Tag Archive for 'zines'

A Grab Bag of Mini Reviews

I’ve managed to rack up quite the backlog of books lately. So I’m taking a page out of the book of Arbogast, and have dialed up some mini reviews. Those pressed for time may wish to check the executive summaries (in italics) at the end of each mini where I rate each book for creepiness, suspense, violence, and erotic factor. Each executive summary ends with a one word summary of the book.

Supernatural The Unholy CauseCivil War re-enactment has never been more terrifying as the Winchester brothers tangle with demonic powers unleashed by a 19th century unholy relic in SUPERNATURAL – THE UNHOLY CAUSE. Should the brothers trust the kindly single dad and his earnest boy, or the aggravating town Sheriff, Jacqueline Daniels, who seems to be keeping something big to herself? What is causing so much friction between the Winchester brothers? Who is Castiel looking for? Where the heck are the black helicopters? The book is a fun read and is suspenseful. Joe Schreiber is probably not going to win the Bram Stoker award for it, but nobody I know picks up a novel based on a TV series because they want to sink their teeth into some Literature. I found this one a little more entertaining than the last one I read: Supernatural – Heart of the Dragon by Keith R.A. Decandido. Creepy, suspenseful, and violent, but not sexy. Entertainment. (Titan Books, 2010)

A Boy Born of MoldLorin Morgan Richards charts the paths of weird clouds that pass far overhead and then maps the changes that their rain makes on the lives of people living below. His writing has become better and more interesting in his newest collection of very odd stories, A BOY BORN FROM MOLD. The stories are amusing and make me think of the likes of Shel Silverstein and Tim Burton. As I reported with his last book, I was left wanting more outrageous tragedy and monsters and wished it wasn’t printed in ALL CAPS. If you like zines, Tim Burton, and nonsense stories, you may wish to check it out. Maybe creepy, maybe suspenseful, not violent and not erotic. Odd. (Published by the artist, 2010)

The Name of the WindDepending on your tolerance level for bigger-than-life heroes and melodrama, your good humor and fascination may or may not turn into irritation by the end of THE NAME OF THE WIND. Patrick Rothfuss chronicles the boyhood of a traveling musician (bard? gypsy?) who loses his parents to a violent supernatural gang, barely survives as a child beggar on the streets, and then studies to become the greatest wizard of all time. The fantasy is thick, the world-building is complete and amazing, the story and characters are compelling. Be warned: The childhood is more tragic than you can imagine; the woman is more beautiful, confounding, and mysterious than any you will ever meet; and the love affair is more painful and exultant than any normal heart could bear. I can see that many will love this book and look forward to the next (it is the first in a series). At some point I grew a brand new callus on my heart and could no longer be moved. Lightly creepy, suspenseful, sometimes violent, and romantic. Magical. (DAW Books, 2009)

When Ghosts Speak by Mary Ann WinkowskiYou may think that your house is haunted by the ghost of a notorious satanist, a pair of tragic lovers, or maybe someone interesting like Clara Bow. If that’s the case, then WHEN GHOSTS SPEAK is here to set the record straight. Your ghost probably has more in common with your great aunt Mildred, who still feels awful because she flushed your grandmother’s wedding ring in a fit of spite, but who never fessed up to the crime. Mary Ann Winkowski assures us that ghosts are not dangerous and recommends that they should always be directed into The Light. Lie to them if you must and let the afterlife sort ‘em out, she advises. Just get them there. Other important facts to remember: 1) Your dog or cat can become a ghost. 2) NEVER EVER play with a Ouija board. 3) Your chronic respiratory ailment might be due to a haunt. 4) If you’re a ghost and you’re haunting Jennifer Love Hewitt, it’s probably because you want to watch her in the shower. How many ways can I say it? The book is not fascinating. Creepy in a voyeuristic way, not suspenseful, not really violent, and occasionally titillating. Ghost-gossipy. (Grand Central Publishing, 2009)

Many thanks to the Hachette Group for the review copy of When Ghosts Speak, Titan Books for the review copy of Supernatural – the Unholy Cause, and Lorin Morgan Richards for the review copy of Boy Born from Mold.

Published on May 27, 2010 in Book Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Book Review: Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories by Lorin Morgan-Richards

coversimonsmallestOne of the real problems of toiling in obscurity is that it’s so easy to get lost in all these tunnels. You might put together some papercraft, take some pictures of dead bugs, write things about monsters, and you still wouldn’t really know how things are going. Sometimes people write me letters or emails. I was contacted by the author of this book to do a review. You can check out Lorin Morgan-Richards website here. The book is called Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories and is an illustrated book of odd nonsense stories. The book has seven stories and each book is bound by hand by the author. The stories are:

  • Simon Snootle was such a Gracious Host
  • Mr. Slowbug and Ms. Shellquick
  • Peter Puddlestick and the Precious Plot
  • The Life of Otto Loud
  • The Callous Shrub
  • The Earwig and Mrs. Snipit
  • The Boy Who Loved Beef Sandwiches

The book is a very quick read. The stories are about odd people who do odd things, or in one case, an odd plant that does odd things. For example, there’s a story about a boy who liked to feed an earwig and then gets lost on a bus. In the story about the plant, a shrub takes pleasure in stealing people’s hats and scarves.

callousforwebThe good: If you’re a fan of nonsense stories such as Alice in Wonderland or some of the other more obscure nonsense practitioners from the past (James Thurber comes to mind), you might enjoy these odd stories. The stories are very imaginative and, as I keep saying, odd. Also, fans of the self-published “zine” genre will probably be interested. The books are hand-bound and so they are pieces of art in and of themselves. The not-so-good: There are numerous grammatical and spelling errors. I think one of the problems with nonsense stories is that it’s very hard for an author to keep his audience engaged.

Creepy Factor: 1 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 0 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 0 out of 5
Funny and/or Strange Factor: 4 out of 5

Final result: I’m a big fan of cartoonists and people who publish zines. One of the nice things about zines is that they are very personal and have this great primitive edge to them. One of the problems with zines is that very often the authors never really have other people help them, and thus there are things like spelling and grammatical errors. I checked out other reviews of this book online and found that it was very well received. I myself, on the other hand, ended up wishing for more outrageous tragedy and monsters.

Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories by Lorin Morgan-Richards – A Raven Above Press – 2009
Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories on Amazon

Many thanks to Lorin Morgan-Richards for sending me this book to review. (See my disclosure policy.) Thanks for reading another one of my book reviews. See you next time!

Published on December 1, 2009 in Book Reviews. 1 Comment Tags: , , .