Title: The Tea House
Author: Paul Elwork
Genre: Literary Fiction, historical, coming of age
URL: Out of Print
Price: Out of Print
Other Information/warnings: None
Summary (from the publisher): Emily Stewart has a secret. So does her brother, Michael.
Thirteen years old, precocious and privileged, the Stewart twins are just beginning to learn the power of secrets. But what starts as a game among their small circle of friends soon grows out of control; Emily and Michael’s secret spills into the adult world, where secrets can be deadly.
The Tea House is a richly evocative tale of coming of age in early 20th century America. With period detail and deep compassion, Paul Elwork delivers a suspenseful novel that delves into the intricate truths lying at the very heart of families.
My Review: Like the titular edifice, The Tea House is a bit of a mystery, a solid debut by Paul Elwork which, in some respects, defies description or categorization. It is a novel that goes down easily, with evocative prose and an unparalleled sense of time and place, but it is also a story that haunts your memory long after you’ve finished it, even though–and perhaps because–you are only given a quick glance inside, a moment in time to find all the lives and secrets hovering in its darkened corners.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Living One by Lewis Gannett
Title: The Living One
Author: Lewis Gannett
Genre: Horror, Coming of Age
URL: Amazon
Price: Varies by 3rd party seller - Out of Print
Summary (from Library Journal): After a ten-year estrangement, Malcolm Spoor wishes to spend a few months with his teenaged son Torrance and invites him to live at the estate he has purchased in New England. Malcolm's reason is bizarre: he claims that he is the victim of a family curse and that he will go insane and die before he reaches the age of 50. Good-natured Torrance thinks this is a ruse to gain sympathy; he agrees to the visit but soon suspects his father may be losing his mind. Torrance sees him spending most of his time locked away in his office, screaming and raging at people who never answer, and learns with horror and anger that Malcolm is using hidden cameras to record Torrance's every move. Something is indeed very wrong at the Spoor estate, but it is Torrance, not Malcolm, who is slated for death--or something even worse.
My Review: It has been a massive number of years since I read this book the last time, but it is one which despite a very muddled ending, has always remained in my mind. The younger Spoor--standing on the cusp of manhood--contrasted with the image of his his father Malcolm Spoor who is falling into madness is a really interesting dynamic and a rather fresh way at looking at vampirism.
This is an epistolary novel, done as homage to Stoker's Dracula, and for the most part it works, switching from the perspective of the younger Spoor to his teacher. Gannet manages the multiple POVs well and even delves into issues of coming out, growing up, strained familial relationships and less than honest and forthright teachers.
The characters are all very well rounded and the author manages to maintain a creepy almost voyeuristic tone to the novel that fits it well. Not so many scares in this one, but it is a really interesting character study and though it is not a YA novel in any respect, I think for young people it deals pretty honestly with the issues of growing up awkward, being a bit of an outcast, and having parents you just can't understand.
Only near the end does it get muddled, but for me, the story was enough for me to forgive the sloppiness at the end.
Author: Lewis Gannett
Genre: Horror, Coming of Age
URL: Amazon
Price: Varies by 3rd party seller - Out of Print
Summary (from Library Journal): After a ten-year estrangement, Malcolm Spoor wishes to spend a few months with his teenaged son Torrance and invites him to live at the estate he has purchased in New England. Malcolm's reason is bizarre: he claims that he is the victim of a family curse and that he will go insane and die before he reaches the age of 50. Good-natured Torrance thinks this is a ruse to gain sympathy; he agrees to the visit but soon suspects his father may be losing his mind. Torrance sees him spending most of his time locked away in his office, screaming and raging at people who never answer, and learns with horror and anger that Malcolm is using hidden cameras to record Torrance's every move. Something is indeed very wrong at the Spoor estate, but it is Torrance, not Malcolm, who is slated for death--or something even worse.
My Review: It has been a massive number of years since I read this book the last time, but it is one which despite a very muddled ending, has always remained in my mind. The younger Spoor--standing on the cusp of manhood--contrasted with the image of his his father Malcolm Spoor who is falling into madness is a really interesting dynamic and a rather fresh way at looking at vampirism.
