BATMAN
by Lew Merrill
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Monthly Archive for January, 2010
You know how when you were a little monster, and you and your monster friends would scare each other? You might have some scary stuffed rabbits, a fake severed monster head, and a flashlight. And then you would play something that was like hide-and-seek and your friend would jump out of a cabinet, turn on the lights, and throw a bunny at you? Remember how it was fun the first hundred times?
Regular readers will remember that I just reviewed another book by Liz Williams, Snake Agent, last month. Snake Agent is the first book in her Detective Chen series. I really loved it and was excited that there were already three sequels available.
In a nutshell, Chen and Irzh are once again pulled into circumstances very much beyond their control as the powers and bureaucracies of Chinese Heaven and Hell converge on the case of a meddling pharmaceuticals magnate who has made a deal with… well you’ll have to read it to find out. Zhu Irzh finds himself unable to maintain a professional distance from the case, but hey! He’s a demon, so what do you expect?
Demon and the City starts a little differently from Snake Agent. There is a murder, but it becomes clear very quickly who was behind it, so it eschews the murder mystery genre quite a bit more. Also, the demon, Zhu Irzh is more the main character. Detective Chen doesn’t show up until about halfway through the book. The story is very imaginative, and there is the same sort or wry comedy that made Snake Agent so entertaining. Another difference is that there are two romances going on in the book, both of which are very interesting.
This leads me to my confusion. I simply didn’t like this book as much as Snake Agent, and it’s hard to put my finger on why. I do know that I like Detective Chen more than Zhu Irzh. I also enjoyed how Snake Agent is a huge, dark farce. Demon and the City definitely takes itself more seriously. Demon and the City also seemed more scattered, following more characters. At the same time, I’m left with the nagging suspicion that if I had read this book first, I might have liked it better.
Creepy Factor: 3 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 3 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 3 out of 5
Funny and/or Strange Factor: 4 out of 5
Final result: I just can’t get as excited about this book as I did the last, but I think that it was still a good read and would recommend it for fans of dark fiction. I’ve got the next Detective Chen novel, Precious Dragon, ready to roll. For anyone interested in the author, here is an interesting interview with Liz Williams.
The Demon and the City by Liz Williams – Night Shade Books – 2006
Buy The Demon and the City on Amazon
Thanks for reading another one of my book reviews. See you next time!
THE EVIL FLAME
by Justin Case
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We all know that it’s dangerous to think in terms of black and white. For instance, a person might think that there is no place for monsters on the TV show 24. I am here to say that most definitely, there are a lot of places where monsters would make that show a lot better. For example, imagine a scene where a terrorist is chasing Jack Bauer down a hallway with a huge killer virus bomb when a monster suddenly jumps out from out of nowhere and kills the terrorist by breaking him in half and then eats his feet or something. That would be awesome. (Incidentally, I would volunteer for that part, even though the TV show really stresses me out and I need the Diabolical Dr. Francois to watch it with me. I also don’t happen to eat feet, but could pretend for a movie. Maybe they could make special effects feet out of cake.)
What I’m trying to say is that in real life things are often more complex than we like to think. Even more complex than what Jack is having to deal with every week in sixty minute bites. Sometimes the people you don’t expect to be mean, cruel and devious turn out to be worse than you could imagine. Sometimes authority has to be questioned. Sometimes things aren’t exactly as they may seem.
That is exactly the case with these two books, Foundling and Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish. A third book in the series is expected sometime this year. I was introduced to this series by the excellent book blog, Speculative Fiction Junkie. The books follow the adventures of the unfortunately named Rossamund Bookchild and are definitely the most entertaining young-adult fiction that I’ve read since Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. I wish that I could get through this review without mentioning Harry Potter, but although these are definitely a lot different, I think it’s safe to say that if you have read all of the Harry Potter books and wish there were more, these books are for you and you should go get one now. Now!
Like the Phillip Pullman and J. K. Rowling novels, the protagonist of these two books is an orphan. The orphan, Rossamund, lives in a world of magic and strange technology. The world that Cornish has imagined is amazingly complete and compelling. The world of Rossamund is inhabited by monsters of all shapes and sizes. Mankind is at war with the monsters, and any people who are found to be friendly with monsters are hanged for the crime. Our young hero Rossamund is earnest to a fault and loves to read pamphlets detailing the adventures of sailors. He dreams of a life of adventure sailing the seas, but as an orphan, his choices are limited. Eventually he is chosen to become a Lamplighter.
Lamplighters tend the lamps that run between towns throughout the empire. They are a cross between public servant and anti-monster military force. In Foundling, we follow Rossamund on his way to join the Lamplighters. He gets mislaid and has a great adventure finding his way into and out of trouble. Along the way he meets a fascinating woman named Europe who is a monster-killing mercenary. He also meets and finds himself forced to make friends with a monster.
If in Foundling it becomes obvious that not all monsters are bad and not all humans are to be trusted, the theme is expanded upon in the second book, Lamplighter. In a nutshell, Lamplighter follows Rossamund and a rather willful girl Threnody as they are trained to be Lamplighters and assigned to their first post. As could be expected in a sequel, characters from the first book make an appearance in this one. This book is so suspenseful that I could barely contain myself while reading the last fifty pages. The ending is shocking and leaves the reader with more questions than answers.
A few last details: The books are beautifully illustrated by the author and have their own jargon and language. I takes a little while to get used to the language, but once you do, it’s smooth sailing. It also must be noted that the books are amazingly imaginative and well-written. While they are marketed for young adults, they will certainly appeal to adults who enjoy fantasy and adventure. Here is the official site.
Creepy Factor: 4 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 5 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 1 out of 5 (I’m giving one star for mild romantic tension)
Funny and/or Strange Factor: 4 out of 5
Final result: Great adventure, mean monsters, deep characterizations, friendly monsters, cool illustrations, hard lessons, strange monsters, and enormous suspense all in one place. The second book is rather long but you’ll never notice it. I love these books and can’t wait to read the next one! (P.S. I don’t usually get into author blogs, but D.M. Cornish’s is here.)
Foundling by D.M. Cornish – Speak – 2007
Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish – Putnam – 2008
Get Foundling on Amazon
Get Lamplighter on Amazon
Thanks for reading another one of my book reviews. See you next time!
The SMOKING CORPSE
by
ERLE STANLEY GARDNER
READ ‘EM AND WEEP
A CARDIGAN NOVELETTE
by
FREDERICK NEBEL
DUCHESS OF DEATH
by
MAXWELL HAWKINS
AND OTHERS
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