Month: March 2013

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

Posted March 21, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Crime / 0 Comments

Title: Crooked Little Vein (Goodreads)
Author: Warren Ellis
Published: William Morrow, 2012
Pages: 288
Genres: Crime
My Copy: Library Book

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Michael McGill, is a former Pinkerton detective, now burned out and trying to jump start his career as a self-employed PI. A self-described ‘shit magnet’ he has a strange ability to wind up in the weirdest situations whether related to a current case or not. Hired by the corrupt White House Chief of Staff to find the second ‘secret’ US Constitution, McGill finds himself on this unusual scavenger hunt across America. He is joined by a college student, Trix, who is writing a thesis on sexual fetishes as they explore the underbelly of American through this Crooked Little Vein.

I picked up Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis because while I like the idea of a weird take on the hard-boiled genre, I was eagerly anticipating the release of his new novel Gun Machine, which I’ve since read (review to come). I was pleasantly surprised but this novel and his hard-boiled style, but then I was weirded out by all the weird fetishes, that I had no idea existed.

Michael McGill finds himself with this bizarre case and what follows is just plain crazy; the term ‘shit-magnet’ is the only way to describe this washed up detective. McGill is a great character, trying hard to jump start his solo career as a private detective. Then you have Trix, the not so typical side-kick who’s current relationship status must be confusing to her as well. These two misfits struggle against the odds as they track through the seedy underworld to find this missing second United States Constitution.

This is not a typical Hard-Boiled novel; obviously, it blends elements of the genre with Ellis’ own unique brand of bizarre and dark humour. In the end this was just a slightly odd but thoroughly enjoyable novel. While it is hard to explain of the weird and wonderful things that happen in this novel at the risk of making this review NSFW, I think this book was just fresh and exciting but the narrative is not as strong as it should be.

This is the first novel by Warren Ellis whose main focus is comic book writing, so you have to forgive him for missing a strong narrative. His writing style seems to rely heavily on a visual aspect and while most of the imagery seems to work well, I can only hope he improves with his other novels. Having already read his latest, you’ll be pleased to know it has.

Ellis has spent way too much time on the internet, because he’s managed to research the weirdest sexual fetishes possible and then compile them into this one little book. This isn’t really a graphically explicit book, you will find out about some fetishes they you probably didn’t know existed but overall this book is pretty tame; just disturbing to think that people do these things for fun.

Crooked Little Vein is an odd book and it should be treated as such. The dark comedy in the book makes it worth reading alone, and then you have this really strange take on the pulp genre as an added bonus. Sure this book is never going to be for everyone but I’m glad I read and enjoyed it.

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Posted March 20, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Romance / 0 Comments

Title: The Silver Linings Playbook (Goodreads)
Author: Matthew Quick
Published: Picador, 2008
Pages: 289
Genres: Romance
My Copy: Personal Copy

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Pat Peoples is a former history teacher who moves back home after spending some time in a neurology hospital. He has a theory that every life is like a movie and he is just waiting for his silver lining ending, the successful reunion with his wife Nikki. Pat spends his time on self improvement, determined this will help end ‘apart time’, he exercises excessively and reads great American literature. He meets Tiffany and soon becomes friends because of their similarities; physically fit and clinically depressed.

While this started off reminding me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I soon got really bored with this book. Not only was the novel predictable, it was clichéd and failed to hold my interest at all. The narrative felt really dumbed down, like it was trying more to be a YA novel; actually this might be a good example of New Adult fiction. But this really annoyed me, just because someone is clinically depressed, an exercise junky, football fan or any of the other reasons doesn’t mean they are not intelligent. So the narrative felt more like the author making fun of the protagonist and I really had a problem with that.

There are so many great American novels and when Pat sets out to read the entire syllabus of his wife’s class to improve himself you can’t help but be proud of him. The Bell Jar, The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises are all great books but they don’t really fit into Pat’s philosophy on life. I love the way he reacts to The Sun Also Rises in the movie trailer, it was done so much better than in the book, that rage for the ending was brilliant. I know Pat wants a silver lining in every story, so I found it really amusing to think he would read those books that don’t fit his personal philosophy.

Personally I did want to explore more of the depression side of this novel because I felt there were some very interesting elements explored but instead the author was more interested in a clichéd romance. There were two love stories going on here, the generic one between Pat and Tiffany, and then there was the love of Philadelphia Eagles. Personally the Eagles story arc was more interesting because the Pat and Tiffany relationship was painful to read.

