Labels: Above the Law, book review, Tim Green

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Labels: Bill Crider, book review, Cracked-Back, David Fulmer, Josh Bazell, mysteries

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Labels: Blade Runner, book review, Jane Whitefield, mysteries, Thomas Perry

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Labels: book review, Michael Connelly, The Brass Verdict

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• If humans disappeared, the average house would last about 100 years before toppling over due to decay. But if you cut a one-foot diameter hole in the roof, the same house would crumble in about 10 years. This is the power of nature once it gets inside and gets to work.

• Here’s a quote that should make you pause: “Except for a small amount that’s been incinerated… every bit of plastic manufactured in the world for the last 50 years or so still remains. It’s somewhere in the environment.” How much is that? One billion tons.

• If people vanished, the 441 nuclear power plants currently in operation would run on autopilot for several months and then begin to overheat. The resulting deadly radioactive damage to the environment would poison the areas around the plants for a very, very long time – we’re talking geological time of hundreds of thousands of years.

• Mount Rushmore would probably last about 7.2 million years.

• There are about 20 billion birds in North America alone – yet the population is plunging. Two of the strangest mass killers of birds are windows and cats. Birds can’t see windows and they fly into them and snap their own necks at alarming rates. About one billion a year die this way. Domesticated cats – even when well fed – hunt and kill about 28 birds each every year. There are between 30-60 million cats in North America. Do the math.

Labels: Alan Weisman, book review, environment, The World Without Us

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Labels: book review, Ken Bruen, literature, The Guards

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Labels: Batman, book review, comics, Cracked-Back, Iron Fist, Thor

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“Then she called Morgan, who didn’t have too many answers for her about her kidnapping but let her know that her repatriation had been the result of a small miracle of diplomacy, although he wouldn’t tell her a thing about it. He was thrilled that she had made it back home and he hoped to get back soon to see her.”

“Morgan,” she said. “It’s Marie.”
“Hey, girl, how are you?”
“Good, good, thanks. Where are you?”
“Closer than you’d think.”
“You in the United States?”
“Something like that.”
Marie was silent, her mind working. “Okay, first thing. Are you trying to stop the ship?”
“How would you come up with an idea like that?” Morgan asked.
“Oh, Morgan. Get over yourself. Get over your secret stuff. We don’t have time for it.”

Labels: book review, E.A. Benedek, Red Sea

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(Quick fire reviews of the books we’ve been reading. A “cracked-back” is what happens to the spine of a new book once you’ve thoroughly devoured it. Please feel free to add your own list of recommendations in our comments section.)

Down to a Sunless Sea

By Mathias B. Freese

This collection of short stories by Mathias B. Freese gets points for the way the writer insightfully glares into the lives of the characters – a group of troubled (and sometimes mentally ill) people. Freese uses stark and penetrating language to accomplish that task. But the real question is if this collection can really be considered short stories. I’d argue not. There’s nary a plot to be found in the collection – as each of the pieces focuses on character building. These are character sketches – not stories. Most, in fact, are internal monologues. Yet some of the sketches work well. “I’ll Make It, I Think” features the powerful voice of a handicapped boy trapped in his deformed body. “Little Errands” is an amusing take on an anal retentive man obsessed with mailing letters. Yet overall, the collection feels too internal – as if the book is trapped inside a room without any windows. Too much of the action is thinking. There needs to be more external action – interaction with other characters, movement, and fluidity; more setting, description and dialogue. If you’re a fan of character – and bizarre, damaged ones then you’ll want to get a copy of “Down to a Sunless Sea.” But if you like traditional short stories, then you may want to pass. After all, there’s nothing wrong with a strong plot every now and then.

