History Revamped: A Writer’s Review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Flashplot: Anyone who’s made it through high school history knows the basics of Lincoln’s difficult life. Now take every tragedy, every death, and every accomplishment and attribute it to vampires. This is Seth Grahame-Smith’s work in a nutshell.

As a reader: Though my ridiculously simplified plot summary might make this piece sound utterly unbelievable to the point of being humorous, I assure you it’s not. Grahame-Smith weaves a dark and twisted fictional tale into the history American readers are familiar with in a way that makes it easy to suspend one’s disbelief long enough to get lost in the novel. The story is cleverly crafted in that sense. It took tremendous imagination to twist facts into fantasy. However, despite the numerous tragedies Lincoln faces, I still found him a difficult character emphasize with. My favorite characters were those of the author’s creating; it was in the scenes with Henry where Grahame-Smith’s characterization shined. I also found the pacing of the novel slowed in parts due to what I saw as Grahame-Smith’s desire to work in more of the history than what was needed to pull along the fictional tale he was telling. Finally, I loved the opening of the book with the modern-day setting and character, who is introduced as our story-teller. It was this slide into the fantasy world that allows readers to face and then dismiss their own disbelief, so the fact that the book never really returns to this character and his interactions with Henry is terribly frustrating and disappointing. Though I loved the last line of the book, I really wanted a quick epilogue to return to the present day and the book’s narrator.

As a writer: There is no doubt that the author of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter did his homework. Grahame-Smith does a wonderful job of writing in a voice that matches what readers would expect that of Lincoln to sound like. He also did a nice job of writing from his “own” voice. (He is supposedly the writer who meets with Henry at the start of novel tasked with telling Lincoln’s tale.) What started to bother me, both as a writer and a reader, as the novel progresses, is the frequency with which he slips in and out of these two narrations. Lincoln’s parts are supposed to be pulled from his diaries or letters, which is interesting, except when one scene or event is told with numerous excerpts interrupted constantly with the outside narration being used to fill in the gaps. It got to be too choppy and had me wondering if perhaps the writer was taking the easy way out by slipping into his own voice when Lincoln’s would have been a harder but more fluent choice. The only other flaw in an otherwise well-written piece was Lincoln’s character development. Obviously Grahame-Smith was challenged by developing a character who was rooted in a real historical figure. Given how interesting the author’s own characters were, I feel he would have been better served by allowing himself the freedom to re-envision Lincoln entirely without worrying so much about the constraints of reality.

Bottom line: As a fantasy fanatic, a writer of vampire books, and a lover of history I enjoyed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I’m not sure it’d hold the attention of readers without these passions, but it is certainly a unique and entertaining view of our nation’s past!

Sequel Review: Even Better on the Second Try

The Dark Monk by Oliver Pötzsch (Author) and Lee Chadeayne (translator): Angels & Demons Gone Renaissance

Flashplot: In this historical fiction suspense novel, a sequel to The Hangman’s Daughter, our three main characters, the town executioner Jakob Kuisl, his daughter Magdalena, and the young physician Simon Fronwiesser, return to solve yet another mystery in the small 17^th century German town of Schongau. Starting with the suspicious death of a local priest and leading to a full-blown conspiracy involving religious riddles, relics, and a search for the Templar’s treasure, this plot truly could be summed up as the Angels & Demons of the 1600s.

As a reader: As much as I enjoyed the characters of the first book in this series, the sequel was even better. In The Dark Monk Pötzsch rectified the plot pacing problems he had in book one. The story here unfolds fast enough to hook the reader, but without the lagging middle chapters, and ends with an action-packed climax. The mystery itself was also more artfully revealed, with enough clues to get the reader guessing, but enough unknown to create the suspense that made this a page-turner. And though it did seem to borrow a bit from the ideas of Brown’s modern-day best-seller, what makes this perhaps a more interesting tale is its historical setting. Pötzsch weaves in his research of his family, the Kuisls, the time period, the section of Germany known as Priests’ Corner, and the history of the religious disputes that brought devastating war to the area.

