eilonwyhan

Accused murderer/rapist wakes up after a bender with horns sprouting from his head.  Sign of guilt, or a means to find the truth?

Ig Perrish has spent most of his young life loving the girl of his dreams, Merrin.  The agony of losing her in such a horrific and dramatic murder is only compounded by the fact that most people in his small town think Ig did it.  One year after Merrin's brutal murder, Ig wakes up with the worst hangover on record.  The pain in his head is intense, and when he looks in the mirror, he sees why: horns are growing out of his temples.

With the horns come some pretty interesting powers: when he touches people, he can see the worst things they have ever done.  When people speak to him, they disclose their worst urges without shame or guilt.  When Ig speaks to them, he can push them into committing those acts.  A lot of carnage could be done with these powers.

Yet Ig realizes he might be able to use them to his advantage.  Over the course of two days, Ig puts himself on the path to remembering the events from a year ago, and finding all the players involved on the night of Merrin's death.  

I found it so interesting that even "The Devil" could make a sacrifice in the name of what is right.  All who were affected by Merrin's death ultimately find peace through Ig's actions.  The memories of Merrin are no longer tainted by her ugly death.  I also had to chuckle at Joe Hill's homage to my favorite book, The Exorcist by naming the Williams sisters Regan and Merrin.  

Joe Hill is an excellent writer, and I was so happy that he was able to bring together seemingly random ideas and tie things up.  It is refreshing these days to read something that doesn't have an ambiguous ending.  It may not be the ending you expect, but it is still satisfying.  Kudos, Joe Hill!  I will be reading more!

An encyclopedia of all the women who worked as cast or crew for Hammer studios. Entries include filmographies (film and television, Hammer and genre films from other studios) and biographical information that ranges from non-existent to full-page. A filmography of Hammer films and an index are included.

I have an appreciation for Hammer films, and I am very glad that they have returned to filmmaking. I enjoyed reading about all the women who have contributed to this studio's works, and I am glad to have a list of films to watch.

However: I had to downgrade my rating because of a couple issues I saw. One was the tone of the biographies. The shorter ones were knowledgeable and to the point. Longer entries, which were reserved for the big-name studio darlings like Ingrid Pitt, went past fan-boy gushing into descriptions of how these women's "endowments" were only part of their charm or success. I realize that sex appeal was a big seller for Hammer, but the tone shifted drastically from professional assessment to slavering maniac.

Also, because I found some errors or omissions in the filmographies of the actresses I know, I wondered about the accuracy of the information in the rest of the book. One reviewer on LibraryThing pointed out the errors in Sian Phillips' entry. Victoria Vetri's entry misidentified her character from Rosemary's Baby in the text of her biography. Genre-but-not-Hammer films were left out of Hilary Swank's (The Reaping and The Gift) and Judy Parfitt's (Dolores Claiborne) entries, easily checked on IMDb.

Overall, I am glad to have this resource because it has given me a new appreciation for the women who made Hammer Films such an interesting studio. I was surprised to see some actresses' names in this encyclopedia, and the surprise was pleasant.

This review is based on a copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

This two-volume anthology of horror stories has something for everyone.  Creepy, spooky, gory, chilling...all kinds of stories from the greatest horror writers working today.

The real story here is why all these writers have agreed to contribute to these two volumes: to support the widow of a fellow horror writer who passed away too soon.  I've never read Rick Hautala's work, but I feel like I should, especially after enjoying his own contribution to this work.

Most of the stories were previously published, so it was a little off-putting how many typos I found.  But don't let that stop you from enjoying some great stories.

This review is based on an electronic copy won through the LibraryThing Early Readers program.

Anais Hendricks has been sent to the Panopticon, a last resort foster care facility.  Her crime?  Surviving 38 social workers, uncountable foster families, and police harassment.  Anais has been sent to the Panopticon for brutally beating a female police officer, an assault Anais unequivocally denies.  

Told in Anais' voice, complete with Scots dialect, The Panopticon unflinchingly reveals the ugliness of her life.  Drugs she uses to numb herself of any feeling.  Rapes she has endured.  Inappropriate personal searches conducted by the police.  Yet, Anais desires beauty in her life, and strives to be picture-perfect with her fashion choices and make-up.