This is an epistolary novel, done as homage to Stoker's Dracula, and for the most part it works, switching from the perspective of the younger Spoor to his teacher. Gannet manages the multiple POVs well and even delves into issues of coming out, growing up, strained familial relationships and less than honest and forthright teachers.
The characters are all very well rounded and the author manages to maintain a creepy almost voyeuristic tone to the novel that fits it well. Not so many scares in this one, but it is a really interesting character study and though it is not a YA novel in any respect, I think for young people it deals pretty honestly with the issues of growing up awkward, being a bit of an outcast, and having parents you just can't understand.
Only near the end does it get muddled, but for me, the story was enough for me to forgive the sloppiness at the end.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
On Wings, Rising (Encounters #1) by Ann Somerville
Title: On Wings, Rising (Encounters #1)
Author: Ann Somerville
Genre: Sci-Fi/Speculative, LGBT Fiction
URL: Samhain Publishing
Price: US$ 4.50
Summary (from the publisher): Dinun can’t fly—but he could be the answer to an Angel’s prayer. Barely tolerated by his own kind, Dinun is a self-reliant soul who scratches out a living from the great, empty lands of Quarn. Always looking for unexpected treasure, he never dreams of finding an injured Angel.
Moon belongs to a race of telepathic winged humanoids. Exquisitely beautiful, sexually playful, Angels have always fascinated humans. Dinun’s feelings for Moon take flight as they become lovers, but a planetary invasion could destroy their future together.
Centuries ago, humans on Quarn saved their race from destruction by joining their DNA with that of the Angels. Now full-blood humans are stealing Angel children—including Moon’s son—for barbaric experiments. The full-bloods are prepared to slaughter anyone who gets in their way.
Thrust into a desperate race against time to save the infants, Dinun and Moon must battle against a people with weapons far beyond anything the Angels—or their human friends—can hope to defeat. Dinun brings to the fight his bravery and a determination to be true to himself. Will that be enough to save the children, and win the Angel he’s come to love?
My Review: One of the things I’ve come to expect in reading Ann Somerville’s works is that as an author she never goes for the obvious, for the stereotypes of character and plot that plague any genre, not just the m/m romance genre. I am happy to say that Somerville once again takes us on an enjoyable journey down the road less often taken with the charming, touching and completely entertaining On Wings, Rising.
On the world of Quarn, we are introduced to Dinun, an everyman who is, perhaps, a little less ordinary than he actually believes. Somewhat of an outsider in his village because of his choice of lifestyle, Dinun is content with his life as a fossicker, his relationship with his “wife” and his playful relationship with his “little tax reliefs,” the children he and his wife have had to avoid the crushing taxes placed upon the unmarried. The marriage is one of convenience for both parties, one that is very business like, and while Dinun would prefer sex and a relationship with a another man, he never broods about it, accepting his life as it is and supplementing with the occasional secret encounter with other men in the village, men who are open to using him but give little back in return. In short, Dinun is an even tempered man who is not dissatisfied with his life, but knows that there is something—that special connection—missing.
Author: Ann Somerville
Genre: Sci-Fi/Speculative, LGBT Fiction
URL: Samhain Publishing
Price: US$ 4.50
Summary (from the publisher): Dinun can’t fly—but he could be the answer to an Angel’s prayer. Barely tolerated by his own kind, Dinun is a self-reliant soul who scratches out a living from the great, empty lands of Quarn. Always looking for unexpected treasure, he never dreams of finding an injured Angel.
Moon belongs to a race of telepathic winged humanoids. Exquisitely beautiful, sexually playful, Angels have always fascinated humans. Dinun’s feelings for Moon take flight as they become lovers, but a planetary invasion could destroy their future together.
Centuries ago, humans on Quarn saved their race from destruction by joining their DNA with that of the Angels. Now full-blood humans are stealing Angel children—including Moon’s son—for barbaric experiments. The full-bloods are prepared to slaughter anyone who gets in their way.
Thrust into a desperate race against time to save the infants, Dinun and Moon must battle against a people with weapons far beyond anything the Angels—or their human friends—can hope to defeat. Dinun brings to the fight his bravery and a determination to be true to himself. Will that be enough to save the children, and win the Angel he’s come to love?
