The Golem and the Jinni : REVIEW

Honestly folks, I tried.  I tried to find something about this book not to like.  I didn’t do that to be a negative prig, but because I found myself simply liking this book too much.  From the beautiful prose, to the captivating story and adventures, this book absolutely blew me away.  I adored every minute of it.  I will read it again.  I will get my kids to read it.  My friends will come to resent me because of my constant badgering of them to read this damn book!

I found it remarkable, that while reading a book of this size, I never became bored.  I never longed for a paragraph or chapter would come to its tiresome conclusion.  This is a credit to the writing style of Helene Wecker.  She is simply wonderful.  The story she tells is simply wonderful.  A perfect blend of fantasy, involving a golem and a jinni, and real life issues told in a setting of New York City during the turn of the 20^th century.  The story tells of love, religious doubt, diversity, morality, and struggles of life.

I am not sure if Helene Wecker reaped any literary accolades for her work on The Golem and Jinni, but I can honestly say that if she continues to write like this, she certainly will soon enough. 

Night of the Furies: REVIEW

New Pulp Fiction may have another rock star on their hands in J.M. Taylor. Night of the Furies is a bloody encounter with Boston wise guys involving deception and most of all, revenge. Lots of freaking revenge!

Here is the publisher’s synopsis: “In the late 1930s, Rico DiGiacomo ruled all of East Boston until he was brutally murdered by his own lieutenant, Bricks Mancini. That night, Rico’s son Giorgio overheard the details as they were reported to the one who ordered it: Rico’s wife. Giorgio vowed to avenge his father, no matter how long it took.
Now, thirty years later, Giorgio has finally fulfilled that promise. As Mancini’s bodyguards pursue him into biker bars and sleazy motels like a pack of vengeful demons, Giorgio recalls a life of humiliation at his mother’s hands and the wisdom his father passed on to him. What he doesn’t know is that Fate has still more in store for him, and one night can be very long indeed.”

I enjoyed this latest release from a publisher who is adding exciting new original crime noir titles to the genre. Taylor does an excellent job of putting a story together that makes you want the protagonist to succeed, but you are okay if he gets whacked too. Literally, I wanted to punch myself in the face at times for cheering on Giorgio. Essentially, the guy’s a dick, but through the backstory you start to understand why.

Also, I think many of you will notice the Clytemestra Greek mythology theme going on in the story as well, where Giorgio, hell bent on avenging his father’s death, will do what it takes for that to become a reality. Many will die in the process as the book reaches its thrilling finale.

In conclusion, this title is a very good addition to the crime noir genre and a great first book for J.M. Taylor. I recommend you give it a shot, no pun intended, and see what you think!

Cormac McCarthy’s Ex-Wife Arrested After Pulling Gun Out of Vagina During Argument About Aliens

Better than fiction!??

http://litreactor.com/news/cormac-mccarthys-ex-wife-arrested-after-pulling-gun-out-of-vagina-during-argument-about-aliens

Neat Picture

For all of you sci-fi junkies out there, I thought this was a pretty neat picture.  Enjoy!

The Last of the Smoking Bartenders : REVIEW

This book is not your run of the mill, boring, and unoriginal processed rubbish like I find with many crime novels these days.  The Last of the Smoking Bartenders is a high speed joyride laced with beautifully vivid prose.  When author C.J. Howell describes the Arizona desert you feel transported right to the scene.  I am talking to the point of smelling the wretched stench permeating from Tom’s sparsely washed clothing.

Howell wonderfully weaves a story of a drifter who believes he is an undercover agent tasked with thwarting a terrorist plot to blow up the Hoover Dam.  The cast of characters in the book are absolute train-wrecks of colossal proportions.  But, I do love watching, or in this case reading, a good train-wreck!  I remained glued to this book and was reminded of the Cormac McCarthy in terms of the vivid descriptions of the southwest.  Howell took the time to draw me in to each and every facet of the story, but not to the point of overkill.

