the Black Dahlia: Review

"Cherchez La Femme, Bucky. Remember that." The Black Dahlia, by James Ellroy was written in 1987, forty years after the gruesome crime known by the same name. I'll do my best to review the book without spoilers, but since it's based on an actual event, I won't worry too much about that end of it for the intrepid reader.

If you're not familiar with the story, I'll try to briefly run down the plot: the Black Dahlia follows detectives and ex-boxers Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert (our protagonist and narrator) and his partner Lee Blanchard. Together, they are caught up in the mystery of the Black Dahlia, the most notorious and gruesome murder in Californian history, revolving around the horrifying murder of Elizabeth Short, who's corpse was found on January 15, 1947, nude and severed in two with her internal organs removed. She had obviously been tortured, and with this mystery the lives f Bleichert and Blanchard are forever changed. 

James Ellroy is a legend in the field of crime fiction, a giant among boys. His prose is exceptional, and his plot building wonderful. Recently I had read (and reviewed here) Raymond Chandler's the Long Goodbye, what is typically known as his seminal work. Before that, and before I had begun writing reviews here, I read Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest, which I personally preferred. Both of these books were written by the masters of the genre, but in my personal opinion they pale in comparison to the work that Ellroy has accomplished in the Black Dahlia.

The plot isn't action packed, but unlike much of Hammett and Chandler's works, it is still maintains a brisk pace despite the long time frame that it takes place over. Things happen, one after another. Some are obviously connected to the overarching plot, while others seem like side adventures. Ellroy does a masterful job of interweaving these disparate events and plots, seeding both "vital and incidental" (as Holmes would put it) points of data along the way. Unlike the Long Goodbye, you're given all of the information that is required of solving the crime at the same time that our Detective is given it, and as such are able to actually solve the mystery at hand at the same pace that he does.

As I said before, the prose is exceptional, and always left me wanting to read on. That said, this book is absolutely not for everyone. It is graphic in the extreme, both detailing the mutilations that Short had been dealt, and the many sexual acts depicted throughout the narrative. Ellroy explores the very worst of human nature as Bleichert explores the dark corners of Los Angeles in the late 40s in search of the murderer, and for his own purpose. Needless to say, this is not a book for children or the squeamish. Though, perhaps somewhat strangely I found this to be less depressing and a much more fun read than Mockingjay.

Despite this, I found it to be an exciting and fascinating read that took one of the greatest crimes of the century and, while fictionalizing it quite a bit, did so in a way that kept me from really caring that none of this happened. I believed in the ending, and plausibility, in the end, is really one of the most important things to have in a mystery novel. Ellroy, in my mind, has absolutely established himself as one of the preeminent authors of crime and noir fiction, and I am really looking forward to reading the rest of his "L.A. Quartet."

Rating: 8/10

Thirteen: Review

Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan Audible Edition Narrated by Simon Vance

Cover of Thirteen

One hundred years from now, the world has changed. The United States is no more, Mars has been colonized, and China is the preeminent super power. Genetic enhancement is the cutting edge tech of the day, and the Variant Thirteen is the ultimate in enhanced soldier. But they're nothing new, no, they're the complete opposite. They're men with genes that have been reverse engineered to be more like humans were twenty-thousand years ago. Back when they ruled by sheer, individual power. They're the men who refused to settle and become farmers; they're the men who roamed the world and slew and savaged their way to glory and gold.

But then the rest of humanity decided there was more profit in an agrarian lifestyle, that cities and civilization were more important. So these men of power were bred out of the population. Then Genetic Variant Thirteen is created, bred and raised to be the best soldier there could be, the last cry of patriarchal society before it is ground to dust by the wave of "feminization" that is sweeping the world.

The story follows Carl Marsalis, by and large, a British black Thirteen(as the UK edition is named) who somehow made it back from Mars and became a bounty hunter, making money off of hunting his fellow thirteens, who have been exiled to prison camps after being deemed too dangerous to live freely in human society.

If you've never read Richard K. Morgan, then you may not be prepared for some of the savagery that is on display in Thirteen. His style is a hardboiled neo-noir, through and through, and he does not shy away from the rough stuff. Explicit sex scenes, gruesome gun battles, men who don't give a damn about the moral implications of an action and women who can't give it away fast enough are all par for the course for Morgan. Generally, it's pretty entertaining.

I really like noir, and I really, really like science fiction. So when the two overlap, I'm more than eager to read it. Thirteen wasn't the first book of Morgan's that I've read. Before that was the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy, beginning with Altered Carbon (which is fantastic). So when I started this, I knew that it would be slow going at first, and I was absolutely right on that count. The first dozen chapters (give or take) are a bit of a slog to get through, but once you're done and the mystery actually gets going you're in for a treat.