Grade: C

1776

By David McCullough

How on Earth did the 13 Colonies ever win the Revolutionary War against the British Empire? It was a lopsided match-up from the start. Yet, somehow, the American rebels pulled it off. David McCullough’s “1776” gives us a glimpse into the first full year of warfare – which may have been the bleakest for the new country. The Army was made up of misfits (mostly from New England) and the citizens were starkly divided (especially in that Tory stronghold of New York City). McCullough takes us from the Siege of Boston to the Battle of Trenton (the turning point for General Washington and his Continental Army). McCullough tells us the story from the perspective of Washington, his generals, his officers, and his soldiers (but there are parts from the British point of view as well). What we get is history as a suspense novel. The action is fast. The characters are larger than life. Although this is a story that most Americans have heard a thousand times (starting in elementary school), McCullough gives it a fresh coat of paint and oftentimes it’s easy to forget that the action had already happened. That’s the sign of a good historian and a powerful writer. It’s amazing that the Colonies ended up winning the Revolutionary War. The British – by nearly every barometer – should have won. But they didn’t. McCullough shows us why through the eyes of the determined Washington and his troops.

Grade: B+

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived The Great American Dust Bowl

By Timothy Egan

What was the worst environmental disaster of the 20^th century? Would you believe the over-farming of the southern Great Plains that led to the enormous dust storms of the 1930s? The biggest of these storms on April 14, 1935, which went down in history as “Black Sunday,” completely blocked out the sun and contained more tons of dust and dirt than was removed to dig the Panama Canal. All of it airborne – clogging lungs, blinding cattle, burying homesteads, and turning the Great Plains into a lunar crater. Through diary accounts, personal interviews, and newspaper stories, Egan paints a vivid and personal picture of the people and places most affected by this ecological disaster. The book is fascinating – and penetrating. It’s hard to imagine why so many people of Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska remained behind on what became a blistering hot patch of dirt. But they did. Egan’s account is one of the best written historical novels, I’ve ever read. It’s fast, it’s detailed, and it packs an emotional kick. It’s like stepping into a time capsule. The one weakness of the book, however, is Egan’s failure to really put the disaster into the context of today. It would have been interesting if he spent more time on exploring how the disaster shaped the lives of people living on the Great Plains now. But otherwise, “The Worst Hard Time” deserves your attention.

Grade: A-

Labels: book review, Cracked-Back

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Revisiting the Breakthrough Graphic Novel 22 Years Later

Writer Alan Moore created “Watchmen” in 1986 because he wanted to push the comic book beyond adolescence into what he called “a superhero Moby Dick.” The 12 edition comic book series – and later the compilation graphic novel – went on to win the Hugo Award and to be named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Best Novels since 1923.

There is little doubt that “Watchmen” blazed a new path for comics – especially superhero comics. But did it really have the impact of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” which was first published in 1973 or even Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin’s “Blackmark” (1971), arguably the first “graphic novel” published in the U.S.?

And did Moore succeed in creating a comic book “Moby Dick?”

First let’s explore the narrative. “Watchmen” is a dark story. It captures the pre-apocalyptic fears of modern American and Western Europe in the mid-to-late 1980s as the Cold War rhetoric between the Soviet Union and United States was at its highest since the Bay of Pigs. The novel is in its essence a questioning of authority – especially of government and traditional institutions. That’s why the question: “Who watches the Watchmen?” appears throughout the novel.

The story centers on a group of masked adventurers in an alternative universe to our own 1980s (one in which Nixon remains president). The “superheroes” are, in fact, regular human beings with no real powers – other than extraordinary physical conditioning and mental acumen. Doctor Manhattan is only character with superhuman skills as a result of a scientific experiment gone wrong.

The novel opens with the murder of the Comedian (Edward Blake), one of the costumed avengers affiliated with the CIA and other secret government agencies. Rorschach, a second costumed hero, who refused to give up his vigilante lifestyle even after the U.S. government outlawed costumed heroes in 1977, investigates the murder.

Through the investigation, the novel enters the lives of the various costumed heroes: Nite Owl (a first and a second version), Ozymandias, Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre (first a mother, then her daughter), Doctor Manhattan, the Comedian, and Rorschach. The characters are all flawed – some of them grossly so. The Comedian, for example, is a misogynist and rapist and Rorschach is a sociopath.