As a writer: The Dark Monk confirmed what I found to be true in my own writing: the only way to learn how to write a novel is to write a novel. Pötzsch’s first book was entertaining, but had some obvious flaws (as most debut novels do). His second tale took all the best parts from the first, the enhancing historical details, the dark commentary on the town and the times, and the captivating main characters, while improving his story-telling and pacing.

Bottom line: The Dark Monk is a great historical suspense novel worth pulling out the flashlight for. Though readers who like knowing as much as possible about a character might want to start with the first book, The Hangman’s Daughter, Pötzsch alludes enough to the important parts of book one that most readers would be fine reading this as a stand-alone piece. Not me, I already pre-ordered book three!

August Review: Despite Some Hang-ups, a Good Read

The Hangman’s Daughter 
by Oliver Pötzsch (Author) and Lee Chadeayne (translator)

Flashplot: Set in 1650’s Germany, this historical fiction mystery tells the tale of a small town which is rocked by a series of odd events. Children are turning up dead, marked with the ‘witches mark’ and the town leaders want a swift execution in order to prevent the hysteria and ruin that befell the town after similar events decades ago. They’re not too concerned with who swings, so long as it quiets the townspeople. Lucky for the accused midwife, the town executioner Jakob Kuisl, his daughter Magdalena, and the young physician Simon Fronwiesser set out to find the real culprits.

As a reader: The opening line of the novel reads, “October 12 was a good day for a killing.” It’s hard not to be hooked by a line like that. The rest of the prologue was paced well and created immediate compassion for the main character, the young son of the hangman. With emotions tied to this young boy, I was a little miffed to realize the rest of the book takes place thirty-five years later, with the scared child now the surly hangman. That said, I was soon hooked again by the main characters, the town, which has character of its own, and by the action that unfolds relatively quickly. The first third of the book balances plot, description of the historical setting, and character development of the book’s many characters.

Then things get a little hung-up. (Sorry, I never pass up a pun!) The middle third of the book slows down considerably. The events of plot and the clues unfolding seem to be a bit redundant. The story’s point of view changes characters frequently, which is fine, except when readers have to hear different characters come to the same conclusions. Since the story was rich and had a great many characters, perhaps the author thought this was needed. In most cases, though, I felt the reader should have been given the benefit of the doubt to keep track of clues and characters in exchange for a faster-paced plot.

By the end, Pötzsch picks up the pace again and the story moves along well as the main characters begin to unravel the mystery. Though parts of the end could be predicted along the way, there was enough unexpected material to provide a very satisfactory ending.

As a writer: Perhaps it’s because of the anti-prologue propaganda that agents drill into writers’ heads, but I wasn’t a fan of the prologue in this instance. It was important backstory about Jakob, backstory that helps the reader be sympathetic to him early on­–perhaps too early on. Most readers like a flawed protagonist. Pötzsch should have trusted that his readers, due to his strong writing, would connect with Jakob even before this glimpse into his past. It would have been just as interesting and perhaps more appreciated a little further into the story.

Other than the prologue and the pacing problem in the middle of the book, this was a terrific mystery. I’m always in awe of good historical fiction writers for the way they weave historical facts into their plots in such unobtrusive ways. Pötzsch did this masterfully, so that when I reached the end I was thrilled to see there was a postscript that explained what was researched and what was purely his fantasy. I also liked the descriptions in the book, which were often unique and felt like part of the plot as opposed to mere window dressing. I’m sure some of the credit for this belongs to the translator, Chadeayne, for his ability to make even the figurative language seem fluent and meaningful in its translated form.

Bottom line: A good book for history lovers and mystery lovers, so long as you’re a little patient. With my soft spot for gruff, yet lovable guys, I downloaded the sequel as soon as I finished. 

July 2012 Review: Proof Flawed Can Still Be Fabulous

Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E. L. James

Since this is a three-in-one review, this one is a little longer, but since I know many of you are as curious about these books as I was, I figured no one would mind!

Flashplot: Readers of the Twilight series will see many similarities in the plot and characters of these novels since Fifty Shades was originally written as a fan fiction for Meyer’s series.  However, though James closely shadows certain Twilight aspects, the trilogy ultimately tells its own tale of forbidden love between a deeply flawed young man and a self-conscious young woman forced to come into her own in order to save her love and her lover.