Even with the threat of being sent to maximum security, Anais is able to settle into a good life at the Panopticon.  In spite of her best efforts to avoid them, she builds healthy relationships with the other teens.  The care workers don't even have complaints about her.  Perhaps Anais is not the monster everyone thinks she is.  Maybe if she can endure her stay there, she could go on to a normal, healthy life.

The Experiment won't let her, though.  Throughout her life, Anais has viewed herself a result of some vast conspiracy.  Probably everyone has gone through a period in their lives when they felt alien, that their family didn't belong to them.  Anais never had a family, and each experience she had, she chalked up to being a part of the Experiment.  Anais finally makes a stand against the Experiment.  Whether or not it really exists, Anais will probably be ok.  She has made her choice, and she is prepared to live that life.

I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, I'll admit.  I really wanted to know if Anais is ever vindicated.  I guess I should be happy that Anais, finally allowing herself to feel, has decided her own destiny.

Dan Torrance, all grown up, thinks alcohol is the only demon he's fighting. Did he ever really escape the Overlook?

Stephen King's visit with Dan Torrance is a satisfying horror story that combines the old goose-pimply chills with modern-day life. I was sad to see that Dan had fallen so far, even with the knowledge of what alcoholism did to his father. Dan hits bottom in North Carolina, and the self-loathing nearly consumes him -- until his old friend Tony appears in a window in a small New Hampshire town. Dan settles down, gets sober, and starts making a life for himself. Oddly enough, being sober helps him find a constructive way to use his Shine: he helps dying people cross over peacefully.

Meanwhile, Dan feels connected to a little girl with a powerful Shine. His old friend Dick Hallorann once told him that his "student" will find him, and Abra finds him through small, meaningful, psychic play. But the playfulness goes away when she psychically stumbles upon a group of "vampires" who feed from children who Shine. Abra is the mother lode of "steam", and now she needs Dan to help her survive. Dan must travel West once again, and revisit the source of his life-long nightmares: the site of the Overlook Hotel.

For me, King finally figured out how to make something so bizarre as psychic vampires fit into our world. Of course they don't, but he manages to explain how they move among us unobtrusively. I still don't get some things, like why Abra and Dan can see that Rose the Hat has some bizarre tusk of a tooth. Are the True Knot using a glamour to hide that true face, or do they always look normal, but Dan and Abra see the truth inside? 

Overall, I enjoyed meeting the grown up Dan Torrance. It was satisfying to watch him put his life back together and dump the drink, even if it meant he had to feel the Shine again. Finding a constructive use for it puts Dan on the path to resolving the traumas from his childhood: loving a father who abused him, escaping the "ghosties" of the Overlook without ever really confronting them head on, watching his mother die of cancer.  He's kind of a reluctant hero, but when it comes to it, Dan is a stand-up guy who won't let the forces of evil consume a little girl -- or him, for that matter.

A futurologist wakes up in 2039 and finds the human condition is everything we hoped for, and not all it's cracked up to be.

While attending the 8th Futurological Congress in war-torn Costa Rica, futurologist Ijon Tichy experiences first-hand the future to come. While staying in the gigantic hotel, Tichy feels emotions that are alien to him: a kind of brotherly love, especially for people he doesn’t particularly like. It disconcerts him because he knows that he really does not like a certain person, but can’t help but feel a deep benevolence toward him. Tichy discovers that the water and the air are tainted with pharmaceuticals to try to prevent revolution. Chaos and rioting break out in the streets, and Tichy is evacuated to the sewers underneath the hotel. There he is dosed with more gas, and is gifted with an unsettling vision of the future.

This book was part Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, part Candide, and part Brazil (yes, the Terry Gilliam movie!). It was extremely funny, trippy, and terrifying all at once. One of Tichy's colleagues, Dr. Trottelreiner, reminded me of Voltaire's character from Candide, Pangloss. He would show up just when Tichy's newest adventure was at its most extreme, and either offer explanation for the crazy circumstances, or show a way out. Trottelreiner never seemed surprised by the paths that he and Tichy took, much in the way that Pangloss always believed that things were exactly as they should be. Which is why Tichy was so angry when he understood the truth behind his beyond-perfect experience of the future.