Morgan is absolutely not for everyone, and Thirteen isn't his best work, though that is a matter of opinion (as one longtime friend vehemently disagrees with me on). It's absolutely worth reading if you like the style, or if you were a fan of his Kovacs books, which it could be argued this is a precursor to. If you're at all squeamish, by violence, rough language, or sexual depictions (which are the most graphic, I think), then Morgan and Thirteen are not for you.

Rating: 7/10

Audio Edition Rating: 5/10

Note on Edition: I listened to this after purchasing it on Audible.com, as I'm a pretty avid listener to audio books. This was a huge mistake, as this book is a little more complex than I generally like my audio books, and the narrator (Simon Vance), while excellent at his role, was too similar to other audio books of the same genre that kept making them blend together in my head as I listened. If you hadn't listened to other Simon Vance narrations, then this might be better for you. Personally, this seems like a book that is better read than listened to.

Mockingjay: Review

We arrive here, at the end of all things. Mockingjay, book 3 of the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, concludes the saga of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale as the districts begin a revolution against the Capital, a culmination of all that Katniss and Peeta accomplished (accidentally) as they survived the horrors of the Hunger Games. I've already spoken to my distaste for Collins' writing style in my reviews of books 1 and 2, so I'll just say that it doesn't get any better here. We still follow Katniss as she struggles with the events that transpired at the end of the last book: she's been rescued by the revolution and taken to District 13 (gasp!), where they have apparently been biding their time to begin the revolution anew in secret. District 12 has been firebombed to oblivion, and few survived the destruction (naturally Gale and her family are just fine), and Peeta has been captured by the Capitol.

This book suffers by far the most from Collins' sometimes ponderous and repetitive writing style. In what should be the big action piece, very little happens at all. Far little than either of the preceding books, actually. I was really looking forward to the war between the Districts and the Capitol, but guess what? We really don't see it. Instead we're treated to Katniss having a complete breakdown for the majority of the book, spending her time wandering from one closet to the next, where she can hide and cry over her loss of Peeta and her very confused feelings for him and Gale.

This book had a lot of potential. Katniss, who had been such a strong female character for the series, who had used her anger to jumpstart a rebellion, who would do anything to survive and protect those she loves just kind of stops doing all of that. Her big role in the revolution is that of a propaganda figure, dressing up in fancy armor and looking good for the camera. They keep almost taking her into actual combat, but aside from the first foray that never really happens. It's absolutely frustrating.

There are also a great deal of characters that are introduced, and never really used. Or used briefly, then thrown by the wayside. It seems like there may have been a larger plan that just never happened. Frustrating.

Then there's the end. Yes, we get everything nice and wrapped up, but it all seems incredibly rushed and lazy, actually. The love triangle between Gale, Peeta, and Katniss is resolved, but in a completely unsatisfying cop out that does nothing but wrap it up. Katniss' revolution is also rushed towards the end, and ultimately lacks any kind of real conclusion (in my mind). Katniss never actually decides anything for herself. Things just fall in a certain fashion that she decides to go with. Even the love triangle, when it seems that the decision has been made for her, seems undecided. There's a line (I won't quote because I don't want to go digging around for it) where she says that she's "relieved" that she can't go with one of them. THAT is your resolution, her decision. She's just "relieved" that she doesn't have to make any decision.

This book is by far my least favorite of the series, and seems to actually tarnish the first two books with inconsistent character development and plain old annoying decisions. The Hunger Games seemed to have not been edited very well for grammar, but Mockingjay seems to have been poorly edited for plot. I wonder if, due to the popularity of the series, they rushed the conclusion out the door before it could have fully developed, before it had properly matured. If that's the case, then it's a damn shame to conclude what could have otherwise been a very good series with such a lackluster entry. Who knows, maybe translating it to the big screen will allow them to fix what was so very broken with this conclusion.

I don't like this book. Real, or not real?

Real.

Rating: 4/10

Now, I'm off to read something a bit lighter. I think the Black Dahlia should do the trick.

Catching Fire: Review

Lucky number thirteen (which is somewhat ironic, since the other book I'm reading right now is actually called Thirteen), we arrive at Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, book 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy.

I've already written about the Hunger Games, so I'll do my best not to rehash that subject. Catching Fire is a fun continuation of the series, following Katniss six-months after the events of the first book as she tries to cope with the challenges that the evil Capital and their Hunger Games have brought into her life.

Now, there really aren't any surprises here as to the main focus of the book. If you were paying any attention at all in the first book, you'll know where this is going. The Capital is pissed with Katniss, and President Snow (quite possibly the most incompetent public relations president since Stalin) has it in for Katniss & Co.

I'll avoid spoilers here, so I won't go into what that entails. Instead I'll just speak to the merits of the book, and the problems I have with it.

It's a fun read, there's no doubt about that in my mind. I enjoyed it, the characters and the events are all things that keep me interested. I sometimes balk at President Snow's ideas for punishment, but I guess he's just not that great at actual manipulation. Katniss is a decent narrator, though she does get a little annoying at times.