I’m not a fan of clichés and reading about Pat and Tiffany become a real problem with me; I knew what was going to happen, I can see it coming from the start but it wasn’t executed properly. Almost like the author was running out of pages and he had to quickly resolve and conflict and have a happy ending before the end of the book. The conflict resolution was done too quickly; you can’t really go from hating a person to changing your mind and kissing a person that quick, it just doesn’t work.

There are small elements of this book that I enjoyed but the overall novel wasn’t worth it. I will say one thing about this book; it will make a great movie. I’ve not seen the adaptation yet but I have a feeling it would work really well in that format, as people just love a happy ending and these types of romance movies. Personally I think the book isn’t work reading and maybe the movie is a quicker way to experience this story.

Gangster Squad by Paul Lieberman

Posted March 19, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: Gangster Squad (Goodreads)
Author: Paul Lieberman
Published: St. Martin's Griffin, 2012
Pages: 560
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

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Gangster Squad chronicles the true story of the secret police unit that was assembled to wage war against Mickey Cohen and any other hoodlums in Los Angeles. In 1946 the LAPD created this squad to take down Cohen and clean up the streets by any means necessary. Lasting about four years this war lead to an aftermath that shocks both the LA mob and the police department but ultimately ensuring the mob will never have a foot hold on this city ever again.

I recently saw the very loosely based movie adaptation of this true crime novel and it left me curious to know more about this squad and the life of Mickey Cohen. So I went out and read the book; while it was very story driven, the novel did get rather dry about half way through. I love books about organised crime and I was happy to learn more about the infamous Jewish mobster and his downfall.

I’m not too sure how accurate this book is; I took it was a huge grain of salt but I found out afterwards this was compiled but interviews of the gangster squad and others involved in this operation, so maybe there is some truth to it. But with all true crime and non-fiction books, I remain sceptical of the research. I always read these books and wonder just how much is researched and how much is just pure speculation, I think in this aspect I prefer the fictionalised novels of true events; that way I know for sure it is just their take on the events.

I loved the movie; it was an enjoyable Hollywood butchering of what really happened and I’m fine with that, it was entertaining. As for the book, it read like a novel at the beginning but then I think the author realised we was writing True Crime and tried to over correct himself because it became really dry and clinical. I wish he didn’t shift gears because when he tried to stick to the facts I found myself getting lost with all the people mentioned; I wasn’t sure if I’m meant to know who they all where but the cast was big and there was no point of reference for them all.

It starts off with a pulp feel to it but then it changes so drastically, I’m very interested in learning more about organised crime in America through true crime and novels but this book didn’t really teach me anything. I think the book just got so jammed pack with names that I was confused and I didn’t learn anything that I didn’t already know. Finally verdict; watch the movie, it’s very entertaining and will give you some idea of what actually happened. As for the book, it didn’t really work, I like how they explored all aspects, including their failed operations but in the end Gangster Squad didn’t work as well as I was hoping.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Posted March 18, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Historical Fiction, Romance / 0 Comments

Title: Outlander (Goodreads)
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Series: Outlander #1
Published: Dell, 1991
Pages: 870
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
My Copy: Audiobook

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Claire Randall found herself time travelling from 1945 to 1743. She was just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon but then she walks through an ancient stone circle and finds herself in the midst of a war torn Scotland being raided by the Highland clans. She finds a young Scot warrior and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire.

Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t read this book along with the Vaginal Fantasy book club; I did it because this is my wife’s favourite series and I needed a romance novel for the Literary Exploration challenge. I’m not really a fan of romances (Wuthering Heights is still the greatest Romance of all time) so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into here but be warned, even though I want to talk about all the things that didn’t work for me, it doesn’t mean this wasn’t an enjoyable read.

First of all I want to talk about Claire Randall; here is this strong former combat nurse that finds herself in the past. While she is scared and confused I never felt that her desperation was believable; I felt like the inner turmoil of Claire never really played out and I was left to believe she wanted to be there. Also she is suppose to be portrayed as a strong independent woman but all I saw was a loud mouth nag that put up no fight and just married Jamie with no reluctance at all.

Jamie Fraser suffers from instalove; as soon as he saw Claire he was madly in love with her. Then when they finally got married, the virgin becomes the greatest lover known to man; how is that possible? Also Jamie is supposed to be this great Scottish warrior but all I ever see him do is get into trouble and winding up caught or with severe wounds. Not to mention the abuse towards Claire; sure it was a sign on the time to discipline his wife but this isn’t sexy and is just over done.