I'm glad someone on i09 recommended this book a couple months ago. I would never have tried it.

"Uncle Sam" Westing, millionaire paper products mogul, has returned to Westingtown after years away, only to die alone in his bed. Sixteen people, whose families had all recently relocated to the Sunset Towers building, have been selected as Mr. Westing's heirs. But there is a catch: someone has taken Mr. Westing's life, and the heir who discovers the answer will inherit the entire estate. The will designates teams, and each team gets a set of clues.

Each character has his or her own struggles in their lives. They are mourning losses: people, lives that could have been, the chances they missed to meet their true potential. At first the teams seem odd, but by the end of the book, everyone realizes they were partnered with exactly who they needed. I love how the children come the closest to solving the riddle. They also come up with very creative answers with the clues they are given.

Before the game, the heirs barely knew each other, though they lived in the same building. But by playing the Mr. Westing's game, they learned to appreciate the value each person brings to the community. New relationships grow, and new partnerships form.

I think this is a great book for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. The kids are in the book are very clever, but not necessarily snarky (well, maybe with each other!). The adults they partner with come to value the children's unique way of solving the clues. The reason this book works so well for me is the evolution of the relationships. Husbands and wives fall in love again. A doctor in training learns the effect of compassion. By the end of the book, readers learn that first impressions are not always right, and that relationships can change for the better. A lot of positive things coming out of a murder mystery!

This slim volume has a fun story about summoning ancient spirits into our modern-day world.

Lisa Morton, an expert on Halloween and its origins in the Celtic holiday Samhain, has been asked to read a manuscript that was recently found with an Irish bog body. The mummified corpse of a woman was found clutching a sealed box which contained a Latin manuscript detailing the Christian conquest of Ireland, as well as spells from the Druid culture. Morton is skeptical, since the Druids did not believe in writing anything down, and this knowledge was particularly dangerous. Despite her reservations, she gets talked into trying the spell that invokes the Morrigan, a female goddess worshiped by the Druids. Her skepticism evaporates when the spell is successful.

The book was a quick read, and spooky in some spots. Morton clearly has knowledge of the Celts, Druids, and early Christianity in Ireland. Her "what if" story gives some food for thought about the origins of Halloween, and how the Christian conversion in Ireland may not have been so bloodless. Some things didn't make sense to me, but maybe I read too quickly to get past some of the over-description in some places. Conor O'Cuin seemed a little one-dimensional: he was menacing, but not in any specific way that would make me believe his actions at the end of the book. I also had a hard time believing that the Druid woman, who was dying from a raging infection, had the stamina to learn Latin, write down the history of the Christian takeover AND some of the more dangerous spells she and her male counterpart knew. Sometimes, I have a hard time suspending disbelief.

Over all, though, I enjoyed the story enough to stick with it. This review is based on an uncorrected advance copy.

One of my favorite books returns for its 40th anniversary with some reworking.

Twelve-year-old Regan McNeil starts exhibiting some strange, dangerous behavior. After visits to doctors and psychiatrists, only one thing could possibly save her life: an exorcism. Father Karras, a Church psychiatrist consumed with guilt and crumbling faith, has been asked to attend to Regan's medical and psychological needs. Father Merrin, an elderly priest with experience has come to perform the exorcism.

The amazing thing about this book is that the exorcism is really incidental. The possession is merely a vehicle to explore the nature of faith and belief. Every time I read this book I wonder: had Merrin and Karras only met a few days earlier, or under other circumstances, would things have turned out differently for Karras?

Some of the prose is a bit florid, but if you can get past it, the story and characters are really compelling. I'm not sure I love the new scene added just for the 40th anniversary. It just raises more questions for me, and as it is, my Nook is pretty well marked up, and more to come, I'm sure.

