Tag Archives: book reviews

The Patron Saint of Eels by Gregory Day

Posted by melydia on December 30, 2011 None comments

The Patron Saint of Eels by Gregory Day: Noel is woken one night to the sound of hundreds of eels sloshing about in the roadside ditches, having been washed out of the river by a recent string of heavy rains. It’s the most exciting thing to have happened in this tiny Australian town for ages, but even more remarkable is the stranger who appears the following night, chanting and ringing his bell for the eels. Noel and his friend Nanette spend the next day talking with the stranger. While it’s clear this is supposed to be a fable, the lessons are vague. My best guess is “stop complaining and do something about your problems” but then at other times it seems to be “relax and go with the flow”. So I dunno. Not a whole lot happens in this book – in fact, basically nothing happens – but I enjoyed the descriptions of the Australian bush. I wouldn’t mind living in a fire tower overlooking such lands. All the same, it’s a quick read, so if you’re looking for something different from your normal fare, this might just fit the bill.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Posted by melydia on December 27, 2011 1 comments

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (unabridged audiobook read by Philip Franklin; 9 hrs 10 min on 8 discs): In the mid 1990s, Krakauer was sent as a journalist to join an guided expedition to the top of Mount Everest. Things go massively wrong and twelve people lose their lives. This is, as perhaps should be expected, an extremely difficult book to get through. The history and mechanics of climbing Everest and mountaineering in general are fascinating, but this is clearly the tale of one man’s struggle with grief and loss – a tragedy that is, to me, completely senseless. There’s no necessity to summit Everest. I get why people do it, but there’s nothing noble in dying to do so. I’m not usually interested in sad stories, but the personality of Krakauer’s writing kept me going. The details are shared with such frankness and intimacy that I felt like I was there. Would I recommend this book? Sure, as long as you understand what you’re getting yourself into: there’s no redemption, no happy ending. As such, it should be required reading for anyone planning to scale a major peak, even with a guide. It is not something to be undertaken lightly. Neither, for that matter, is this book, though in a completely different sense.

A note on the audio: Since this was a nonfiction book and thus relatively little dialogue, Franklin had no need for distinct voices. However, his subtle (and, to my ears, accurate) accents for the folks from New Zealand, Britain, and Texas, and elsewhere really accentuated the experience.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Highlander: The Captive Soul by Josepha Sherman

Posted by melydia on December 23, 2011 None comments

Highlander: The Captive Soul by Josepha Sherman: I watched Highlander back when it was on and naturally my favorite character was Methos, the oldest living Immortal. He’s certainly the most interesting. Though the outer story is of MacLeod and Methos searching for a serial-killer Immortal who happens to be an old enemy of Methos, the majority of the book takes place in ancient Egypt during the reign of the Hyksos. So basically we have one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite historical time periods. Yes, please! Methos’s sarcastic inner monologue is often hilarious, and his general demeanor is very true to the series. It really was a pretty great show. Makes me want to get my hands on the DVDs again.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Horns by Joe Hill

Posted by melydia on December 20, 2011 None comments

Horns by Joe Hill (unabridged audiobook read by Fred Berman; 13 hrs 45 min on 12 discs): Ig wakes up one morning, hungover and with no memory of the previous night’s activities, to find he has grown horns on his head. Even more disturbing, everyone he meets starts confessing their most horrible deeds and desires to him. He remains the only suspect in the rape and murder of his girlfriend, Merrin, a year prior, so many of these confessions include people’s belief in his guilt. Ig’s brother Terry is a famous trumpet player with a late-night variety show; his best friend Lee is a bit of a weirdo who works for a local politician; his new sort-of-girlfriend Glenna is a good-hearted girl who is pitifully desperate for love. The story of Ig’s search for Merrin’s real killer is interlaced with flashbacks of high school events when his relationships with her and Lee began. Though there are some undeniably horrifying moments and this book is certainly not for the squeamish, nothing ever felt gratuitous. I felt a surprising affection for Ig and Terry; there were parts during the last few chapters when I was smiling through tears. Definitely recommended.

A note on the audio: Berman’s character voices were subtle but distinct. I could recognize Ig and Lee and Merrin and Glenna even before they were named as speakers. There were a few screams that Berman reproduced with gusto – a bit disconcerting to hear while driving – and overall the whole narrative was well done.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Lodestone Book Three: The Crucible of Dawn by Mark Whiteway