Finally the plot; I tend to think this book goes in a repetitive circle, which consists of sex, more sex, conflict, sex, being caught, wife beating and then more sex. This is the entire plot arc and it keeps repeating itself for over 800 pages. Makes me wonder what makes a romance novel, I never felt there was an ounce of romance or love; just lots of sex.

I know this is a series of a great love between Jamie and Claire and there was a flicker of this from Jamie but never felt that come through from Claire. I wonder if sex is a substitute for love here or does this reflect more in the books that follow. Apart from everything I didn’t like about the book, the characters and the writing was pretty good. I wanted more inner conflict from Claire as0 the narrator but that is just a personal preference. I’m always interested in the inner thoughts of a protagonist, especially when they find themselves in an unusual situation.

I’m not sure if I will continue the Outlander series but I would like to think that the romance starts in the next book. I’m curious to know if this is the case; I’m a little hesitant to invest in another 800 pages if it’s just more of the same. Romance novels are not really my thing, but I did like the slight speculative fiction element with the time travel. I hope that aspect of the plot gets explored in greater detail with the other books. Now I’m curious to read The Time Travellers Wife and see how it compares.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Posted March 17, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Historical Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: The Remains of the Day (Goodreads)
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Published: Faber & Faber, 1986
Pages: 272
Genres: Historical Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

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England 1956, Stevens is a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall who decides to take a motoring trip through the country. Partly for work and partly for personal reasons, but this six day outing becomes a trip into the past as he remembers not only two world wars but an unrealised love between himself and his housekeeper. The Remains of the Day is an incredible novel of meditation, a changing England and missed love.

Stevens is an old fashion butler, always keeping to the rules and holding himself to a higher standard particularly when it comes to dignity. Throughout the novel he reflects on what it takes to be a truly accomplished butler; often referring to the Hayes Society, an elite society of butlers in the 1920s and 1930. The notion of “a dignity in keeping with his position” being the main ingredient to making a truly great butler. As he reflects on the idea of dignity, he also reflects on how he upholds himself as well as the changed world. Lord Darlington has passed away and an American, Mr Farraday is the new owner of Darlington Hall. This means a whole new way of doing things and as Stevens masterfully adjusts to the new way, he notices that he is doing too much as well as lacking in the ability to communicate the way his new employee wishes. Stevens takes his job too seriously so he struggles to be able to banter with his employee in the way Farraday wishes. He agonizes over his need to offer some witty banter and all attempts fail. He fails to realise that it is his delivery that is lacking and yet he keeps on reflecting on this.

The reason I wanted to talk about dignity and banter, is while Stevens’ is such a great character, he spends all his time reflecting on how he can be the best butler to his that he completely misses the opportunity of love. As this novel progresses and Stevens reflects on his time at Darlington Hall you can see a relationship blossom between the housemaid Miss Kenton and himself. The further you read, the more her feelings develop, while he is blissfully ignorant. Stevens does eventually realise but it is far too late.

The Remains of the Day is such a beautiful novel; while it does remind me a little of Downton Abbey (which I adore) this novel has other elements in it which make it worth exploring. It’s a book of loyalty and politics, love and relationships as well as memories and perspective. I don’t think I’ve seen the movie adaptation of this book but I’m struggling to see how it would work in that format. Does anyone know if the movie is worth watching?

I do recommend this book to fans of Downton Abbey, but I also want to recommend it to people looking for a stunningly elegant to read. Kazuo Ishiguro masterfully crafted this book and it paid off, winning the Man Booker Prize as well as Guardian’s “Books You Can’t Live Without” and the “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” list as well as a whole lot more. I’m so glad I picked up this book, it was short but it did so much. I would have to add it to a list of essential readings.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

Posted March 16, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Childrens, Humour / 0 Comments

Title: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (Goodreads)
Author: Gideon Defoe
Series: The Pirates! #1
Published: Pantheon, 2004
Pages: 144
Genres: Childrens, Humour
My Copy: Personal Copy

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The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists follows the story of the Pirate captain and his unorthodox crew. On their adventures they meet Charles Darwin and his highly trained and sophisticated “man-panzee” Mister Bobo. Darwin has been banished from London by a rival scientist and manages to convince the Pirate captain to help defeat his enemies.

