Book Review: Days of Magic, Nights of War

I enjoyed Clive Barker's first Abarat book. The artwork was beautifully done, I'll admit that it was the cover that caught my attention from across the library, and the story was cool. I figured I'd read the second book Days of Magic, Nights of War for my required reading this semester. This is another book that I would have put down unfinished if I'd been reading it for pleasure rather than for school.

The first half of the book had so many reminders of the original that it was driving me nuts. I'm talking way-obvious clunks on the head versus subtle reminders. After a few chapters, I admit that I was ready to toss the book in frustration. I mean, come on, let's just get to the current story, eh, instead of spending all this time rehashing the past. I realize he's trying to not alienate readers who hadn't read the first one, but after the first one or two winks to the original, move on already!

Another thing, and I should have seen this coming, this book ended with no ending, in other words, paving the way for a sequel, which will probably spend a few chapters rehashing the other two books. I'm all for series, but I hate it when a book just cuts off at the end, because it's like "haha, now wait for the sequel!" grrr.

I can't completely trash the book, of course, there was a resolution of the primary conflict, which I admit was somewhat satisfactory, if I would have remembered that this was a series and would surely leave loose ends (like the hungry insects ready to end the world... what about them, huh?). Barker's got a wonderful sense of imagination, and I love the world he has created with Abarat. I'd like to see this done as an animation. That I would be interested in seeing. (Because, surely, that would cut out some of the unnecessary elements and focus on the main story.)

About half-way through, the author seemed to find his stride with the story again, and it got good (because this is, of course, a young adult fantasy so I have to keep that in mind). Probably Barker felt a little pressure to get this one out, since it seems like it was a while between the first and this one. If he'd significantly compressed the first few chapters (like leaving only one or two throwbacks to the first book, instead of, and I'm serious, at least 6 in the first few chapters), he would have had a better, and tighter, novel.

I'm curious what others thought of this book so I'm pulling up the amazon reviews now:

Hmm... so most people loved it, except one person who wrote:

"I know I'm in the minority, but I've been underwhelmed by this series. ... But too many pages are taken up with inventories of oddities -- some seen by Candy on her travels, others involving the terrible Christopher Carrion and his assorted gruesome hangers-on. Most of these creations are irrelevant or tangential to the plot, so that I wound up skimming through those passages going "blah, blah, blah," while waiting for something to happen that would actually advance the story arc. I don't think I'll bother with the next book."

Sounds about right, I'm afraid.

I'm wondering, however, if the fact that the copy I borrowed from the library has black-and-white illustrations instead of the full color version. I didn't have the full experience without the vivid art, which I remember as my favorite part of the original. And, again, from reading amazon I see this is aimed at 7 - 10th grade, so maybe I'm being too harsh and a reader from that bracket would be more forgiving of the constant flashback moments? Perhaps.

In summary, I'm sorry, Mr. Barker, but I wouldn't recommend this book. I would, however, urge you to check out a (full color) version of the first Abarat book, prepare yourself for a non-ending, and enjoy the art.

Book Review: Good Omens

I wanted to read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett because I felt I needed to read more in my genre, and I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman's writing (American Gods is excellent!). I hadn't read anything by Pratchett, but I knew he was someone I should read. I knew I would love it as soon as I read the blurb inside the cover and the author bios in the back. This was in Pratchett's bio:

"He likes people to buy him banana daiquiris (he knows people don't read author biographies, but feels this might be worth a try)."

The rest of this book did not disappoint.

The most fantastic part of this book, and it's all fantastic, is the voice throughout. I can hear the British accent in my head as I'm reading, and it's wonderful. This is written by two quite talented writers.

The story is about Armageddon, which heaven and hell have been waiting for ages to occur. Agnes Nutter, prophetess, predicted it all. Here's a bit from the cover blurb:

"According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter -- the world's only totally reliable guide to the future, the world will end on a Saturday.

Next Saturday, in fact.

Just before dinner."

Crowley is a demon and Aziraphale, an angel. Each has been on earth just generally hanging out and waiting for the end of the world. Now that it's coming, neither one particularly wants it to end. They've become friends, of a sort, after all those millennium, one couldn't help but to be a bit sympathetic, even to one's enemy, and they've been living it up. Crowley has a fancy car, and Aziraphale collects old books. Neither one is particularly anxious to get back to their respective afterlives.

Adding to this fun is a hospital mix-up, during which we meet the nuns of the Chattering Order of Saint Beryl, Satanic nuns who are under the strictest order to babble constantly (except on Tuesday, when they can play ping pong quietly, if desired). The nuns mess up, and the antichrist is not whom he appears to be. No one realizes this until the hound who is supposed accompany him to the Armageddon doesn't show up as planned.

