2011 Books 54-56
Two fairly recent reads, both written by author Neil Ostroff, and an audiobook "read:"
Book 54: AFTER by Neil Ostroff, AISN B0050Q8D8U, 236 pages, Smashwords/Kindle, $1.25
The Premise: (from Goodreads) On the day we’re born we’re destined to die. But what lies after? For fifteen-year-old Nick Murray, death is only the beginning. His entire human life has been an illusion in preparation for the epic role his soul will play in the destiny of the universe.
Nick always believed he was an ordinary kid until an unusual cardiac arrest strikes him down. Leaving behind his mother and girlfriend, his soul enters the hereafter and finds it is nothing like the fire and brimstone he’d always imagined. Incoming entities are distributed to levels according to the good vs. evil they had done in their lives. There’s only one problem, Nick never had any real human experiences. Fostered to be a celestial super hero, he must prevent the devil from damning for eternity all who ever lived.
Swept up by dark adventure, Nick learns the devil has caused global war in the mortal world. The devil intends to collect billions of souls and then turn them into a massive zombie army to take over creation. Spirits intent on stopping the apocalypse insert Nick’s soul into the human body of a prominent, young army commander who lives in the future. Thrust into the center of a historic battle, he takes on almost
limitless enemy forces using skills learned from this other person’s life; only to die a second time and come face to face with the ultimate adversary.
My Rating: 4 stars
My Thoughts: Poor Nick Murray, the main character of AFTER, never really gets a chance to get his feet under him. The plot moves along at such a clip that Nick never really gets a chance to breathe and neither does the reader. I guess that's to be expected in a book that starts with the main character dying, after all. Author Ostroff creates a view of the afterlife that is a mix of cultural views: part Judeo-Christian tradition, part Dante's Inferno, and part what can only be described as "video game levels." The mix somehow works for this book. The book is aimed at the YA market, and I think Ostroff "gets" the field pretty well. I'd recommend it to the teenagers I know.
Book 55: PULP by N.D. Ostroff, isbn 9781462001750, 144 pages, iUniverse, $11.07
The Premise: (from Amazon): Struggling thriller writer Kevin Turner just received a panicked call from his ex-girlfriend Tina, a self-proclaimed clairvoyant prostitute. One of her clients, the mayor's married son, died in her bed and she needs Kevin's help to dispose of the body. As if Kevin doesn't have enough problems. His current girlfriend is the spouse of the gay woman who signs his meager paycheck, his sixth credit card has hit its limit, he received word that his eight-month wait for his second advance check was being withheld by Gotham Publishing until he made the absurd changes in his manuscript that they wanted, and he just discovered his recently deceased father, who Tina claims she's in contact with, owes ten grand from an internet gambling debt, which Kevin would now have to figure a way to pay. When Kevin discovers Tina's psychotic brother has chopped up the body, and the police are finding the pieces spread across the suburbs, it sets off a chain of events more bizarre and horrifying than the plot of one of Kevin's own novels.
My Rating: 3 stars
My Thoughts: PULP's plot description promises a lot: a noirish thriller featuring a clairvoyant hooker, a dead man with political connections, an in-over-his-head main character, a psycho with a penchant for chopping up dead bodies and leaving no witnesses. And while the book mostly delivers on these promises, it never quite gels for me as a cohesive whole, perhaps because it's only 144 pages long. Another 50 pages might have allowed for some of this to be developed just a touch more. Main character Kevin Turner seems to take everything a bit too much in stride for someone whose life is spiraling out of control. He chooses odd moments to assert himself and odder moments to back down. And the concluding twist feels like it comes a bit out of nowhere.
So what did I actually like about the book? Ostroff's language, which nails the noir feel, and his pacing, which pushes Kevin Turner and the rest of the characters along at a breathless pace. And that final twist, while it seems to come a bit out of nowhere, is really rather brilliant and fits with the personalities of the characters involved -- which just supports my theory that another 50 pages would have allowed Ostroff to lay the groundwork for that twist a little bit stronger.
Book 56: STAR TREK by Alan Dean Foster, isbn 9781439158869, 274 pages, Simon & Schuster, $14.99
The Premise: (from Goodreads): The origins of James Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise from the 2009 film "Star Trek" and how these iconic characters came together in the alternate reality caused by Nero's time travel. This book is the novelization of the 2009 film of the same name.
My Rating: 2 stars
My Thoughts: I'll start out by saying this: Zachary Quinto does a really nice job narrating the audiobook. His Scottish and Russian accents are a bit rough at times, but overall he makes the narration smooth to listen to and of course completely nails all of the scenes that are from Spock's POV.
My problem with the book is that, as a novelization, there is only so far even a great writer like Alan Dean Foster can go with the material. Unlike an original tie-in novel, as a novelization he has to stick to the script handed to him for the most part. There are moments when he really shines (for instance, the scenes between a young-teen Kirk and his older brother, leading up to the Iowa car-chase scene of the movie), but there are moments when he's really hampered (for instance, most of what passes on the ice-planet between Kirk and Original Spock). Overall, the story is enjoyable, but its not one of Foster's best works. You're better off seeing the movie.