My favorite peripheral character is Lt. Kinderman, who brings another view of faith and belief to the picture. I'm not a religious person, but I consider myself a spiritual one. The worst thing a person can go through can ultimately make him a better human being. The worst thing Karras went through made him a better spiritual being. Wonderful book.

Big Brother crosses a line after an act of terrorism in San Francisco. Little Brother finds a way to watch back. Nail-biting!

Marcus Yallow is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He and his friends have skipped school to participate in an on-line scavenger hunt, just when terrorists blow up the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. Agents from the Department of Homeland Security find them out on the streets just minutes after the explosion, and immediately take them into custody. Marcus gets out, but his friend Darryl never does. Marcus vows to take back his Constitutional rights and get Darryl out of "jail", but to do so, he might have to cross a line.

Marcus is intelligent and articulate. I don't know if he's exactly likable, but he is passionate about the ability to communicate without being deemed a criminal. I learned a lot about today's technology and all the ways it is intruding on our lives. When nothing is wrong, it seems to be benign, even convenient. But when it's deemed a matter of "national security", our privacy and freedom of movement can easily be impinged.

I learned a lot about hacking and security, which was food for thought. It was really great to watch Marcus grow. He starts out reacting as many teens do: impulsively and without thought to the lines he's crossing. When he sees the mess he's creating for San Francisco, as well as for himself, he starts to see that his actions were no better than those who falsely imprisoned him and tortured him. The ending might be a little too neat, but Marcus does not exactly get off scott-free. The point is, he learned from what happened to him, and is now using his energy to watch Big Brother back. Includes an interesting discussion of security and privacy versus secrecy by a security technologist named Bruce Schneier.

A fantastical circus hosts a decades-long contest of magical skills. There is a price for all this magic, affecting everyone at the circus.

When they were children, Marco and Celia were chosen to participate in a future contest of magical skill. The contest begins when they are adults, and have received the necessary training to compete. The venue: a fantastic traveling circus that only opens from dusk to dawn. The circus starts out as a wondrous place full of the best performers, but through the skill of the competing magicians, it becomes a wonderland of fantastic delights. Morgenstern weaves a tale of longing and loneliness, for though the circus family is expansive, the magicians remain distant out of necessity. There is a price to be paid for all this magic.

Morgenstern builds a palpable world at the circus, full of light and shadow and the smells of caramel and popcorn. The performers are amazingly skilled and interesting curiosities, but never seem to be exploited. The story flips back and forth through time, and we see the circus from many points of view. Herr Thiessen is its best-known customer, and we get to read bits of his travelogues about the circus. The patrons of the circus who planned everything down to the last delightful detail have trouble letting go of their project once it is out in the world. And a young boy's love for the circus is what ultimately saves it.

I enjoyed the book, but like the contestants in the game, I was frustrated by not understanding the rules of the contest or the point of it. When there was an explanation, it fell a little flat for me by that point. I didn't know if I was supposed to root for one person over the other, which was a little odd. I liked the depictions of the cast of characters and enjoyed their company for the duration, so that compensated for my confusion.

A man recalls the horrific summer of his seventh year, and the magical sacrifice that saved him. Absorbing and chilling read.

A man returns to a country lane where he lived forty years ago, and begins to remember a trauma he suffered when he was seven years old. The family's tenant, a gregarious South African opal miner, has committed suicide because he lost all of his money gambling, including that of his investors. This death awakens something old as time, an entity that desires nothing more than to take over this world and shape it to its own needs. Unfortunately for our narrator, it has used him to enter this world, and begins its takeover by using his family to terrorize him. Fortunately for our narrator, the Hempstock family down the lane has taken him under their protective wing. Through their quirky, creative, and VERY old magic, the three women face down this ancient entity and protect their young charge.

Gaiman's dedication said: "For Amanda, who wanted to know." It seemed to me as I read this book that elements of some of his other books, mainly Coraline, seeped into the story. The parents, at first loving, turn into something "other" and the father becomes downright sinister. I'm realizing that in some ways, Gaiman's stories are a lot like Roald Dahl's: full of adults who are at the very least negligent of their children, and at the worst, verging on homicidal. Children are left to fend for themselves, using their own strength and wits. It was almost a relief that there were adults in this book that were fiercely protective, and didn't witter on about helping or staying out of the family's business. I wondered as I read it, "Was some of this plucked from his own experience, hence the dedication? If so, wow."

