Let's Get Reading
Let’s Get Reading
Well guys, it was a long road, but It Runs in the Family is over, and it was fantastic. I can’t thank my wonderful cast and crew enough, although I tried to do so in a little piece that also included a lot of great photos, most of them courtesy of Joan Delatte. You can read it here: ”Thank You” to the Cast of It Runs in the Family.
But with the show over, it’s back to reality for me… and back to the stacks of books. I fell behind in my reading during the play, but now that I’m back I thought I’d share a few books I’ve read in the last few weeks with you guys. Each of these reviews you’re about to read were written first for the Book It 2006 project - which, for you LiveJournalers, is some of the most fun you can have as a reader.
Unlocking the Meaning of Lost
I’ll be the first to admit it, I don't read a lot of nonfiction. And what nonfiction I DO read, typically, is discussion and analysis of my favorite fiction. Such is the case here, as Lynnette Porter and David Lavery delve into the mysteries of one of the top shows on televison, Lost.
Porter and Lavery have constructed a very thoughtful and (more importantly) thought-provoking analysis of the show, the story of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, which crashed on a mysterious island where nothing is as it seems. The book discusses each of the main characters, outlines connections between them, dissects many of the "ancestor texts" -- TV shows, movies and books that are perceived to have influenced Lost and which may contain clues to unlock the show's mysteries -- presents a great many of the theories behind the show's mysteries and even talks about the innovative production and promotion of the show, which has used the internet to create a community of fans that interact with the creators in a way that no television show has done before.
Interestingly, for a book concerned with "unlocking the meanings," this book is very short on speculation. The authors content themselves with discussing the facts of the show as known and the ideas put forth and supported by the fan communities, but they don't put forth or endorse any theories or ideas of their own. It's a surprisingly journalistic approach to the subject matter, one that took me quite by surprise. The book covers the entire first season of the show and a bit more than half of the second season, presumably all of the series that had been aired at the time the book went to press.
Overall, this really is a well-written, well-researched book that serves best as a recap for longtime fans as a way to refocus their thinking and go over what we've uncovered so far.
Odd Thomas
I'm back-and-forth on Dean Koontz most of the time. When he's on, he can craft a great novel, but when he's not he sticks to the same formulas time and again. This book, to his credit, avoids those formulas and gives us a story which, while not blisteringly original, is at least off the path he usually treads.
Odd Thomas is a young man with a strange gift -- the ability to see the "lingering dead," ghosts who often recruit him to help fix some unresolved trauma from their life. Odd has other gifts as well -- rare precognitive dreams, a sort of "psychic magnetism" which brings him to anyone he seeks and the ability to see dark spirits he calls Bodachs that swarm upon scenes of violence. In this book, Odd goes forth to track down a man the Bodachs have taken a particular interest in, a man with a penchant for scenes of horror and their perpetrators.
The way this story is crafted is a bit offputting -- Odd's first-person narration is often handled in short, choppy paragraphs that feel as though they were written by a teenager that hasn't quite learned how to smooth out a transition yet. He frequently refers to previous adventures as well, and does it so frequently that it felt like I was reading a book several installments into a series (in fact, it is the first -- a sequel is already available). The twist ending was choreographed quite early as well. Still, the characters are propelled by their sheer bizarre nature and the plot is fed by the same into a book that's ultimately entertaining, if not enthralling.
A Dirty Job
This is the third Christopher Moore book I've read, and I think that's enough to say that this newest novel is rather different from Moore's usual work. While he frequently incorporates horror and fantasy elements into his novels, blending them with the comedy, this work is a bit more serious than I've come to expect from him. Oh, it's still a funny book, but it's a much darker brand of comedy and there are longer serious stretches. Of course, when the subject and star of your book is Death, what do you expect?
Charlie Asher, Beta Male extraordinaire, has the perfect life -- a beautiful wife, a reasonably successful secondhand retail business and a lovely infant daughter... but when his wife dies from complications in the childbirth, his world is shattered. To make matters worse, a stranger dressed in all green was at her side when she died, and now ordinary objects around his shop are beginning to glow a deep red. Charlie doesn't know it, but he has been chosen as the newest agent of Death. Just as he starts to learn the rules, though, he further learns that not all of them may apply anymore, especially not to him. The Forces of Darkness are amassing, and in the end, it may be up to Charlie, his precocious daughter, her friendly hellhounds, and a loony assortment of friends, employees and fellow Death Merchants to save the world.
Moore's usual wit shows through here -- his sharp dialogue, his truly bizarre characters and his strangely endearing themes that come through all the monsters, gore and slapstick. That this is a darker book than he usually produces is to be expected, given the subject matter, and it isn't a negative at all. This is a really strong, really entertaining work, and fans of Moore's other books will most certainly not be disappointed.
Blake’s Universal Rules of the Universe!
Rule #170: There are at least four distinct types of brain damage only demonstrable in the typical North American High School Student.
New This Week:
Today’s new additions to the Evertime Realms archives, friends, are my ”Thank You” to the Cast of It Runs in the Family; the final chapter of Deconstructing Infinite Crisis (number 7); the special features Summer Movies Part One and Come On Down - Get Your Free Comics!; my “Everything But Imaginary” columns Empty the Wallet and Open the Long Box, Living By the Sword and Free Comic Book Day 5: Help Make it Happen; my “Think About It” columns Running Away With the Show, What’s Wrong With These Kids Today? and Things I Don’t Understand; my review of the graphic novel Serenity: Those Left Behind; and the following reviews at Comixtreme.com: Archenemies #1 (Very Good), The American Way #3 (Great), Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #204 (Good), Catwoman #54 (Very Good), Ion #1 (Good), Lucifer #73 (Good), Skye Runner #1 (Average), Solo #10 (Average), Warlord #3 (Average), The Thing #6 (Great), Uncle Scrooge #353 (Very Good), Tron #1 (Good), Infinite Crisis #7 (Great), Archenemies #2 (Good), Exiles #80 (Very Good), City of Heroes #13 (Good)! Enjoy.