While this book and the rest of the series is not aimed at children, it comes as a real surprise that the stop animation movie adaption was. I’ve not seen the movie but I can’t imagine a cannon ball ripping through a woman’s head would make for good movie viewing. Having said that I wouldn’t mind seeing that, the humour would be well worth seeing. The humour really relies on clichés and irony, while will make for a very entertaining experience. While the book has the humour there is a visual aspect to some of the jokes that really would work better in a movie.

I think book really reads more like a script for a movie and while it isn’t laid out that way I can’t help but thing that a movie adaptation was the main goal of the author. I know of people who have seen the movie and then went on to enjoy the books and I think that might be the order required. I can’t help think the humour was a cross between Monty Python and Wallace and Gromit, yet again why I think the movie would work better.

While the rest of the book falls into the realms of cliché, this book is all about the humour and nothing else. I would have liked a better plot and better characters but clearly this wasn’t the focus at all. I’m really not sure if I want to continue with this series but for a bit of light reading I might return, but I have so many other books I want to read so I doubt I’ll be back anytime soon.

Wool by Hugh Howey

Posted March 15, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Speculative Fiction / 12 Comments

Title: Wool (Goodreads)
Author: Hugh Howey
Published: Random House, 2012
Pages: 537
Genres: Speculative Fiction
My Copy: Personal Copy

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In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. To live, you must follow the rules. But some don’t. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside. Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last

Hugh Howey’s independently released smash hit series Wool has been picked up and released as a novel. While Wool is more of an omnibus of the first five novellas, Simon and Schuster (in the US) and Random house here have been promoting it as a novel. While each novella does shift perspective, the questions at the end is what drives you to keep reading and that is what makes this a great novel. You find yourself with more questions than answers and you just need to dive into the next part in the hopes that you will have some of those questions answered, but knowing you’ll end up with more questions.

Hugh Howey has masterfully created this world built on lies and as you follow the characters you can’t help but wonder what the real truth is. Living in these huge 200 plus level underground silos, cut off from what may or may not exist outside, some lies need to be told to keep the peace. But what lie can really lead to peace? Aren’t all lies destructive by nature?

Wool is an exciting take on the dystopian/post apocalyptic genre and while there is something very familiar with this book, it also feels very fresh. The world is governed by fear and if you don’t obey you get sent outside to clean. Only problem with that is you’ll never survive the toxic air out there and this control leads to a totalitarian reign in this dystopian world. The antagonists of the silo turn out to be the IT department, because knowledge is power and this power struggle between this department and the rest of the silo is done really well.

The characters are just fantastic in this book, from Sheriff Holston who was likable but all of sudden volunteered to do the cleaning at the start of the book, to his replacement Jules, the strong minded female lead, and all the other characters on the way. I’m reminded of Game of Thrones in the way that you can never really get too attached because you never know who while be cleaning next. Even the minor characters have a sense of complexity that is often missed with other authors. This eye for detail and passion for a fast paced adventure with brilliantly flawed characters is what really makes Hugh Howey so successful.

I’m impressed with the huge success of this self published author and having read this, I now know why it works. The blend of questions with the fast pace and wonderful characters means this author is on track to become a masterful story teller. Wool really does live up to the hype and I hope you get a chance to read it soon. I’m torn between buying the kindle versions of the prequel, Shift, or to wait for the novel. I know if I buy each novella individually it will be torture waiting for my questions to be answered but I really want to go back to that world and see what Hugh Howey does with it.

In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block

Posted March 14, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Pulp / 0 Comments

Title: In the Midst of Death (Goodreads)
Author: Lawrence Block
Series: Matt Scudder #3
Published: Orion, 1976
Pages: 182
Genres: Pulp
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Private investigator Matt Scudder is back. This time he is on the case for NYPD cop Jerry Broadfield. While Broadfield was never going to be known as a pillar of society he was (mostly) an honest cop. But he seems to have rattled a few cages, mainly from the crook cops on the force. Now he is being set up.

Because The Sins of the Fathers was so short and I enjoyed it so much I went right into In the Midst of Death. Something I never do and that is normally because I never like to get entrenched in an author or a genre, so I always mix it up. But also because I find there are small elements that can become repetitive if you go from one book in a series to the next. While this is book three (which I originally thought was book two) Lawrence Block covers the same important information about Matthew Scudder; which is good for people reading out of order but jumping straight into this one after the first book, it felt more like a copy/paste job.