C.J. Howell unequivocally hit a home run with this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys an original story wrapped in eloquent writing.  I look forward to future endeavors from this author, and have even put other publications from New Pulp Press on my radar.

ADDED:  Yep, I had a feeling I would soon become infatuated with New Pulp Press.  If you are interested in checking out other titles in their catalog, here is a link to their site: http://www.newpulppress.com/

MaddAddam : REVIEW

Let me start by saying Margaret Atwood could turn a cookbook in to fine literature. The woman writes her ass off. Her character development is second to none and she is an amazing wordsmith.

So, what I decided to do before reading MaddAddam, was go back and re-read the first 2 books in the trilogy. I absolutely loved Oryx and Crake. I adored Year of the Flood. I found MaddAddam to be okay. Yep, just okay. Perhaps it was the Toby drama. She was Rambo in the first two books, but annoying and whiny in the third. Also, I was not satisfied with the ending. It lacked a big punch. Perhaps I needed a plot twist. Whatever it was I needed I didn’t get. For that reason I will say it’s the worst of the three. I gave the other two books 4 stars, so for this one I will drop it down to three.

Zeru : REVIEW

Not knowing what to expect with this story, I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, there is a large part of me that is greatly disturbed knowing this story very much could have been true. Vargas is a good story teller, but the flow of the story lost me on occasion. That could have been a product of my ADHD or just some flaws in the pacing. With that being said, I would recommend this book and rated it as such. I have read where Vargas could possibly continue the adventures or misadventures with the protagonist, Zeru, and I would be more than willing to dive back in to new stories.

The Savage Dead: REVIEW

Zombies on a cruise ship? Sign me up! Not for the cruise that is but definitely for the read. The Savage Dead was my first encounter with a Joe McKinney book and one that I can honestly say was a very pleasing experience. This book is absolutely riddled with non-stop page turning goodness. McKinney does an exceptional job of keeping the reader hooked on the story making it particularly difficult to put down. I was also very impressed with the author’s knowledge of police tactical procedures. McKinney’s ability to convey this knowledge brings a level of believability to the story that transfixes the imagination. Truly, you will get lost in this story, which is exactly what I hope for in every book that I read. And again, zombies on a cruise ship—hell yes! I am very much looking forward to reading more of McKinney’s work.

Wine of the Week : Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz

A visit to my local Total Wine store yielded me this fantastic, and reasonably priced (16.99) wine.  I have always been a fan of a good Shiraz, and here lately have been on a mission to find the perfect bottle.  Jip Jip Rocks is certainly a good start!  I enjoyed this thoroughly, and found the smell to be very interesting.  Almost a smoked type of smell that was quite wonderful.  The taste could be best described as a fierce array of fruity flavors with a hint of smoked pepper.  This is one that will keep me coming back for more!  Yummy 🙂

The Atlantis Gene : REVIEW

More please, and thank you! What a first novel by A.G. Riddle. This book wholly captured my imagination and engaged my senses like a great story should. Will The Atlantis Gene be known for its elegant prose? Probably not. However, it is the writing and pacing of the story that draws you in to the story. Well, that and breathtaking action sequences, alien technology, Nazi’s, twists, turns, love, portals, etc. Let’s just say my Kindle Paperwhite got one hell of a workout. I found it difficult to put the story down, wondering all the while, what was around the next corner.

It is reasonably difficult to place this book in to a particular genre, but I would best describe it as a Sci-Fi with a touch of suspense, and a pinch of mystery. I believe Amazon labeled it a Sci-Fi Soap Opera. That makes me think, Alien meets Days of our Lives, but I digress. My only criticism would be the amount of characters used in the story. At times I found myself saying, “who…wait, what?” However, this was not enough to deter me from me from the pure delight of the read. The science came across as very believable, and the character development, while lacking some needed depth, was enough to prod the story along to keep the pages turning.

In researching more about Mr. Riddle, I found it to be very impressive that he self published this book, and has done all the promotional work himself. Well done, sir. I am looking forward to reading book number two in this series, and picking up any future thrillers that Riddle pens.