That’s the story in a nutshell. Really. Okay, so the ‘forbidden' part is derived not from Christian being a sparkly deer-eating vampire, but a palm-twitching Dom with a love of BDSM, and unlike Bella, Ana isn’t faced with the decision to give up her humanity, but rather to embrace her sexuality in all its kinky glory.  Other than that, though, it’s your typical Romeo and Juliet tale.

As a reader: Like many women, I picked up the first book out of curiosity. I wanted to see if Fifty Shades was really worth the hype. Unlike some soccer moms out there, I had read romance/erotica books before, so I wasn’t expecting to be shocked or disturbed by the sex scenes. Overall, I wasn’t.  J. R. Ward had explored the BDSM angle years ago in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series.  So what it came down to was whether the characters and plot could pull me along with or without the sex scenes (preferably with). Though the flawed writing, especially in the beginning, was distracting, the answer was yes.  Like in the Twilight series, I loved watching the heroine, Ana Steele, grow from timorous to tenacious. These books allow women to reminisce about our first loves and cringe over our struggles to grow from shy teens to confident young women. I equally loved watching Christian Grey, Ana’s love interest, devolve from a rich, domineering sex-god, to a broken but healing, lovable human being. The initial fantasy of finding a rich, handsome, and dangerous lover is fun, but realizing that most of the time it really is nothing more than fantasy is comforting and more realistic.

As someone who enjoyed the Twilight series, I was a bit disappointed at first by the amount of similarities between the main characters and plots.  However, as I read further into the books, James began to divert more and more from fan fiction until what she ultimately created was her own story–a bit cliché, but still fun by its own merits. Some of my favorite bits of the books were when James was having fun with her own humor and creativity, mainly the subject lines of the emails sent between Ana and Christian, which were always either rib-cracking funny or eye-poppingly shocking.

So although the sex was great, in the end it was the characters with miles of heartbreaking backstory and those bits of creativity and humor that sucked me in and kept me up to all hours of the night.

As a writer: I’m not sure whether books like these ought to make me feel better or worse about my own writing. I felt great reading the opening chapter of the first book and recognizing that it was in some serious need of revision. It is comforting to know other new writers struggle getting their stories out of the gate. It is clear as one reads further into the book, that James was still finding the voices of her characters in those opening chapters. Though the first person narration felt stiff and the dialogue sounded forced for those first few chapters, James got into a groove relatively quickly.  Soon, Ana sounded like a realistic twenty-two year old, both in her thoughts and dialogue. Her inner monologues often rang sadly and humorously true of a twenty-two year old in the throes of love and life.

There were other flaws, too, such as overused words and phrases, which began to stand out as the series progressed. Plot development was also shaky, but this I understood as a writer. James was trying to balance the plot surrounding her characters’ personal journeys with external plots. If the two plots aren’t tightly linked to one another, as James’s weren’t, one can climax at an odd time within the arch of the book.

So why would all these flaws make me feel worse as a writer? Well, because my own books share many of them, but they aren’t likely to go viral like Fifty Shades any time soon.

Bottom line: If you’re an adult who liked the Twilight series and are comfortable with some untraditional sex scenes, you’re likely to get sucked into this series, so go ahead and purchase the entire trilogy. You’ll save some cash, and trust me, you won’t want to stop reading long enough to drive to the nearest store. 

June 2012 Review: Diving into the Deep

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

Flashplot:  Doctorate student and small-town girl made good, Willie Upton, returns to her hometown of Templeton, New York "disgraced." To keep her mind from the life she left behind, Willie sets out on a research journey through her family's past in order to discover the truth about her father and her town.  The story bounces between Willie and a few characters in current Templeton, modeled after Cooperstown, and the various players from the town's lurid past.  There is mystery, scandal, romance gone bad, and just a hint of the supernatural.