Rorschach thinks he has uncovered a plot to murder all of the costumed adventurers and enlists the help of his former partner, Nite Owl, to help him. Meanwhile, the super powerful Doctor Manhattan, who has the ability to restructure reality and to manipulate time and space, continues to struggle with relating to regular human beings. After rumors that being near him causes cancer, he banishes himself to Mars.

The murders end up being the work of the genius Ozymandias, who has concocted an elaborate scheme to bring the world’s nations together: a fake alien invasion that kills thousands of people. His costumed friend figure out his plot, but are unable to stop it. And, in the end, it turns out Ozymandias is right.

The weakest part of “Watchmen” is the plot, especially the comic book ending. There are so many holes in the logic and execution of Ozymandias’ scheme that it’s difficult to follow or understand. But the plot isn’t really the driver in “Watchmen” – it’s the characters and Moore’s success with deconstructing superhero mythos.

Moore has taken stock superhero stereotypes and added depth and complexity. Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan, and the Comedian shine as the stand-outs – loners with a lot of psychological problems trying to cope in a world teeming with misery. Moore has less success with Ozymandias, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre who don’t have the depth or the conviction of the stand-out characters.

The novel is heavy on symbolism (lots of watches and clocks, for example) and mood – but differs from comic books from the time period by providing a straight forward and objective point of view. It’s up to the readers – not Moore as the author – to figure out how to react to the action on the page.

Another interesting device is Moore’s use of a “story within a story” by having a young boy read a comic book about pirates called “Tales of the Black Freighter.” The pirate story – about a man escaping from a pirate ship filled with dead, doomed souls – echoes the action of “Watchmen” and acts as juxtaposition to the main story.

The artwork in “Watchmen” feels like a throwback to the Golden Age of comics in the 1950s and 1960s (in fact, primary artist Dave Gibbons credits Norman Rockwell as an inspiration for “Watchmen”). There’s a cinematic feel to the artwork – especially of noir films with the shadows and darkness. But there’s surprising little movement to the graphics and sometimes the panels feel a bit inert.

So how influential was “Watchmen”? It is generally credited with taking superhero comics from low-brow kid’s entertainment and catapulting into high-brow art. That’s no minor achievement. “Watchmen” also ushered in an era of dark and bleak story lines around comic book superheroes (can we blame “Watchmen” for the death of Superman and Captain America?).

But Moore certainly didn’t attain his goal of creating the “Moby-Dick” of comic books. “Maus,” for example, is clearly a greater literary achievement than “Watchmen.”

Influential?

Yes.

But a hallmark of great literature?

No.

Ode to "Fight Club"

The 5 Most Addictive Arcade Games

Labels: Alan Moore, book review, comics, superheroes, Watchmen

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Labels: book review, Cracked-Back, Duane Swierczynski, E.B. White, Mark Bauerlein, Nicole Krauss

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The Age of Innocence
By Edith Wharton

This one is a crier. But it is also a scathing rip at upper crust society -- particularly New Yorkers of the 1870s. Make no mistake about “The Age of Innocence” -- its a masterpiece and a joy to read. It's one of those books perfect for curling up on the couch with a warm cup of tea. In fact, it demands it. It is the story of how the narrow minds and strict protocols of New York society stifle the love affair between Newland Archer and Countess Ellen Olenska.

Archer is firmly entrenched in high society, yet experiences flashes of rebellion at its fastidious rules about appearance and reputation. He becomes engaged to May Welland, but falls passionately in love with her cousin, the countess. The countess has fled a bad marriage to her Polish husband and causes a scandal among the New York elite with her blunt personality and worldly outlook. Bending to the will of society, Archer marries May and they fall into a loveless and joyless union.

