takes a turn for the worse after Sherlock gets kidnapped for the first time. That's right, the first time. From there, it all descends into madness.
For the characters, well, Sherlock is the only one you know. It's third person narration, so you aren't really inside his head, but still, by the end of a, say, 250 page book you should think you would know a character reasonably well, right? Well enough to predict their actions. That's not the case for this book, in my opinion. I feel like I hardly know Sherlock by the end of his adventures, his past is so shrouded in mystery, even though this book was supposed to clear up some of the mystery left by the first author of the adult Holmes series. Even though Sherlock is a static character in this book--he overcomes no great personal revelations and has no life-changing epiphanies--you still don't feel like you understand what motivates him by the end of the book. He wants to figure out a mystery? Great! Now, please tell me why he would risk his life to do so, and do tell me 'generic kindness' 'cause we all know that altruism is not that strong of a motivator.
You can't really predict the actions of any of the characters. With a good book you'll be able to get into the characters brains' and say, "Well, this person cares for this person, so they would do this. But they don't care for that person that much, so they probably won't do that," or "This person values this, that, and the other, so, according to their values they are probably going to save this person." You get few reasons with this book--Crowe says some reasons why he does stuff, and sometimes Matty does, but Sherlock is all like "This is logical. This is what I'm going to do." Well, it may be logical, but it's not smart.
It may be my natural aversion to mysteries, but this book only comes up on my list as half decent. If the train of events made more sense in my mind, I would like it more. Simple as that. It is a good book, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't rank up there with my favorites, no way, no how. Maybe I'll read the sequel if and/or when it comes out, maybe I won't.
What I would like to say to young Mr. Holmes, though, when he decides that maybe carrying around this possibly poisonous yellow powder wasn't such a good after all is "no duh, Sherlock," because, in reality, maybe this whole venture wasn't such a good idea after all.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Genius Squad
"Genius Squad" by Catherine Jinks is the sequel to "Evil Genius." Also by Catherine Jinks.
Cadel Piggot--or Darkkon, or English--is fifteen years old and living in a foster home. His involvement with the Axis Institute and his maybe father are not yet in the past, because Prosper English, alias Thaddus Roth, is not willing to say anything that would incriminate himself. And, because no one can figure out if Cadel is a citizen of the United States or of Australia, Cadel's been stuck in a foster home with a malicious boy and limited computer access. It's like death after all the privacy he wanted at the Piggots, and all the computer time he wanted at the Insitute. So no wonder he jumps at the chance to join the Genius Squad in hopes of shutting down Phineas Darkkon's scam business, GenoME, with his best and only friend, Sonja. But how far will Prosper English go to make sure that his heir is under his sole control? And has Cadel finally found a good home--or is the Genius Squad just a more attractive and innocent-looking Institute?
HA! Take that, public library system! I finally found it! I am convinced that the library had been keeping this book from me, even as I'd been searching for it. They just didn't want me to read it. But now I am reading it. So, there.
It was well worth the wait, and the two months of nearly fruitless searching (Yes, I have heard of requesting a book, but I'm just to lazy, okay?). Catherine Jinks provides a compelling squeal to her first story of a genius boy warped from age two. This story, though, has a slightly different taste to it.
In "Evil Genius" we all know that Cadel was just that: an evil genius. Duh. It's in the title of the book. He wrecked all sorts of havoc on Sydney, and went to a school for villains. He was not a good person. Plain and simple. But this story explores him trying to break away from his villainous urges. Of course he still has them, and it would be completely unbelievable if he didn't. This older Cadel has gained a consciousness and a strong sense of dislike for his previous life.
But he still does preform acts of revenge, and when he does they seem pettier. He does know that, but still. Dumping soiled bedsheets on someone's shoes? What does that accomplish? Maybe it symbolizes that he's leaving behind his past as a sophisticated villain, and becoming more of a kid . . . and maybe I'm just grasping at straws.
The computer lingo is just as intriguing. I was reading the part in the book where a virus gets disguised as a software protection pop-up last night, and then I clicked on a McAfee "scan your computer" dialogue box a minute or so ago. I clicked on it out of habit, and then I completely freaked out because someone might've been trying to get into my computer files to see if I had been communicating with any fraudulent companies. Yeah. It does make me think twice about putting anything out there on the Internet.
It's also quite interesting how the information the author gives you is just barely understandable. Like, what's a "honeytoken" in relation to computers? She doesn't give you enough information so you know what it is, exactly, but she gives you enough to make sure that you aren't drowning. As she gives it to you, too, it seems natural, not like you're stupid and she's lecturing you. It's more like you're privy to Cadel's thoughts and he just barely thinks around the actual definition. So you aren't crushed and dying underneath all the foreign terms in this book: You're on top of the moon because you feel like a genius yourself for understanding it all.