As a reader: One can't help but be struck by the beautiful prose of the opening pages.  The description is rich, the imagery thick–at times almost too thick.  The characters in the novel are unique and the plot compelling, so at times I felt myself wanting less description and exposition and more story.  In those opening pages, especially, I had a hard time connecting to the voice of the narrator who sounded much older than Willie, the twenty-eight year doctorate student, ought to sound.  That said, once I got into the events of the book, I was hooked. Even though I felt the book's alternating chapters, between past and present, sometimes slowed the pacing, overall it worked as a plot device, the past chapters adding depth to the present storyline.  Groff creates enough tension and mystery to keep the reader plowing through even her denser sections.

 As a writer:  Picking up this book as a reader at the start of her summer vacation, I found it heavier than what I was looking for. However, there is no denying that Groff is a talented writer, who spins a well-crafted plot, writes beautiful prose, and, once the book gets going, introduces us to great characters.  As a writer, I don't think I'm at a place where I could have the patience to research a historical fiction work and then weave those facts into a tale modern-day readers could enjoy, but I am in awe of anyone who does this with such success.  I found the writer's note preceding the book interesting and appreciated that the publisher saw fit to place it before rather than after the story proper.  Her purpose and journey as the author helped set the stage for a fascinating read.

Bottom line: While Monsters of Templeton didn't keep me up into the night, I truly enjoyed it.  If you are willing to take the time to linger in the language and ponder over the deeper themes, you'll be rewarded.

Catching Up: My reviews for the first half of 2012

Though I often neglect my normal blogging duties, it's nothing compared to my book review page.  Looking at this part of my website prior to tonight one might have thought I hadn't read a book in over six months.  I'll admit balancing writing, promoting, and teaching leaves me less time to read, but that would be ridiculous.  The reality is I just never got around to writing reviews for the books I've read, which is a shame because some of the books I've read in that time span were…interesting, let's say.  It wouldn't be fair to the authors or my readers to attempt full reviews of all these works, but I will give a few flash reviews, and two more in-depth reviews of my more recent reads.

December 2011/January 2012

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Over winter break I read this Shakespeare related suspense/romance novel along the lines of the Carrell books that bounces between a modern day and historical setting.  Though the plot and writing may have had a few flaws (certain members of my book club would argue more than few), overall, I enjoyed it. 

Bottom line: It is an entertaining way to spend a few hours in front of the fireplace, or since two seasons have passed, on a warm beach, but probably won't keep you up into the wee hours of the night.

February 

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry 

This was one of those 'interesting' books I mentioned earlier.  Starting out I was excited since I had read the author was a self-published success story.  It's comforting as an author to know other writers have made it without the help of a big publisher–at least until I started reading. Then I was a bit baffled as to how the novel had become a best-seller.  Though the premise of women able to read futures in lace was fascinating, and the local Salem setting attractive, something about the first person narration and the odd story arc didn't work for me.  I won't spoil the ending, but that didn't work for me either.  It wasn't that I disliked The Lace Reader.  It had an excellent opening and there were characters I loved and others I loathed (because I as a reader I was supposed to), but there were too many rough spots for it to resonate with me.

 Bottom line: It is a best-seller, so although I didn't love it, plenty of people must have.  A unique read if you have the time.

April 

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer 

This one had such great potential.  The premise of a town of woman who all swear off sex due to a production of beingLysistrata, the comedy by Aristophanes, put on by the new drama teacher had me hooked before I read the first page.  This was good, because had I read the first few pages prior to purchasing, I'm not sure I would have.  A few things bothered me about this book.  First there was very little dialogue.  I'm a reader who craves character development, and for me, what I got through the alternating points of view wasn't enough.  I wanted to hear these ladies speak to one another; I didn't want to be told about conversations after the fact.  Another problem I had was that the timeline of events in the book jumped around too much.  It was mid-winter, it was back to early fall, it was…who can keep track?  A clear flashback is one thing, but these weren't clear, they were confusing.  Again, to be fair, other women in my book club really enjoyed the book, or at least parts of it that they felt honestly depicted married life or parenthood.  I enjoyed certain parts myself, just not enough to heartily recommend this as a must-read.

Bottom line: Super idea, mediocre execution.

In Between

In addition to these I read or reread a few classics for my eighth grade reading class, two of which, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend taking a second glance at.  Too many of us had great classics killed for us by high school or college literature classes that analyzed everything to death; it's nice to go back and reread and appreciate them they way they were meant to be read, for pleasure, not instruction.