My Review: One of the things I’ve come to expect in reading Ann Somerville’s works is that as an author she never goes for the obvious, for the stereotypes of character and plot that plague any genre, not just the m/m romance genre. I am happy to say that Somerville once again takes us on an enjoyable journey down the road less often taken with the charming, touching and completely entertaining On Wings, Rising.
On the world of Quarn, we are introduced to Dinun, an everyman who is, perhaps, a little less ordinary than he actually believes. Somewhat of an outsider in his village because of his choice of lifestyle, Dinun is content with his life as a fossicker, his relationship with his “wife” and his playful relationship with his “little tax reliefs,” the children he and his wife have had to avoid the crushing taxes placed upon the unmarried. The marriage is one of convenience for both parties, one that is very business like, and while Dinun would prefer sex and a relationship with a another man, he never broods about it, accepting his life as it is and supplementing with the occasional secret encounter with other men in the village, men who are open to using him but give little back in return. In short, Dinun is an even tempered man who is not dissatisfied with his life, but knows that there is something—that special connection—missing.
Going Down by Ann Somerville
Title: Going Down
Author: Ann Somerville
Genre: Sci-Fi/Speculative fiction, LGBT Fiction
URL: Smashwords
Price: US$ 2.99 ebook
Summary (from the publisher): For 15 years Derzo rescued others from fires, floods and natural disasters. In the aftermath of a horrific event, he’s left unable to help anyone, not even himself, his empathy now more of a curse. Running from his demons, he finds refuge in a big city, discovering an underclass of people even worse off than him. In saving one more person, will he find his own salvation?
My Review: Set in the author’s world of Periter – a world like our own save for the fact that some of the people living there have a genetic predisposition toward paranormal abilities – this 30,000 word novella is an entertaining and excellently crafted story about the power of pain, healing, friendship, and faith, deftly told with a light and loving touch. While a familiarity with the author’s other works set in the Periter universe would most likely augment the story, such prior knowledge isn’t required as the piece stands beautifully on its own, never assuming the reader has taken the other journeys. If you’re familiar with the other works, this likely is a welcome addition to the group. If you’re not familiar with the Periter universe (as was the case with this reviewer), you will discover an amazingly detailed world populated with rich, full characters. You’ll be left wanting to read more, and isn’t that what good story telling is all about?
The focus of the story is Einan, an empath and a trained medic who was once part of a respected military Corps, first responders in all manner of disasters. Following an especially horrific Op, Einan finds himself overwhelmed by the emotions of others and physically drained, his empathic abilities becoming a devastating curse rather than a blessing. Diagnosed with empathic overload and unable to handle the cure of a year’s isolation from all mankind, Einan has left the Corps and landed himself a job working at a little diner in the town of Kundo, an economically depressed city that is drawn with remarkable detail. As Einan, unable to sleep for the pain and memories swarming inside him, traverses the city on one of his nightly walks, we as readers see the world he has found himself in, we can breathe in the oily scents and feel the desperation of not only the neighborhood, but of the man himself.
Author: Ann Somerville
Genre: Sci-Fi/Speculative fiction, LGBT Fiction
URL: Smashwords
Price: US$ 2.99 ebook
Summary (from the publisher): For 15 years Derzo rescued others from fires, floods and natural disasters. In the aftermath of a horrific event, he’s left unable to help anyone, not even himself, his empathy now more of a curse. Running from his demons, he finds refuge in a big city, discovering an underclass of people even worse off than him. In saving one more person, will he find his own salvation?
My Review: Set in the author’s world of Periter – a world like our own save for the fact that some of the people living there have a genetic predisposition toward paranormal abilities – this 30,000 word novella is an entertaining and excellently crafted story about the power of pain, healing, friendship, and faith, deftly told with a light and loving touch. While a familiarity with the author’s other works set in the Periter universe would most likely augment the story, such prior knowledge isn’t required as the piece stands beautifully on its own, never assuming the reader has taken the other journeys. If you’re familiar with the other works, this likely is a welcome addition to the group. If you’re not familiar with the Periter universe (as was the case with this reviewer), you will discover an amazingly detailed world populated with rich, full characters. You’ll be left wanting to read more, and isn’t that what good story telling is all about?