The antichrist, by the way, is an eleven year old kid named, appropriately enough, Adam.

Unlike The Echo Maker, this novel has a huge cast of characters, with the main ones being the demon, the angel, and the antichrist. Toss in a couple of witchfinders, a long-dead prophetess, a few kids, some demons, some angels, and the voice of god via telephone and demons via whatever the hell they please, we've got so many characters that the authors deemed to include a list of characters, should anyone become confused.

I'm really curious how the two authors wrote this. I can't imagine writing a novel with someone else. I wonder if they alternated chapters, each taking turns which could say why the novel got so ridiculously silly, or perhaps one decided to be "dark" and one "light" and went from there. I imagine that writing a novel with a friend is even more difficult than writing alone because there are bound to be power trips and disagreements here and there. Did Gaiman and Pratchett have arm wrestling bouts to conquer troubled plot twists? Maybe.

All in all, this is a fantastic book, a definite must read for anyone who A) likes both or either author(s), B) likes to read anything silly, & C) is curious about the end of the world. Definitely the best book I've read in the last few months.

Book Review: The Echo Maker

I just finished reading The Echo Maker by Richard Powers. I wanted to read this book because in one of our recent master's session, my mentor, Lawrence Connolly, told us that this book had been written entirely with voice-to-text technology. In other words, the book was more "spoken" that "written." I wanted to see how this affected the work.

It's an interesting read. It was slow at first, slower, I think that most "popular" novels would seem to be, and if I hadn't expected that this book would be a little different, I might have been irritated by that. It's definitely more "literary" than not, and much of the poetry in the text probably comes from the fact that the story was originally spoken.

The story takes place in Nebraska, near the Platte River where the world's cranes stop as a part of their yearly migration. A man has had a terrible accident, and his sister comes to him. This novel has a relatively small cast of characters. One thing that struck me is how the sister, Karin, didn't seem to have any friends. The only person she could depend on was the brother, her only family left, hence her desperate focus on getting her brother to be the way he was "before."

See, during the accident he sustained an injury that resulted in Capgras Syndrome. This syndrome results in the patient believing that their loved ones have been replaced by clever imposters. These imposters know everything that the original loved one would know, and sometimes the patient will accept them into their lives, but they "know" he or she is a fake.

Mark's constant insistence that "Karin 2" is a fake wears Karin down throughout the novel. This would be a difficult situation, and Powers portrayal of it is emotionally gripping. I had to put to novel down occasionally because it would "get" to me.

I imagine that when Powers wrote this novel his germ of an idea started with the idea of Capgras and how that would affect the loved ones, especially in the case of Karin, who has no one but her brother. The accident is a handy way to give someone Capgras, and the rest of the events in the novel spin out around this.

What's particularly neat about this novel are the subplots subtly weaved throughout the text. The main story always comes back to Mark and his accident, but the main characters (Mark, Karin, & Dr. Weber) are well-developed and seem to come to life on the page. I found myself pulled into the story, slowly, but surely. I wanted to know what happened: I cared about all of the characters. Powers sets up a few mysteries throughout, and everything is solved by the end.

All of the characters have flaws, but they also have their shining moments where they transcend that. The new Mark can be a jerk, but so was the old one. Karin's obsessed with getting Mark back to before, because that's the Mark she's comfortable with, but she ends up working for the crane refuge group. The doctor's an oddity, but what neurologist wouldn't be? I mean, after contemplating the minds of all his patients, at some point, the good doctor would have to think about his own mind -- his hidden pathways and motivations.

All of the stories also come back to the cranes, and this was one of the most fascinating aspects of the novel, though there were places when I felt myself skimming over the cranes passages in order to get back to the story at hand. I liked how Powers used the cranes to move the story along - giving a sense of place, a sense of time (whether or not the cranes are around - and it all comes full-circle when they cranes return a year later), as well as a connection to the world beyond the human mind.

All in all, a good read, and I've already recommended it to friends.

San Francisco Anarchist Book Fair

I'm excited because I just booked a ticket to San Francisco in March to attend the 12th Annual Anarchist Bookfair.

The event is free and promotes independent media makers by providing a place for peeps to meet and greet. Apparently people from all over the world show up, it's free, and, since I'm independently publishing a magazine (first issue available soon), I figured this would be a great place to make contacts.

They've got a load of speakers lined up, and I found someone with a place I can crash for free.

I'm pumped.

So, anyone want to join me as I enter the wonderful world of anarchist media makers? My ticket was $164 via priceline.