May

That brings me to late Spring, where my memory is a little less fuzzy, although this next one I started reading just days before I was told the release of my book was in less than a week.  Needless to say the excitement and chaos surrounding that fractured my reading, not ideal when reading a mystery.  Still, it's the debut novel of a local writer, and it was excellent, so despite not clearly remembering the finer details of the plot, I felt this one needed a full review.

Purgatory Chasm by Steve Ulfelder

Flashplot: When Conway Sax, former racecar driver, recovering alcoholic, and lovable badass, agrees to help a 'friend' from AA, he lands himself in the middle of a murder investigation.  Not the type to sit back and let others do the dirty work for him, Sax drives up and down the East coast determined to find out who killed his fellow barnburner and why.

As a reader: Well, I've already publicly announced my weak spot for fictional bad boys (Character Crushes, 4/12), so it's no surprise that I fell in love with Conway Sax just about the same time I realized he was trouble.  That said, this is not chick lit like much of what I read and review here.  Conway Sax is a man's man, and the story, writing style, and characters might actually put the novel in the opposite category (rhymes with chick lit, only crasser). The flawed hero makes for a fascinating first person narrator that pulls the reader along quite willingly. I found the plot pleasing as well, with plenty of twists and the right amount of development.  The local connection added to the fun since I've spent my life in the settings Sax traversed throughout the book.

As a writer: As someone who rewrote her own first lines a dozen or more times (okay, many more), I was in awe of the opening line of the book: "There are drunken assholes, and then there are assholes who are drunks."  It's risky, it's intriguing, and it demonstrates fantastic character development all in one compound sentence.  I was hooked and impressed.  The further I read, the more I wished I had read this book before attempting my own.  I struggled with getting the voice of my male characters to sound like the tough males they were.  This would have been the perfect mentor text.  After half a page there is no doubt left in the readers' mind what kind of guy Conway Sax is.  More than that, Ulfelder has fun with his characterization, inserting bits of humorous internal dialogue in a first person narration, which one could argue is already internal dialogue.  Though the story was enjoyable as a reader, what sold me as a writer were the writing style and character development. 

Bottom line: A terrific debut novel by a local talent.  I downloaded book two, The Whole Lie, as soon as I finished book one and am saving it for my full first beach day.

 

June

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse, book 12)

Flashplot: Okay, let's forget attempting a flashplot.  Any one who hasn't read another book in this series would likely think I'd been smoking a crackpot if I attempted to do justice to the dozen story lines that finally came together in this newest novel.  For those of who you have read the rest of the series, you can probably guess the overall premise: Our favorite waitress and telepath, Sookie Stackhouse continues to find herself thigh-high in drama due her to bad choice in boyfriends, both past and present, her unfortunate family/fairy heritage, and her 'gift' from her demon godfather.
As a reader: I love Charlaine Harris's characters and thoroughly enjoyed the stories of the first half dozen books in the series, but I have to admit the last book or two had me wondering if it was time to retire Sookie and the Bon Temps vamps. This newest book was a pleasant surprise.  The entire last book seemed like a prologue to this one, leaving many story lines just swinging in the breeze at the end.  This book not only wrapped up many of them, but wove them together into a web that had me entangled for hours.  (I literally read this one in one sitting.)
As a writer:  Undoubtedly, Harris and this series played a crucial role in developing my ideas for my own book.  I tried to emulate what I love about this series: the humor, the strong, yet flawed heroine, and the balance of action with relationships. Deadlocked didn't leave me disappointed, and in fact had even more to teach me as a writer of a fantasy series.  Though I couldn't see it in the last book, which was disappointing, Harris clearly had a set direction towards which she was pushing all of her subplots.  Such forethought led to an intricate plot, which, unlike the last book, left me satisfied, yet wanting more.  A good place for a reader to be.
Bottom line: If you're already a fang fan, make sure the Kindle's fully charged.  If not, you've been in the coffin too long–go pick up the first book!