The focus of the story is Einan, an empath and a trained medic who was once part of a respected military Corps, first responders in all manner of disasters. Following an especially horrific Op, Einan finds himself overwhelmed by the emotions of others and physically drained, his empathic abilities becoming a devastating curse rather than a blessing. Diagnosed with empathic overload and unable to handle the cure of a year’s isolation from all mankind, Einan has left the Corps and landed himself a job working at a little diner in the town of Kundo, an economically depressed city that is drawn with remarkable detail. As Einan, unable to sleep for the pain and memories swarming inside him, traverses the city on one of his nightly walks, we as readers see the world he has found himself in, we can breathe in the oily scents and feel the desperation of not only the neighborhood, but of the man himself.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
ChemICKal Reactions by Karen L. Newman
Title: ChemICKal Reactions
Author: Karen L. Newman
Genre: Horror Poetry collection, Single Author Anthology
URL: Naked Snake Press Print / Ebook
Price: US$6.99 print / $1.99 e-book
Author: Karen L. Newman
Genre: Horror Poetry collection, Single Author Anthology
URL: Naked Snake Press Print / Ebook
Price: US$6.99 print / $1.99 e-book
Summary (from the publisher): Karen L. Newman uses her MS in chemistry to concoct an eclectic mixture of chemical mayhem. In this collection chemicals are the backdrop to human foibles gone bad. From illicit drugs to water and vinegar and many chemical compounds and elements in between, the worst of man is exposed in unexpected ways.
My Review: OK. I admit I know relatively little about poetry. I never studied it beyond what was required in school, lo those many dark ages ago, and when I do read poetry, it tends to be the old classics like Byron or Shelley. So, this is probably going to be the shortest review I’ve ever written. But don’t let my lack of erudition on the subject matter scare you away, because this collection by Karen L. Newman is a stand-out piece of work, a collection of grisly and grim poetry that is really impressive.
The only way I can review a work of poetry is to judge it in the same way I would judge any work of fiction-- be it a short story or novel-- with respect to language, imagery, characterization and impact. And it is in all of these areas that the collection left me in awe.
Newman’s use of imagery is astounding especially given the brevity of the pieces. With precise and measured language, she manages to evoke images that are funny, touching, and almost beautiful in their brutality. With very few words, Newman creates really amazing visuals, visuals it would take many novelists paragraphs to accomplish.
It is equally impressive how full the characters are that appear in these works. They almost never have names, but by choosing her words well, Newman gives us nice, rich characters: we know who they are, what they are feeling, and in most cases we can even picture what they look like.
The vast majority of the pieces in this collection also accomplish something I always look for in horror…well, in any fiction really. That is, emotional resonance and/or a subtle study of mankind and his weaknesses. Newman manages both with amazing regularity. Many of the pieces will leave you with an emotional reaction or one sort of another, be it sadness or revulsion.
But when you look at the collection as a whole, you walk away with a broader picture, one not of the specific people in each story, but about our society as a whole. Yes, these chemicals are generally things we don’t even notice in our lives. But Newman takes those chemicals, shows how they are not only present in our live, but how we almost find them to be necessities. They are those things we feel we cannot live without; these chemicals make up those things that make our lives easier. And then she shows you the darker side of them, what they do to us physically, emotionally, and sometimes intellectually, individually and as a society. In that respect, it’s a nice commentary on the rampant consumerism in our world; about how we as a society rush ahead without ever looking at the repercussions.
All in all, this really is a remarkable collection…dark, grim, funny and a really incisive look at the foibles of man. I recommend it highly.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Haunted Heart and Other Tales by Jameson Currier
Title: The Haunted Heart and Other Tales
Author: Jameson Currier
Genre: Dark fiction/horror, Single Author Anthology
URL: Amazon
Price: US$15.00
Summary (from the publisher): Haunted? Or blessed? Ghosts? Or guardian angels? Twelve new stories of gay men and the memories that haunt them. A circuit boy stays at a haunted hotel. An actor recounts a grisly murder in the English countryside. A gay parent unravels a mysterious souvenir. A journalist chases a story through the streets of Amsterdam. An artist grapples with his muse. A musician is inspired by the spirit of a sailor. Jameson Currier modernizes the traditional ghost story with gay lovers, loners, activists, and addicts, blending history and contemporary issues of the gay community with the unexpected of the supernatural.