To be honest, the biggest problems I have with the book are two; first, like the Hunger Games, it takes a little while to get off the ground. It took me almost a week to get past the first 30% of the book, but once I got over that hump only about two days to finish it. The other problem I have with the series at large is Collins' actual writing ability. Yes, I know it's aimed at "young adults," but I think we're somewhat shortchanging them here if this is intentionally written down to them.

Collins has a pretty great imagination, I really enjoy the ideas she presents here and the overall story. It's just when you get into the actual writing that things become rather weak. Near the end of the book I thought of a completely different conclusion based on a simple sentence that could have easily been glossed over. "Wow, that's a really clever use of foreshadowing!" I thought, and read on only to find that it was just an accidental turn of a phrase that meant exactly what it was saying.

Then there is the end, which takes a lot of important information, wrapping up just about every loose story thread and explaining it in a brief one-paragraph summary. Don't tell me what has been happening, show me! There's a pretty big (though obvious) reveal that I would have loved to have Katniss describe in shock and wonder, instead of just lumping it in with a half dozen other "revelations" that seem rather boring when put down in such a brief synopsis.

There's just not very much depth to Collins'writing, and I think that the series would really benefit from a little more emphasis on the "adult" in "young adult." See Heinlein's YA books for what I mean.

Catching Fire is an entertaining read, no doubt in my mind about that, and worth the time it takes to actually pick up the pace. For someone who is interested in YA books at all, I certainly would recommend them, and I can see why they enjoy the popularity that they do.

Rating: 7/10

2012: January in Review the Final Chapter

And we arrive at the end, wherein I dig into what amounted to a rather eclectic portion of the month. We've got instructional, post-apocalypse sci-fi, pulp noir, post-apocalyptic young adult, and Star Wars. Let's get to it, shall we?

Writing a Novel with Scrivener by David Hewson

Writing a Novel with Scrivener was a Kindle exclusive that was offered in the Lending Library, which is a program Amazon offers to Prime customers that essentially lets them read a book for free a month. I am a pretty die hard Scrivener user, and have been for about four or five years now. I'd go into that further, but that seems to be the kind of thing I should save for later.

This little book is essentially one author's user case for the software. He details how he uses it in his own fiction writing, and what he thinks are the best ways to get the most out of it when writing a novel. And that really is all there is to it. It's well written, informative, and is pretty helpful with a lot of things that even after using the software for so long I didn't really know. Scrivener is like that, there's always something useful if you dig just a little bit deeper.

Hewson did a good job of writing something informative, but keeping it brief and interesting.

Rating: 7/10

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

I really like Star Wars. That's no secret, ask anyone. But I'm not really a huge reader of the Expanded Universe books. Back before the prequels, when old man Lucas refused to acknowledge them one way or another, it was mostly just the "Doomsday weapon of the week" kind of deal, where Luke and the gang had to run around the galaxy destroying one planet destroying gun or bomb or starfighter after another. Then the Prequels happened, and it was all about the Jedi, and how awesome they are with the help of their clone soldiers. Super fun!

I hate most of that. So you may be able to see why I enjoyed the Republic Commandobooks so much. Written by Karen Traviss, a former war reporter who readily admits to not being a Star Wars fan in the first place. In fact, after being offered the job to write some tie-in novels she said she did a lot of research and found the Jedi to be a lot of jerks for the most part.

I'm taking a long time to explain why I love this series, but bear with me. Her task was to write a series of novels following a group of the Clone Commandos that are created in Episode II, Attack of the Clones. So she takes that concept and runs with it. The Clones are trained/raised by a badass Mandalorian (think Boba Fett, or, sigh, his father Jango) who treats them like his own sons and makes them realize that they're a literal slave army, created for the sole purpose of fighting and dying for the Republic with no choice in the matter.

When the war breaks out in the movie/books, the Jedi are all made officers (and Generals for the most part), not because they're trained to be such, but because they can do magic! And not only are they cool with these slave soldiers, most don't even acknowledge there being a problem. So the Jedi are dicks, essentially.

And I've gone on a long time without even talking about this book. Okay, back on track. This is the fifth book in the series (or the first in a second series if you want to get technical), and features the same characters that we have followed for the previous four. It takes place at the dawn of the Empire, with several of the main characters having been forced to join the Imperial 501st regiment, or the Vader's Fist, tasked with hunting down and killing the remaining Jedi.

Unfortunately, the book is better conceptually than in actual practice. There is little in a whole story arc, rather it feels like the first part in a much larger arc. It almost feels like she had a whole large story plotted out, then as she wrote it her editor told her to stop at a certain page, and to save the rest for the next book. Which would be fine, except for Old Man Lucas has decided that the books are now non-canonical, effectively ending the series.

I could go on, trust me, on how much Lucas has screwed up Star Wars over the years, but I'll quit after going on at length already. Traviss is the best of the EU writers, and it's too bad that the last of her books in this pretty great series is going to be the worst of them all.

Rating: 7/10