Reviews from 2011

November:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Flashplot: In a futuristic post-apocalypse America, you're either from the Capitol, or you're nothing more than a pawn used to support their exceedingly outlandish lifestyle. You're the entertained or the entertainers. The sickest form of entertainment the Capitol created is the annual Hunger Games, where each district must offer up two of its children to participate in this fight-to-the-death competition as retribution for partaking in an unsuccessful rebellion. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen becomes district eleven's female tribute when she takes her younger sister's place during the reaping. Every decision from that point forward could save her live or end it.

As a reader: Suzanne Collins had a number of successful young adult books prior to The Hunger Games, so I was not surprised when a few of my students recommend the title to me. I never expected, though, to be blown away with the sophistication of the writing and the themes. This is one of those rare books that speaks to readers of all ages and all genders. It is a twisted love story, a wrenching coming-of-age tale, and an action-packed adventure. What makes it truly a gem, though, is how it uses a futuristic setting to force readers into examining so many aspects of contemporary society. I instantly fell in love with Katniss, who narrates this book and the others in the trilogy. She is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, yet she is so strong that you find yourself believing even what you know is likely untrue. The supporting characters in the book are equally wonderful. They are flawed and unique, and Collins unfolds each carefully over the course of the book and trilogy, so that every page offers new insight into someone.

As a writer: I was into book three before I realized what was off about the writing of these books. They are written in first person present tense, a very rare narration choice, but one that works for these books. First, it builds suspense; you can't assume Katniss will survive the way you could in a first person narration told in past tense. Second, Collins clearly is a master at it. The fact that such a unique form of writing can go unnoticed means the author is skilled in her craft. The reader is so in Katniss's head that it doesn't seem at all unnatural that the story would be told in present tense. As mentioned above, Collins is also a master of characterization. She creates a world where a large chunk of the characters, those from the Capital, could seem outrageous and unbelievable. She described them, after all, to look the way one might picture the performers in a Cirque du Soleil show, yet as we meet each, we love or loathe them for their personalities alone. The final skill I envy Collins for is her world creation. As I mentioned above, this is not an author who is new to fantasy writing, but the detail with which she describes this world and the various settings, creatures, and technology is amazing.

Bottom line: I think I've gushed enough. Read it for yourself. Read it to your kids. Read it with your students. You won't need me to tell you it is worth the all-nighter.

 

September:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Flashplot: Eugenia Phelan, unluckily nicknamed Skeeter, returns from college to her home in Mississippi with a degree and an aspiration to make it as a writer–but without a husband, which according to her mother, her friends, and her romantic interest was the only reason young women from the South were supposed to go to college in the sixties.  While Skeeter struggles to find her new place in her old world, she stumbles upon a story that will shake that world to its roots: the story of the help.Alternating between the viewpoints of two black maids, mouthy Minny and heartbroken Aibileen, and that of young naive Skeeter, Stockett's first book takes on a variety of issues, including race, woman's rights, spousal abuse, and childrearing.

As a reader:  I was instantly taken in by Aibileen's honest narration in chapter one.  For me, the dialect rang true, the story tugged at my heart, and the characters, though seemingly a world away from today's society, were easy to relate to.  I loved cheering on the small victories of the main heroines and reveling in the comeuppances of the book's bitches and racists.  Were there flaws?  Sure.  Some parts were predictable, where others seemed a bit random and unbelievable, added in to drive character more than story development (most notably was the scene at Celia's with the naked invader).  Also, the end was bothersome, but I'm a sap who often likes her book endings tied up with a pretty bow.  None of these issues, though, detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book.

As a writer:  I was bound to like this book from the moment I heard Kathryn Stockett suffered through sixty rejection letters before selling this best-selling manuscript.  That aside, Stockett deserves the praise she is now receiving.Sure, she took on too many deep issues to squeeze into a book this size.  And, yup, there were some oddities that didn't seem to fit the overall tone she seemed to going for (Skeeter's mother "curing herself" was a strange distraction from the rest of the plot).  But for a debut novel, this was laudable.  Stockett deftly uses the alternating narrations, repeating some scenes from different viewpoints, while adding suspense by making the reader wait to get the whole story in other instances.  She also nails each character's voice, while doing justice to a dialect she heard her own help use growing up.  And if she didn't quite have her readers sold on the verity of this historical fiction work by the end, she hits it home in her afterward when she tells her own tale of being raised by a black woman in the South and how those experiences inspired her to write the novel. 