I read this book really quickly, it was that absorbing. I love the way Gaiman writes. Somehow he creates fully-realized worlds without flowery prose. I could see the country lane and smell the surrounding fields of grass. I could picture the ramshackle, but tidy, Hempstock home, and feel the weight of the world fall from our narrator's shoulders the moment he entered it. There were a couple rather adult scenes in it, so I would not give it to anyone under late-teens, though it was a lot like Coraline or The Graveyard Book in tone.

Nick and Amy have the perfect marriage, until she goes missing on their 5th wedding anniversary. Is Nick to blame? All signs point to yes.

Nick and Amy meet cute and fall so madly in love they get married. They have a wonderful life in New York, until they are both laid off from their magazine jobs. Nick makes the executive decision to move back to Missouri to help his twin sister take care of their dying mother and aging father. That's when it all goes to hell. On their fifth anniversary, Amy goes missing.

Told in alternating voices, Gone Girl takes us on a roller-coaster ride of money, infidelity, marital discord, and pregnancy. In his chapters, Nick tells us about how he is dealing with police (and public) suspicion. The more he tells us, the guiltier he looks, because we know he's lying to the police. Amy's diary entries from the last seven years clue us in to her state of mind about their marriage. It's only a matter of time before the police can put together all the clues, many of which come from Amy's elaborate treasure hunt she sets up for Nick every year. As the pieces fell together, I couldn't put the book down.

I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't read it yet. The structure of the book (the alternating chapters) works really well, especially at the turning point in the book. It almost feels like you are watching a movie, and suddenly one of the characters breaks the fourth wall, looks directly at the camera and says, "Gotcha!" At that point, I really couldn't put the book down. In fact, I actually started laughing at how everyone was trying to out-maneuver each other. I don't know that I was completely satisfied with the ending. I guess I know why Gillian Flynn did it, but it would have been so much fun to see the perp get their comeuppance. Still, it was fast-paced thriller with some juicy twists.

Picked this up after reading Cory Doctorow's glowing review on BoingBoing.net. Glad I did! Shreve is in juvie for trying to steal his neighbor's pick-up truck. Shreve is not a bad kid; he just knows how to work a system. And now it's his job to teach his new roommate, Jack, about this system. Jack is a couple years younger than Shreve, and reminds Shreve of the little brother he's left at home. But there is something strange about Jack, and something even stranger about the mysterious people who come to visit him. Shreve and Jack must get out of the detention center to save Jack from these people.

Shreve narrates the story, which is why we learn so much about his background. He really isn't a bad kid. He's just had a lot on his plate for a fifteen-year-old. He's the caretaker of his family, and now he's not there because of one stupid act. It's his strong will that saves Jack from Quincrux and the witch. But in the end, we still don't know much about Jack, or where Quincrux ultimately takes him. I'm hoping there's another story, maybe told from Jack's perspective so we can learn more about this twelve-fingered telekinetic.

From the man who coined the term "steampunk", an early example of the genre.

Young Mr. Dower inherits his father's watch shop. Unfortunately, the Dowers never had much contact, and Young Mr. Dower has no idea how to repair the watches people bring to him. His shop is on the brink of collapse when an adventure comes his way: several parties are interested in a mysterious, and very complicated, device that his father has built. Dower's path leads him from the seediest section of London to a country manor to being stranded on the outermost island of the Hebrides. Just when things look darkest, Dower manages to escape by the skin of his teeth.

While it was a fun read, Dower's stiff Victorian narration made it a bit of a slog in places. Also, Miss McThane could have been so much more interesting, but all she did was lust after Dower and rip her clothes off a lot. I am glad that more current examples of steampunk give women and girls a lot more to do with their brains. I loved Adrienne Kress's The Friday Society and Libba Bray's short story "The Last Ride of the Glory Girls". This was just fun enough that I would like to check out some of K.W. Jeter's science fiction at some point down the line.