Posted by melydia on December 16, 2011 None comments

Lodestone Book Three: The Crucible of Dawn by Mark Whiteway: It’s difficult to review this book without leaving it full of spoilers for the first two, but I’ll give it a try. Our heroes continue in their efforts to stop The Prophet, with help from some unlikely allies. The action was well paced and exciting; the plot moved along at a good clip; and uses of the magnet-like lodestone technology continued to be inventive and consistent. I was unconvinced by Lyall’s sudden obsession with his missing sister, a fact that had barely been mentioned since he was first introduced, but I was able to more or less just go with it. Whiteway’s depiction of relationships is interestingly lopsided: the platonic interactions are complex and realistic, especially those between Keris and Boxx, Keris and Shann, and Shann and Alondo. The romantic relationships, on the other hand, leave a bit to be desired. Oliah’s introduction was too swift and I never felt Alondo’s connection with her; Rael is a whiny little doormat who doesn’t deserve Shann’s affections. (She needs someone with at least as strong a personality as herself.) All the same, I enjoyed this installment of the Lodestone series easily as much as the other two, and with the ending clearly leading into another sequel, I am looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

River Rat: The Storm Treasure by Joseph Fleck

Posted by melydia on December 13, 2011 None comments

River Rat: The Storm Treasure by Joseph Fleck: After a major thunderstorm, Joey goes for a ride down the Narragansett River on his homemade raft looking for treasures. This brief story is the sort you’d listen to your grandfather tell: somewhat interesting but without much in the way of drama or conflict. I also imagine it would be far more engaging if I knew the people involved. But at less than 100 large-print, illustration-rich pages, there’s no time to get bored.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Grover G. Graham and Me by Mary Quattlebaum

Posted by melydia on December 9, 2011 None comments

Grover G. Graham and Me by Mary Quattlebaum: Ben Watson is just arriving at his eighth foster home, which is his first experience with foster siblings. He unexpectedly bonds with one-year-old Grover G. Graham, to the point where he resents Grover’s teen mother. This is more or less a slice-of-life story. It was pretty predictable, following the traditional plot arc, and honestly I probably wouldn’t have even finished it were it not so short. However, Quattlebaum’s books for younger readers are mostly awesome, particularly Pirate vs. Pirate. So check that out instead.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick

Posted by melydia on December 6, 2011 None comments

The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick: I spent most of this book having absolutely no idea what was going on, but in kind of a good way. Boy lives in an unspecified city in Victorian Europe as the servant/companion of grumpy magician Valerian. When the owner of the theater where Valerian performs turns up dead, Boy and Willow (the servant of a singer at that same theater) are the prime suspects. In addition, Valerian is scrambling to find a certain book within the next few days or else face certain doom. I loved the strange semi-magical qualities of this realm, and I was glad that the last page labeled it as Book One because there are all kinds of loose ends left dangling. I would read the next book in the series were I to happen upon it, but I won’t be actively seeking it out. Interesting universe, just not one I’m dying to get back to.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Posted by melydia on December 2, 2011 None comments

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen: Hannah opens the apartment door to symbolically let in Elijah during a particularly boring Passover celebration with her family and suddenly finds herself in 1940s Poland just as all the Jews in the village are being rounded up to be taken to a concentration camp. I’ve read about the Holocaust on a number of occasions, but every new account reveals new horrors. Though this particular story is fiction, a lot of the details were straight from survivors. For a young adult novel, this is a pretty detailed description of life in the camps without being excessively graphic, and as expected, it’s something that will stay with me for a very long time.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Trackers by Deon Meyer

Posted by melydia on November 29, 2011 None comments

Trackers by Deon Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Simon Vance, translated by K.L. Seegers; 16 hours on 14 CDs): Recently divorced housewife Milla gets a job writing reports for the South African government. She doesn’t know what she’s writing for; she’s given a subject to research and some additional intelligence and compiles it into a coherent story. When she meets one of the subjects of her reports and falls in love, things get really complicated. Lemmer is a paroled bodyguard who is asked to watch over the transport of a couple of endangered black rhinos. Mat is an ex-police private detective searching for a woman’s husband who suddenly went missing several months before. Yenina is a high-ranking government official attempting to intercept a mysterious shipment planned by some religious extremists. What do these all have to do with each other? Honestly, even after finishing the book, I’m not entirely certain. Milla’s story had me cheering her on despite the somewhat morally ambiguous circumstances surrounding her. Lemmer was amusing but his story felt unfinished; however, I understand this was not the first Lemmer book and probably not the last, so I can live with that. I was pretty lost for the entire detective story, and the epilogue really didn’t illuminate much for me. I was fascinated to learn more about South African history and culture, and as I said, Milla’s story was very good. It just felt more like separate stories set in the same universe rather than one coherent novel. Perhaps something was lost in translation.

A note on the audio: I’ve enjoyed Vance’s narration of several other books, and this was no exception. However, it did cause me to discover something: you know how in the Matrix movies, Agent Smith (played by Hugo Weaving) talks kind of … strangely? Turns out that’s Weaving’s attempt at an American accent. I only know this because Vance is British as the day is long, and all his American characters talk like Agent Smith. It’s rather unintentionally hilarious, but luckily did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. I guess not all British people can be Hugh Laurie. :)

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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