Unlicensed Private investigator is truly shaping into a great character and even though I’ve read two books in the series so quickly and one after the other, I still want to read more, which is a real testament to Lawrence Block’s writing skills. I love Scudder’s cynical attitude and his reluctance to work; he is truly a great hard-boiled protagonist in the making.

Corruption is a tricky game and while you are meant to hate Jerry Broadfield it is interesting the way Scudder goes about this case. While this was not as strong as The Sins of the Fathers, it still worked really well. I want more insights into the psyche of Scudder because I really think there is something dark waiting to come out. After my second Block novel, I’m starting to see just why he is respected as a modern pulp author and he is quickly becoming a favourite.

The Sins of the Fathers by Lawrence Block

Posted March 13, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Pulp / 0 Comments

Title: The Sins of the Fathers (Goodreads)
Author: Lawrence Block
Series: Matt Scudder #1
Published: Orion, 1976
Pages: 182
Genres: Pulp
My Copy: Personal Copy

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

A pretty young prostitute is found dead, killed by a minister’s son who is found hanging in a prison cell. This case may seem open and shut, considering the boy was found with her blood all over him and he confessed to the murder. But when the father hires private investigator Matthew Scudder to find out more of his daughters life, what will he uncover?

The Sins of the Fathers is pretty different from normal hard-boiled novels; the crime and case is closed and the PI is hired for something completely different; to learn more of the victims life. The father wants to know more about his estranged daughter, but once you go down the rabbit hole, you never know what you’ll find.

Enter Matt Scudder, an ex cop with a huge drinking problem. Scudder is a great character; he has all the hallmarks of a great hard-boiled detective but he seems more bitter and jaded that what you normally see. He is riddled with flaws and dark secrets that are waiting to be revealed and while the major one is, there is still a sense of mystery behind the man. But then he does something unexpected; for example, Scudder tithes 10% of all money being made to which ever church he visits (normally the Catholics because they are always open), you never get a sense that he is a church goer but he does believe in something.

This was an interesting take on this crime genre, yet it still had that dark plots and shady characters. While it seems like it’s a little lighter than the norm, it ends up packing a huge punch with some very classic noir twists towards the end. I really like Scudder as the protagonist; he was almost borderline anti-hero and sometimes I wish he would head in that direction but he never does.

Sins of the Fathers is the first book in Lawrence Block’s series featuring Private Investigator Scudder. I believe there are about 17 books in the series and I can’t wait to read them all. As soon as I finished this book, I dived into In the Midst of Death which most places call book two but Block has stated it is actually book three in the series. I hope when I get to Time to Murder and Create there isn’t much confusion but I’ve been told you can read the first three in any order but for the rest, it’s best to read them in the correct order.

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Posted March 12, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Young Adult / 6 Comments

Title: If You Find Me (Goodreads)
Author: Emily Murdoch
Published: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013
Pages: 304
Genres: Young Adult
My Copy: ARC from Author

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

In a broken down camper, hidden in the forest, is where you will find Casey and Jenessa. Abducted by their bi-polar meth addicted mother ten years ago, the girls have learnt to survive on their own. Until one day their mother disappears for good and two strangers turn up. Suddenly the girls are expected to reintegrate into normal society. If You Find Me is part psychological thriller part Young Adult fiction.

I don’t think I’ve read a YA novel like this before, the survival aspects are handled really well and the whole concept of trying to live a normal life again after being taken away from society were handled really well. The best part; it’s a Young Adult novel that handles these topics that doesn’t have dystopian theme. I really enjoyed the psychological themes throughout this book and thought they were managed really well for a debut author like Emily Murdoch.

There are some parts of this book that I didn’t like, I personally felt like elements of Casey’s life were glossed over; there are mentions of sexual abuse that would be fairly traumatic but I didn’t think it was really explored. Also adorable little Jenessa has a major breakthrough in the book but it was predictable and I could see it coming for miles but then I never felt like it was explored enough; it happened and they all moved on like it never happened.

The concept and the plot are great and I think there are a lot of elements to love about this book. I might be one of the few people that probably thought there were parts that needed to be explored more and other parts that needed to be stripped back. Everything just ended up being unrealistically neat; I would have liked to see some more of the psychological, just to make sure everything isn’t too tidy.

If You Find Me is a great little young adult book from a fantastic new up-and-comer in this genre. I love that this book doesn’t feel like it has been done before. There are some real serious issues explored and for the most of it, it worked really well. For fans of Young Adult fiction, this is a must read for you and I hope this book ends up being a huge success.