Book 54: AFTER by Neil Ostroff, AISN B0050Q8D8U, 236 pages, Smashwords/Kindle, $1.25
The Premise: (from Goodreads) On the day we’re born we’re destined to die. But what lies after? For fifteen-year-old Nick Murray, death is only the beginning. His entire human life has been an illusion in preparation for the epic role his soul will play in the destiny of the universe.
Nick always believed he was an ordinary kid until an unusual cardiac arrest strikes him down. Leaving behind his mother and girlfriend, his soul enters the hereafter and finds it is nothing like the fire and brimstone he’d always imagined. Incoming entities are distributed to levels according to the good vs. evil they had done in their lives. There’s only one problem, Nick never had any real human experiences. Fostered to be a celestial super hero, he must prevent the devil from damning for eternity all who ever lived.
Swept up by dark adventure, Nick learns the devil has caused global war in the mortal world. The devil intends to collect billions of souls and then turn them into a massive zombie army to take over creation. Spirits intent on stopping the apocalypse insert Nick’s soul into the human body of a prominent, young army commander who lives in the future. Thrust into the center of a historic battle, he takes on almost
limitless enemy forces using skills learned from this other person’s life; only to die a second time and come face to face with the ultimate adversary.
My Rating: 4 stars
My Thoughts: Poor Nick Murray, the main character of AFTER, never really gets a chance to get his feet under him. The plot moves along at such a clip that Nick never really gets a chance to breathe and neither does the reader. I guess that's to be expected in a book that starts with the main character dying, after all. Author Ostroff creates a view of the afterlife that is a mix of cultural views: part Judeo-Christian tradition, part Dante's Inferno, and part what can only be described as "video game levels." The mix somehow works for this book. The book is aimed at the YA market, and I think Ostroff "gets" the field pretty well. I'd recommend it to the teenagers I know.
Book 55: PULP by N.D. Ostroff, isbn 9781462001750, 144 pages, iUniverse, $11.07
The Premise: (from Amazon): Struggling thriller writer Kevin Turner just received a panicked call from his ex-girlfriend Tina, a self-proclaimed clairvoyant prostitute. One of her clients, the mayor's married son, died in her bed and she needs Kevin's help to dispose of the body. As if Kevin doesn't have enough problems. His current girlfriend is the spouse of the gay woman who signs his meager paycheck, his sixth credit card has hit its limit, he received word that his eight-month wait for his second advance check was being withheld by Gotham Publishing until he made the absurd changes in his manuscript that they wanted, and he just discovered his recently deceased father, who Tina claims she's in contact with, owes ten grand from an internet gambling debt, which Kevin would now have to figure a way to pay. When Kevin discovers Tina's psychotic brother has chopped up the body, and the police are finding the pieces spread across the suburbs, it sets off a chain of events more bizarre and horrifying than the plot of one of Kevin's own novels.
My Rating: 3 stars
My Thoughts: PULP's plot description promises a lot: a noirish thriller featuring a clairvoyant hooker, a dead man with political connections, an in-over-his-head main character, a psycho with a penchant for chopping up dead bodies and leaving no witnesses. And while the book mostly delivers on these promises, it never quite gels for me as a cohesive whole, perhaps because it's only 144 pages long. Another 50 pages might have allowed for some of this to be developed just a touch more. Main character Kevin Turner seems to take everything a bit too much in stride for someone whose life is spiraling out of control. He chooses odd moments to assert himself and odder moments to back down. And the concluding twist feels like it comes a bit out of nowhere.
So what did I actually like about the book? Ostroff's language, which nails the noir feel, and his pacing, which pushes Kevin Turner and the rest of the characters along at a breathless pace. And that final twist, while it seems to come a bit out of nowhere, is really rather brilliant and fits with the personalities of the characters involved -- which just supports my theory that another 50 pages would have allowed Ostroff to lay the groundwork for that twist a little bit stronger.
Book 56: STAR TREK by Alan Dean Foster, isbn 9781439158869, 274 pages, Simon & Schuster, $14.99
The Premise: (from Goodreads): The origins of James Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise from the 2009 film "Star Trek" and how these iconic characters came together in the alternate reality caused by Nero's time travel. This book is the novelization of the 2009 film of the same name.
My Rating: 2 stars
My Thoughts: I'll start out by saying this: Zachary Quinto does a really nice job narrating the audiobook. His Scottish and Russian accents are a bit rough at times, but overall he makes the narration smooth to listen to and of course completely nails all of the scenes that are from Spock's POV.
My problem with the book is that, as a novelization, there is only so far even a great writer like Alan Dean Foster can go with the material. Unlike an original tie-in novel, as a novelization he has to stick to the script handed to him for the most part. There are moments when he really shines (for instance, the scenes between a young-teen Kirk and his older brother, leading up to the Iowa car-chase scene of the movie), but there are moments when he's really hampered (for instance, most of what passes on the ice-planet between Kirk and Original Spock). Overall, the story is enjoyable, but its not one of Foster's best works. You're better off seeing the movie.