Bottom line:  Go ahead and see the movie…after you've read the book.  When Stockett writes her next novel, I'm guessing her stack of rejection letters won't hit double digits.

 

August:

The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Flashplot:After losing a libel trial and facing a prison sentence, Michael Blomkvist has become somewhat disillusioned with his career as an investigative journalist. So being offered an escape in the form of a strange assignment in a rural part of Sweden, he takes it.  Through this job he meets hacker and wild child, Lisbeth Salander and develops an interesting and unexpected relationship with her.The first book surrounds a family mystery unrelated to either's life, though lays the personal and relationship groundwork vital for books two and three.  These final two books, written like two halves of a whole, unravel the mystery of Lisbeth's personality by uncovering the truth of her disturbing past. 

As a reader: I'm glad I had the benefit of friends' recommendations and warnings about this series, particularly the first book.  Had I not, I likely would have given up about fifty pages in.  The first book starts off with an intriguing opening, but then drags on with too much detail for far too long.  However, knowing that, you can skim read much of the family history and focus on what Larsson does best: tell an intricate tell through superbly developed characters.  Book one, though slow to start, had a good mystery with plenty of twists, but it's really worth reading for the character and plot development it provides for books two and three, which in my opinion where fabulous.  Be warned there are a few graphic scenes, including two rape scenes in book one, which some readers might want to skim or at least avoid reading directly before bed.

As a writer: Having rewritten the opening pages to my first novel a dozen (or two) times, I was envious of Larsson after reading the very beginning of Dragon Tattoo. Okay, I was downright jealous and therefore not the biggest fan.  However, I quickly fell in love with this author because he gave me hope–he proved even flawed novels can get published if your characters are real enough.  Larsson's characters are just that: real.They are lovable because they're simultaneously loathable.  He brings new meaning to the flawed protagonist.  The magic of these books is in Michael and Lisbeth's ability to have readers screaming at them one chapter and crying for them the next.No matter what one thinks of Larsson's style, which is often detail laden to the point of being inconsiderate to the reader, no one can deny this writer was a master of characterization.  Lisbeth and Michael will find their way onto readers' lists of characters they'd love to meet and hate letting go of at the end of these books.

Bottom line:  If you like intricate plots or love wonderfully flawed characters, stick with it; you'll be rewarded!

 


July:

Interred with Their Bones & Haunt Me Still by Jennifer Lee Carrell

* Apologies if this review is shorter and less detailed than it should be.  I should have written this one earlier in the summer when I first read these books, but I couldn't leave them out. 

Flashplot:  Shakespeare scholar, turned New Globe director, turned sleuth, Kate Stanley finds herself chasing modern day murderers while attempting to uncover the mysteries surrounding the world's most famous playwright.  At her side, and occasionally in her bed, is bodyguard Ben Pearl, who is a man of mysteries himself (sounds cheesy, but it's totally hot).

As a reader:  The plots of these mysteries have enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing and then second-guessing.  Whether you're a Shakespeare fan or not, if you like a good mystery, Carrell won't leave you disappointed.  The story is faced-paced and broken up perfectly by the interlude historical fiction chapters set in Elizabethan England to create maximum suspense.  In contrast to a few other online critics, who complained about a lack of characterization, I found the main characters, Kate and Ben, well developed and easy to relate to.  Where Carrell left ambiguities it was to drive the plot and to develop fantastic red herrings.

As a writer:  Sticking to the topic of characterization, I enjoyed Carrell's technique of slowly revealing character traits, particularly about more minor characters.  By avoiding vomiting too much characterization too early, she was able to have readers more willing believe where the clues seemed to be leading us.  I also was in awe of the deftness demonstrated in weaving together the hard facts of history with others' speculation and her own imagination.  The detailed notes in the back will satisfy those readers who want to know exactly where the history-fiction line begins to blur.  As for me, I enjoyed a story written so well that I couldn't tell and didn't care.

Bottom line:  Worth staying up for!