One half-complaint, though. There are so many characters. Sure, all their names are distinct and their personalities individual, but at first they leave my head spinning. There are at least ten new character additions in this book, additions to an already numerous cast. You get used to them all after a while, because they are constantly reused and brought back, but still. It's mind-boggling, but it also makes it feel a bit more real, because don't we all know a gazillion people? And, bonus, you feel proud of yourself just for remembering them all.
Oh, yeah, and this is the second book of a triology, I think. The third one is called "The Genius Wars." Sounds promising, no?
I would strongly recommend reading this story of a villain turned semi-do-gooder. Science fiction has never been so down-to-Earth (sorry, I had to), and the genre of fantastical crime has never seemed so feasible. Start putting up firewalls, CEOs of fraud companies, because the Genius Squad is coming for you.
The author has her website at www.catherinejinks.com. New books, old books, kid's books, and author's bio. You know. The usual.
Cadel Piggot--or Darkkon, or English--is fifteen years old and living in a foster home. His involvement with the Axis Institute and his maybe father are not yet in the past, because Prosper English, alias Thaddus Roth, is not willing to say anything that would incriminate himself. And, because no one can figure out if Cadel is a citizen of the United States or of Australia, Cadel's been stuck in a foster home with a malicious boy and limited computer access. It's like death after all the privacy he wanted at the Piggots, and all the computer time he wanted at the Insitute. So no wonder he jumps at the chance to join the Genius Squad in hopes of shutting down Phineas Darkkon's scam business, GenoME, with his best and only friend, Sonja. But how far will Prosper English go to make sure that his heir is under his sole control? And has Cadel finally found a good home--or is the Genius Squad just a more attractive and innocent-looking Institute?
HA! Take that, public library system! I finally found it! I am convinced that the library had been keeping this book from me, even as I'd been searching for it. They just didn't want me to read it. But now I am reading it. So, there.
It was well worth the wait, and the two months of nearly fruitless searching (Yes, I have heard of requesting a book, but I'm just to lazy, okay?). Catherine Jinks provides a compelling squeal to her first story of a genius boy warped from age two. This story, though, has a slightly different taste to it.
In "Evil Genius" we all know that Cadel was just that: an evil genius. Duh. It's in the title of the book. He wrecked all sorts of havoc on Sydney, and went to a school for villains. He was not a good person. Plain and simple. But this story explores him trying to break away from his villainous urges. Of course he still has them, and it would be completely unbelievable if he didn't. This older Cadel has gained a consciousness and a strong sense of dislike for his previous life.
But he still does preform acts of revenge, and when he does they seem pettier. He does know that, but still. Dumping soiled bedsheets on someone's shoes? What does that accomplish? Maybe it symbolizes that he's leaving behind his past as a sophisticated villain, and becoming more of a kid . . . and maybe I'm just grasping at straws.
The computer lingo is just as intriguing. I was reading the part in the book where a virus gets disguised as a software protection pop-up last night, and then I clicked on a McAfee "scan your computer" dialogue box a minute or so ago. I clicked on it out of habit, and then I completely freaked out because someone might've been trying to get into my computer files to see if I had been communicating with any fraudulent companies. Yeah. It does make me think twice about putting anything out there on the Internet.
It's also quite interesting how the information the author gives you is just barely understandable. Like, what's a "honeytoken" in relation to computers? She doesn't give you enough information so you know what it is, exactly, but she gives you enough to make sure that you aren't drowning. As she gives it to you, too, it seems natural, not like you're stupid and she's lecturing you. It's more like you're privy to Cadel's thoughts and he just barely thinks around the actual definition. So you aren't crushed and dying underneath all the foreign terms in this book: You're on top of the moon because you feel like a genius yourself for understanding it all.
One half-complaint, though. There are so many characters. Sure, all their names are distinct and their personalities individual, but at first they leave my head spinning. There are at least ten new character additions in this book, additions to an already numerous cast. You get used to them all after a while, because they are constantly reused and brought back, but still. It's mind-boggling, but it also makes it feel a bit more real, because don't we all know a gazillion people? And, bonus, you feel proud of yourself just for remembering them all.
Oh, yeah, and this is the second book of a triology, I think. The third one is called "The Genius Wars." Sounds promising, no?
I would strongly recommend reading this story of a villain turned semi-do-gooder. Science fiction has never been so down-to-Earth (sorry, I had to), and the genre of fantastical crime has never seemed so feasible. Start putting up firewalls, CEOs of fraud companies, because the Genius Squad is coming for you.
The author has her website at www.catherinejinks.com. New books, old books, kid's books, and author's bio. You know. The usual.
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