My Review: The Haunted Heart and Other Tales is not your typical single-author ghost-story anthology. That’s to say that it isn’t your typical ghost-story anthology of today. This collection hearkens back to days of “gentler” ghost-stories, the type of ghost stories that I grew up on. In fact, as I was reading this, the style reminded me very much of Ambrose Bierce crossed with the old Alfred Hitchcock magazine stories. (Interestingly, going back and reading the foreword and afterword, these appear to be some of Currier’s influences). This is not a bad thing. This, to me, is a very good thing.
Readers expecting today’s traditional ghost-story line-up might be a bit disappointed in this collection, but what Currier has done is gone back to the type of stories he (and I) enjoyed in his youth. Stories where the ghost is not only an apparition, but a metaphor, a commentary on various aspects of humanity. In that respect, the title of the collection is perfect in that this is about Haunted people; not necessarily ghosts that terrorize the reader.
Some of the stories do work better than others, but there really isn’t a bad story here. A few tweaks with pacing might have helped to liven up those with which I connected less, and I would have liked a little more “show” rather than “tell” in a few of them, but again this goes back to the source of inspiration, being particularly evocative of Bierce. Most effective are those stories which have a strong through line with the AIDS epidemic; the experience of living though it or not; of having survived it or not. There is exceptional emotion here and Currier uses the ghost-story milieu to look deep into the human soul and psyche.
In the end, the ghosts in Currier’s gentle collection didn’t give me chills or frighten me, but what they did do is leave me haunted. Just as the title promised. Highly recommended.
Author: Jameson Currier
Genre: Dark fiction/horror, Single Author Anthology
URL: Amazon
Price: US$15.00
Summary (from the publisher): Haunted? Or blessed? Ghosts? Or guardian angels? Twelve new stories of gay men and the memories that haunt them. A circuit boy stays at a haunted hotel. An actor recounts a grisly murder in the English countryside. A gay parent unravels a mysterious souvenir. A journalist chases a story through the streets of Amsterdam. An artist grapples with his muse. A musician is inspired by the spirit of a sailor. Jameson Currier modernizes the traditional ghost story with gay lovers, loners, activists, and addicts, blending history and contemporary issues of the gay community with the unexpected of the supernatural.
My Review: The Haunted Heart and Other Tales is not your typical single-author ghost-story anthology. That’s to say that it isn’t your typical ghost-story anthology of today. This collection hearkens back to days of “gentler” ghost-stories, the type of ghost stories that I grew up on. In fact, as I was reading this, the style reminded me very much of Ambrose Bierce crossed with the old Alfred Hitchcock magazine stories. (Interestingly, going back and reading the foreword and afterword, these appear to be some of Currier’s influences). This is not a bad thing. This, to me, is a very good thing.
Readers expecting today’s traditional ghost-story line-up might be a bit disappointed in this collection, but what Currier has done is gone back to the type of stories he (and I) enjoyed in his youth. Stories where the ghost is not only an apparition, but a metaphor, a commentary on various aspects of humanity. In that respect, the title of the collection is perfect in that this is about Haunted people; not necessarily ghosts that terrorize the reader.
Some of the stories do work better than others, but there really isn’t a bad story here. A few tweaks with pacing might have helped to liven up those with which I connected less, and I would have liked a little more “show” rather than “tell” in a few of them, but again this goes back to the source of inspiration, being particularly evocative of Bierce. Most effective are those stories which have a strong through line with the AIDS epidemic; the experience of living though it or not; of having survived it or not. There is exceptional emotion here and Currier uses the ghost-story milieu to look deep into the human soul and psyche.
In the end, the ghosts in Currier’s gentle collection didn’t give me chills or frighten me, but what they did do is leave me haunted. Just as the title promised. Highly recommended.
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