Yet his love for the countess never falters. He he remains trapped in a marriage to May until her death 25 years later. When he has a chance to see the countess again in Paris, the widowed Archer decides against it. The reader can decide if it is because his memory of the countess is better than his reality or if he now embarks on a love affair with her if he's admitting to his own weakness at having failed to pursue her 25 years earlier. “The Age of Innocence” is a powerful and heart-wrenching story – and one that every bibliophile should devour.

Grade: A

Strangeways: Murder Moon
By Matt Maxwell and Luis Guaragna

Fangs and fast guns. This is Matt Maxwell's great idea for a mash-up – combine a Western with a werewolf story. Think about "High Noon" superimposed on "American Werewolf in London."

The result is “Strangeways: Murder Moon,” a rip-roaring graphic novel that delivers scares and shoot-outs. The story features Seth Collins – a Western arch-type (the quiet loner with a quick gun). Collins ventures out West to meet up with his estranged sister and gets attacked by a werewolf while riding shotgun on a stage coach. When his best friend Webster is accused of being the werewolf, Collins sets out to capture the real monster.

There are lots of subplots and hidden agendas in “Strangeways” and some of them can be difficult to navigate. The character of Collins is also a problem as he often seems more like a conduit and plot device rather than a strong central character. But for the most part “Strangeways” delivers on its promise. The art is dark and moody – and there’s plenty of fast action to keep readers turning the pages. The graphic novel also contains an extra at the end – an excellent origin story for the werewolf, which puts an entire new spin on the main story.

If you’re into lycanthropy and six-shooters – you may have entered Nirvana.

(Full Disclosure: Matt Maxwell runs a blog called “Highway 62” that DaRK PaRTY links with)

Grade: B

Yellow Medicine
By Anthony Neil Smith

You are not going to like Deputy Sheriff Billy Lafitte. Why? Because he's a bastard.

“Yellow Medicine” is a rocket ride of a thriller set in plains of rural Minnesota that pits the Lafitte against a group of ruthless Middle Eastern terrorists. Smith has created a slickly repulsive anti-hero in Lafitte, a law officer who likes to work the angles on the criminal fringe. Lafitte is a snake charmer and a bully and many readers will have a hard time relating a character that preys on young women and callously endangers his friends.

Yet the strength of the novel is the voice of Lafitte – and watching how he adapts and changes when confronted with the difficult situations he falls into. Deep down, Lafitte has a soul, but unfortunately it rarely manifests itself. The plot stumbles a bit (how the terrorists get to the flatlands of Minnesota, for example, takes a leap of faith). The novel could also have done a better job of centering itself and given readers more insight into the larger picture. However, watching Lafitte in action is a delight (even if you cringe at a lot of his behavior). “Yellow Medicine” is more character study than the typical plot-driven thriller – and for the most part that’s a good thing.

Grade: B

All Quiet on the Western Front

By Erich Maria Remarque

“All Quiet on the Western Front” is one of the greatest anti-war novels ever written. It’s vivid portrayal of the horrendous conditions and life threatening dangers of trench warfare during the Great War. Paul Baumer is a young, enthusiastic student who joins the German Army at the outbreak of the war with France and England. But as the months turn into years, Paul becomes a hard-bitten soldier who understands all to well that the horrors he has witnessed have destroyed his innocence and possibly his ability to ever live a normal civilian life. The graphic details of the trenches, the combat, the hospitals, and the mindset of the average German soldier of the time, make “All Quiet on the Western Front” a fascinating slice of history. But the narration by Paul and the characters that make up his unit provide an emotional backbone to the novel that sticks with a reader long after putting the novel. “All Quiet on the Western Front” gets our highest recommendation.

Grade: A

Read our last Cracked-Back Reviews, includes "World War Z" and "99 Coffins"

Read our apology to Novelist Cormac McCarthy

Labels: Anthony Neil Smith, book review, books, Cracked-Back, Edith Wharton, Erich Maria Remarque, Matt Maxwell

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